Just tried Wilkinson Swords today.

[Lok3sh]

I've been shaving with a DE for almost a month now. Started with the Derby blades that came with me DE89L. I got used to it pretty quick, and have not had many issues so far. I get some really excellent shaves which is really nice.

Since I'm new to this, I have a few blades that I'm trying. I used 3 Derby blades (3 times each before changing), so I had 9 shaves down before the WS blade which isn't much. But anyway, yesterday for the first time, popped in a Wilkinson Sword.

As soon as I started shaving with it, I noticed that it felt really rough. It is hard to describe, but I'll try. It was sort of like I was rubbing sandpaper on my face I think haha. I could kind of feel it cutting the stubble as it went over my face. I could always feel the blade. This was not the case with the Derby, which at times I could not tell that it was cutting anything until I looked at my stubble and saw that it was gone.

The strange thing is, when I did my upper lip ATG (the place I usually get small weepers) I got just one small weeper that stopped very soon. And I had to go over my upper lip so many times with this blade. If I did that with the Derby, my lip would likely have been with a bloodbath. But at the same time, the upper lip was not shaved as closely as the Derby used to do it.

Also overall, my shave was fine, but not as close as the Derby. It also left my face feeling raw after each stroke. I was a little intimidated when I looked at my aftershave at the end of the shave.

Well anyway, I hope the second shave is better than the first, as it usually is even with the Derby.

Has anyone experienced anything similar with the Wilkinson Sword? Or is it something I'm doing?

 

[Shutterbug57]

Check your blade angle. Wilkis are not my favorite, but they should not be tearing your face off either. If your blade is too perpendicular to your face, it could cause the issues that you note.

 

[Lok3sh]

Check your blade angle. Wilkis are not my favorite, but they should not be tearing your face off either. If your blade is too perpendicular to your face, it could cause the issues that you note.

I will try some angle adjustments next time and make sure it isn't too perpendicular. Though my angle hasn't changed much from my previous shaves with the Derby which have all been closer and more comfortable shaves. Is the Derby just more forgiving with the angle maybe?

Also it wasn't exactly tearing my face off really, did not really get any nicks or weepers of note except the one on my upper lip which I expected anyway. It just felt super rough and scratchy. Left my face feeling a lot more raw than with the Derby.

 

[77TransAm]

I personally haven't used them yet, but turtle has a thread going called "How far would you go" and he's used 1 Wilkinson Sword blade for over 100 shaves now, still not tugging and pulling or dull whatsoever. Some blades are just more forgiving through for beginners. I know my Lord blades were my favourite because I never nicked myself. I switched to a feather and noticed that I really had to be careful and pay attention to the blade angle. Some blades are just easier to shave with than others. You'll get the hang of the wilkies sooner or later.

Happy Shaving!

 

[NingYupOwaDat]

I personally haven't used them yet, but turtle has a thread going called "How far would you go" and he's used 1 Wilkinson Sword blade for over 100 shaves now, still not tugging and pulling or dull whatsoever. Some blades are just more forgiving through for beginners. I know my Lord blades were my favourite because I never nicked myself. I switched to a feather and noticed that I really had to be careful and pay attention to the blade angle. Some blades are just easier to shave with than others. You'll get the hang of the wilkies sooner or later.

Happy Shaving!

He is using an English Wilkinson Sword though, the ones available now are made in Germany. They are one of my favourite blades, kind of like Astra but better.

 

[77TransAm]

He is using an English Wilkinson Sword though, the ones available now are made in Germany. They are one of my favourite blades, kind of like Astra but better.

Ahh, I didn't know that.

 

[VMR357]

I've spent the last 6 months getting to know my DE89L. I tried the Derby blades, but found they only gave me a day or two of good shaves. I've been using Walmart Wilkinson Sword blades most of the time and like them. At the moment they are only available from Walmart online. There are several other sources for the Wilkis however. I've used a couple of Gillette Silver Blue and liked them very much. I think you have to experiment to find what works best for you.

 

[Lok3sh]

I personally haven't used them yet, but turtle has a thread going called "How far would you go" and he's used 1 Wilkinson Sword blade for over 100 shaves now, still not tugging and pulling or dull whatsoever. Some blades are just more forgiving through for beginners. I know my Lord blades were my favourite because I never nicked myself. I switched to a feather and noticed that I really had to be careful and pay attention to the blade angle. Some blades are just easier to shave with than others. You'll get the hang of the wilkies sooner or later.

Happy Shaving!

Just went through this entire thread. Really entertaining and amazing!

But as NingYupOwaDat mentioned, he used a NOS English made Wilkinson Sword blade. Mine is the one you can buy from Wal-Mart today.

Even with those, I've heard that there are two types? One made in Germany and one made in India or something?

