Tonight I shaved with a German made Wilkinson Sword blade that I had purchased at a local store. They cost 1.99 for 5 so I bought a pack. I wasn’t sure what to expect of them but had read different opinions of them in the past. Some good some bad. So I put the new blade into one of my Tech razors, used a lot of hot water to wet my beard and lathered up with some Barbasol Pacific Rush canned cream. To make a long story short I gotta say that this was not a comfortable shave. I got through to the end of it somehow but it took some work. The blade felt rough and tuggy... not very sharp. Actually crummy to say the least. A Gillette Yellow on its 10th use would be sharper than one of these fresh blades. It’s been awhile since I’ve shaved with this bad of a blade. Quite disappointing! I won’t buy them again. Anyone else here have a similar experience with these blades?
Lousy Blade
- Thread starter razorhead63
- Start date
I did. The old vintage Wilkinsons are among the best blades I've ever used but I had nothing but bad experiences with any of the modern offerings. But, again, I believe blades are the most ymmv part of wet shaving.
I dont like the new ones either. I believe they're made in Germany and have been since the mid or late 1980's. The made in England Wilkinson Sword blades before they made the change to Germany were great blades.
I started shaving back in the 1980's with a Gillette Flare Tip Rocket and made in England Wilkinson blades because my father used them. I changed to cartridges shortly after the production changed to Germany and my father changed to Bic disposables. Neither one of us liked them after the production change and I still dont.
To be honest, I didnt like any of the German made blades I've used, Wilkinson, Rockwell, Merkur or Bolzano. I'd use a Bolzano if I had to, but only if I had too.
I started shaving back in the 1980's with a Gillette Flare Tip Rocket and made in England Wilkinson blades because my father used them. I changed to cartridges shortly after the production changed to Germany and my father changed to Bic disposables. Neither one of us liked them after the production change and I still dont.
To be honest, I didnt like any of the German made blades I've used, Wilkinson, Rockwell, Merkur or Bolzano. I'd use a Bolzano if I had to, but only if I had too.
I also don't like the German Wilkinson Sword, but for a different reason: they feel extremely sharp and smooth, but ever so often they surprise me with a nasty cut out of nowhere. It can mostly be my lather or technique, but in any case I don't trust them.
There are some ISANA blades sold from the Rossmann drug store in Germany, which claim to have double Chrome coating. This seems like a nice German blade to me.
There are some ISANA blades sold from the Rossmann drug store in Germany, which claim to have double Chrome coating. This seems like a nice German blade to me.
I found that for me they smoothed out after a couple of shaves. I much prefer the Indian Wilkinson Sword blades but they were the first blades that I used when I started using a DE.
I found them unpredictable.
Interesting! I've used at least two recently with no issues ... Six shaves and toss.
AA
AA
must say I to find them unpredictable as they are a sharp blade but not as smooth as one would like and prone to giving the occasional cut I dont know why they are like this but to me they are .
I found some were good and some weren't.
Interesting!
I have tried many of the Wilkinson options (very confusing). If memory serves (and it may not), my favorites were the old English Wilkies. The current German Wilkinsons are good blades for me, but not top-tier. I recently tried one of the Chinese Wilkies (made for the Indian market) that was very fine. Wish I could remember the others better!!
I have tried many of the Wilkinson options (very confusing). If memory serves (and it may not), my favorites were the old English Wilkies. The current German Wilkinsons are good blades for me, but not top-tier. I recently tried one of the Chinese Wilkies (made for the Indian market) that was very fine. Wish I could remember the others better!!
I actually like the German-made Wilkies very much. I find them sufficiently sharp, very smooth, and long-lasting. It's amazing to me how blades perform differently from person to person and even from razor to razor. When I have a bad experience with a blade, I like to leave them for a few months and then try them again. Once in a while I find I like them more when I revisit them.
so unpredictable then
I tried 3 German WS from a sample pack. The first blade I used was a dud but the other 2 were good. I find there are better blades than these.
I personally haven’t use them but I find techs shave a hell of a lot better with sharper blades ie Dorco primes is on of my favs or even feathers go well in my tech u use a shark ss but the blade isn’t as sharp as a feather and because it so mild of a shave there’s abit of a grab not a bad grab but you know it’s not the right blade for the job
- Thread starter
- #15
Upon reading the replies here I gotta say maybe I should try another one from the pack of them. Maybe I just got a dud blade out of the 5.
- Thread starter
- #16
Oh and I could try them in a more aggressive razor. That might fix the problem.
First of all the canned foam you used doesn't exactly make your shave good, especially paired with a very mild razor and a blade that is known to be not-so-sharp on its first shave.
The German Wilkinson Swords are fine blades. Their advantages are smoothness and longevity because of the many coatings they have. There is a disadvantage though - on shave #1 they aren't so sharp, on shave #2 they become sharper. Even then they are not exactly top sharpness. Because of that it is better to use them in aggressive razors.
There are plenty of other blade brands/models to choose from.
The German Wilkinson Swords are fine blades. Their advantages are smoothness and longevity because of the many coatings they have. There is a disadvantage though - on shave #1 they aren't so sharp, on shave #2 they become sharper. Even then they are not exactly top sharpness. Because of that it is better to use them in aggressive razors.
There are plenty of other blade brands/models to choose from.
I don't use them much, but because they are locally available in a particular grocery store in my town I always keep a tuck around. I find them certainly comfortable and usable, but I tend to do well with a number of blades so that isn't a big surprise. I find them more comfortable in my Slim on higher settings than I do in milder razors.
I prefer the Gillette branded Wilks, but those are totally different animals.
They are good for me without being great if that means anything. They probably live in the bottom third of blades I like to/will use.
I prefer the Gillette branded Wilks, but those are totally different animals.
They are good for me without being great if that means anything. They probably live in the bottom third of blades I like to/will use.
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