So i'm back with another monthly review. As before, each blade will be reviewed based on a 2 pass (plus touch up) shave using a Van Der Hagen razor, Henry Cavendish shave soap and a generic Fento badger brush. I run through 2 of each blade and use each 4 times; for a total of 8 shaves per brand. I'll be grading based on sharpness, smoothness, longevity and consistency. Price will be a factor but only of it's very cheap or expensive since most DE blades are pretty cheap comparatively.
For this month’s review, I’m looking at the Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India) blades. Now despite the name, these blades are apparently no longer actually produced in India. From what i could find, they’re now manufactured in China and shipped to India. They continue to retain the “India” part of the name because they remain part of Gillette India LTD even though production was outsourced to China.
They are available through the Gillette India website which gives scant information on them other than that they’re “triple coated” (with what?) and they “maintain their edge even longer than stainless steel blades.” Amazon lists the coating as PTFE which I assume is correct. I’m not a metallurgist so i’m not going to speculate what the blades are made out of, but it isn’t your typical “stainless” steel. I know enough to understand that “stainless” and “carbon” are just generic terms to differentiate the general class of metals, so i feel safe saying this most likely falls into the “carbon” steel variety. Anyone with a better knowledge of blade compisition can feel free to chime in.
With all that out of the way, the first thing i noticed is that these blades are SHARP. I was coming off using a ZAE blade (see my prior review) which was exceedingly dull; so switching over to these was a night and day difference. Unfortunately the result was the worst razor burn i’ve ever experienced. It made me understand what the term actually means because it truly felt like a sunburn instead of just irritation. Very unpleasant hahaha. But don’t take that entirely as a knock on these blades. The more shaves i had, the more accustomed i became and the better the result.
I was getting pretty consistant results after the 3rd shave and managed to get clean, close shaves every time. The sharpness of the blade really demanded a lot of attention to angle, pressure and grain so as a relative newbie to DE, it was a great learning experience.
With that said, most shaves produced one or two weepers around the most sensitive areas of my neck regardless of how careful i was. And unlike other blades i’ve tried both before and after the Gillette Wilkinson Sword, i was unable to do more than 2 passes on my neck without irritation. This prevented me from doing the 3rd touch up pass i usually do on my neck if i wanted to stay irritation free. I usually did it anyway and lived with it just to get a closer shave, but for me these blades were just a tad too sharp and lacking in smoothness.
Longevity on the Gillette Wilkinson Sword was excellent. To me there was no noticable dulling between shave 1 and shave 4, and i’m confident these blades could be used for quite awhile longer before they needed to be thrown away.
Consistancy was excellent as well. I didn’t notice any difference in sharpness or longevity between the two blades i used. Despite being made in china, it seems as if the manufacturing process is very solid. Price point is also extremely good at a mere $8.98 for 100 on amazon.
Overall, i’d give these blades a 7 out of 10. They were very sharp, durable and consistent; but they had just a little too much harshness for me to give them top marks. These would be great for someone who enjoys a sharp blade and wants something that is inexpensive and consistant. Those with sensitive skin might have some issues getting a BBS shave without irritation, but not enough to warrant staying away. I’d strongly recommmed trying these if you haven’t already.
Up next: Wilkinson Sword (German). I’ll probably post the next review fairly quickly as my forray into daily shaving has run me through more blades than normal. Until next time, happy shaving!
For this month’s review, I’m looking at the Gillette Wilkinson Sword (India) blades. Now despite the name, these blades are apparently no longer actually produced in India. From what i could find, they’re now manufactured in China and shipped to India. They continue to retain the “India” part of the name because they remain part of Gillette India LTD even though production was outsourced to China.
They are available through the Gillette India website which gives scant information on them other than that they’re “triple coated” (with what?) and they “maintain their edge even longer than stainless steel blades.” Amazon lists the coating as PTFE which I assume is correct. I’m not a metallurgist so i’m not going to speculate what the blades are made out of, but it isn’t your typical “stainless” steel. I know enough to understand that “stainless” and “carbon” are just generic terms to differentiate the general class of metals, so i feel safe saying this most likely falls into the “carbon” steel variety. Anyone with a better knowledge of blade compisition can feel free to chime in.
With all that out of the way, the first thing i noticed is that these blades are SHARP. I was coming off using a ZAE blade (see my prior review) which was exceedingly dull; so switching over to these was a night and day difference. Unfortunately the result was the worst razor burn i’ve ever experienced. It made me understand what the term actually means because it truly felt like a sunburn instead of just irritation. Very unpleasant hahaha. But don’t take that entirely as a knock on these blades. The more shaves i had, the more accustomed i became and the better the result.
I was getting pretty consistant results after the 3rd shave and managed to get clean, close shaves every time. The sharpness of the blade really demanded a lot of attention to angle, pressure and grain so as a relative newbie to DE, it was a great learning experience.
With that said, most shaves produced one or two weepers around the most sensitive areas of my neck regardless of how careful i was. And unlike other blades i’ve tried both before and after the Gillette Wilkinson Sword, i was unable to do more than 2 passes on my neck without irritation. This prevented me from doing the 3rd touch up pass i usually do on my neck if i wanted to stay irritation free. I usually did it anyway and lived with it just to get a closer shave, but for me these blades were just a tad too sharp and lacking in smoothness.
Longevity on the Gillette Wilkinson Sword was excellent. To me there was no noticable dulling between shave 1 and shave 4, and i’m confident these blades could be used for quite awhile longer before they needed to be thrown away.
Consistancy was excellent as well. I didn’t notice any difference in sharpness or longevity between the two blades i used. Despite being made in china, it seems as if the manufacturing process is very solid. Price point is also extremely good at a mere $8.98 for 100 on amazon.
Overall, i’d give these blades a 7 out of 10. They were very sharp, durable and consistent; but they had just a little too much harshness for me to give them top marks. These would be great for someone who enjoys a sharp blade and wants something that is inexpensive and consistant. Those with sensitive skin might have some issues getting a BBS shave without irritation, but not enough to warrant staying away. I’d strongly recommmed trying these if you haven’t already.
Up next: Wilkinson Sword (German). I’ll probably post the next review fairly quickly as my forray into daily shaving has run me through more blades than normal. Until next time, happy shaving!