In any case, I was just wondering if someone that has shaved with the Wilkinson Blades had a similar first shave experience as I did. Of course, I'll stick with it and see how it turns out. But yrah my first shave was not as nice as my Derbys have been so far.

 

[Pedro Navaja]

I use German Wilks and they are my favorites by far. I usually give a new blade three days to see if is the blade or me. So far, of the 10 +/- blades I've tried, two I can really stomach.

 

[Jeff_H]

i shaved with the Wilkinson's like you have early on in my DE shaving career. Not the worst blade I shaved with but certainly not the best. Blades are so individual that I could recommend my favorite blade to you and you might absolutely hate it. You are getting pretty good results with the Derby blade and you will find that generally the Derby's are not very well regarded by the general membership here. There are some that really like them, but most do not.

Try the Wilkie again. I usually get a better shave from a blade on day 2. If you have the same experience then throw it away and move on. Blades that I would recommend you try would be Astra, Gillette Silver Blue, Personna Med Prep and Personna Labs, Israeli Crystal blades, Bic Chrome Platinum and some of the other Gillette series of blades. That's just a starter and I have tried all of those and like most of them.

There are places that put together sample packs of blades including a few high end blades and a few low end ones. There are also places you can put together your own sampler. That's usually the best place to start. Some people get lucky and find their favorite blade right off the bat. For most of us it takes some experimentation. Then once we figure it out, they stop making our favorite blade and we have to start all over.

 

[bmathe02]

I like the wilkonson's so much I bought another 100 box. It's not butter smooth like astras but it is damn near impossible to cut yourself with it and the shave for me is just slightly less close. It's a good trade off in my opinion.

 

[Lok3sh]

Ok so round two with the Wilkinsons. This is what it felt like again...

Something else I'm noticing is that the Wilkinsons are having a tougher time cutting through my stubble where the hair is coarser. Like my chin area. There are a lot of times where it feels like the blade is trying to yank the hair out instead of cut it.

My face definitely feels more raw, and my shave isn't as close as with a Derby. That is not to say my shave is bad by any means. I don't know what it is called here exactly (dfs maybe?), but when I feel my face with the grain and across the grain, it is totally smooth. Against, it has a lot more fine stubble than when I use the Derby.

Maybe this particular blade is a dud. I don't know if I even want to try another Wilkinson just to see if the one I used was from a bad batch perhaps. Although the other two Wilkinsons are probably from the same batch too, so... I don't know what I want to do next really haha.

 

[Shutterbug57]

If you have another Wilkie, give it a try. You could have a dud. But if it is the same, then Wilkies are not for you. I really like the Personna Labs Blue blades that can be had for less than $13 shipped on e-bay and less than $14 shipped on Amazon. I got lucky and hit those right from the start - after hating a Merkur blade that came with the razor. I tried Wilkies when I got them on the road at a Wal-Mart when I forgot to pack blades. For me they are OK, but certainly nothing special. The best part of the Wilkies for me was the plastic case - which I have reused with my Personnas for travel.

 

[Nomad1600]

I use and like the Wilkinson Swords from Walmart. In my experience they are pretty close to the Astra SPs that I use as my go-to blades. And I like Shutterbugs idea of re-using the black plastic box...

 

[cwnidog]

My experience with Wilkinson Sword blades is similar to yours, but I haven't quite given up. Before I try with a new one, I'll give it a leg strop. which can often tame a rough blade.

 

[Lok3sh]

Alright so last night I shaved with a new Wilkinson Sword blade and I have to say this experience was 1000x better. I got a comparably smooth shave to the Derby, and it didn't leave my face raw like the other WS blade. So perhaps I used a bad blade? Does that happen often? In any case, I'll stick with this WS for another 2 shaves, and then I have one more WS that I will use up before moving on to something else. It is too early for me to decide whether I like the WS better than the Derby, but as of right now it seems like they are both fairly similar in performance to me personally.

 

[coonskinner]

I like them the very least of anything I have tried.

 

[ArNav]

German Wilkinsons are decent blades, they are not supposed to shred your face. They are not among the very best, but they are okay.

 

[Ferrum]

I'm new on the forum, but I'd like to say I have been using Wilkinson's sword for a very long time and never had any problems. I did buy a pack of Gillette blue in France. I find them very poor. I don't know if it's because they are poor quality blades or just too sharp. Perhaps someone can help me out on this? Meanwhile I'll stick with the Wilkinson until I get hold of a mixed sample pack of blades. This forum has encouraged me to break out of my routine with a new Simpson's best badger and a search for a new razor - toying with plunging in the deep end with the stainless Feather.

 

[Mako72]

For me the Wilkies were always a touch harsh on the first shave, but after that they smoothed out and were good for a weeks worth of shaves. I found hand stropping them seemed to help a touch.