I am loving this blade. close to a dozen shaves and it may actually be getting smoother....
Are you still using yours in rotation?
Are you still using yours in rotation?
So. How far would YOU go?
- Thread starter Mick
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- Thread starter
- #542
I've gotten back into my injector razors over the past week but the Wilkie is still sitting out on paper #5 (105 shaves on it). I am sure I will use it again once I get a few injector blades burned through
I noticed that the Wilkie got smoother after a dozen shaves, then leveled out and stayed the same for the next 3 months. Once the PTFE coating wears off and all you have is the ceramic and plating over the stainless the blade is rather nice for a very long time.
I got a hundred of these blades in last week, but I've only shaved with it 3 times so far so hopefully I have a long way to go.
I've been using this one, which I have confirmed is an English Wilkinson. 5 shaves so far, each one as awesome as the last.
I assume you are referring to this and this post (just to not let stand your statement here as an isolated mere assertion).
As a side note, it seems that I have made my first DE shave (15 years ago, while traveling) with a re-branded English Wilkie (not Boots), or at least a blade that was packaged by Wilkinson England. That journey lasted 6 months and I had not the slightest idea how long a DE normally would last, so I just kept using a blade until I found that it got useless. When resuming DE now a few months ago, for some or no reason I didn't touch those old blades and thought that I simply had not been very picky 15 years ago, because... in those 6 months I only had used (and abused) 3 blades! But now it looks like I should revisit the remaining ones!
I'm not meaning to derail the thread with my sidestep/offtopic.
- Thread starter
- #546
Feel free to add anything related to blade longevity to this thread. When I started it I expected to only use the blade for another week at most not the 3 + months that I did use it.
There is nothing wrong with the Wilkie I am using, I just decided to start using some of my other razors (injectors and SE ones) for a while. I'm sure I will pick it up again and maybe take it to 200 shaves
Will do so as soon as I can say something about it. I'll use it within the random rotation of my razors and other blades.
After having followed this thread over six weeks it wouldn't surprise me anymore if you would take this blade with ease to 200 or even more shaves.I'm sure I will pick it up again and maybe take it to 200 shaves
Caveat emptor! Not all UK Wilkies are created equal. There are at least three different kinds (perhaps more). All of them are good, but some are better than others, in my experience. I do not know where the posters on this thread are buying their blades, but I have seen large quantities of UK-made Wilkies going for relatively low prices. Those may or may not be the "top shelf" Wilkies.
This seller has some (BIN) that will allow you to try a small quantity w/o shelling out huge amounts of money:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251323248813?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
He sent me a picture of the back of the package:
It says: "Made in England" and appears to be similar to Turtle's package pictured at the beginning of this thread. The picture he sent me is copied below. Are these the same blade as Turtle's never-say-die blade? I don't know. The card in the package is white (not black, as in Turtle's pic). I do not have any blades from this guy and cannot vouch for anything about him.
In general, the best UK Wilkies that I have tried are triple coated "chromium" blades. Good luck hunting!
- Thread starter
- #549
Caveat emptor! Not all UK Wilkies are created equal. There are at least three different kinds (perhaps more). All of them are good, but some are better than others, in my experience. I do not know where the posters on this thread are buying their blades, but I have seen large quantities of UK-made Wilkies going for relatively low prices. Those may or may not be the "top shelf" Wilkies.
This seller has some (BIN) that will allow you to try a small quantity w/o shelling out huge amounts of money:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251323248813?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
He sent me a picture of the back of the package
I "believe" this is the seller I purchased the first 100 from. It has been quite a while now but the username is the same as I find in my purchase history (item link is long gone but the username and description appears to be the same).
Looks like they are using a different picture in their single card sale than their 20 card d sale of 100 blades.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/251341477605
There is no way to know for certain if they have the same batch of blades or if they have acquired another group.
Despite the new packaging, the seller told me they are Made in England. This is quite a bargain, assuming they are the real deal. At least 3 people on this forum have ordered from this guy with good results, so ...
That's where I got mine. So far I've only used one blade one time, so I have no report. They definately say "Made in England" on the packaging. Is there a way to tell which of the various English Wilkies these may be? As I have no intention of using them for 100 shaves (or even 10, most likely) I'm sure they are fine and represent good value, just curious is there is anyway to tell which English Wilkies I have. Thanks.
That is where mine came from as well, and I am on shave #11 with one and still sharp and smoother than when I opened it. If turtles findings are consistent it should get a little rough soon and then smooth back out. time will tell.
I actually just got my second order of 100 from this seller in the mail today. Both times this is what the actual packages look like which I believe are the same as the ones Turtle posted much earlier in the thread.
ok well I made it to a dozen shaves, then in a fit of rage snapped the blade in half and threw it out (it bit me, a few times) So I guess I will start a new one. Even still... 12 shaves out of a hundred pack of blades... Im good for about 3-1/2 years. (and I have 200 
) So I wont NEED to buy blades until about 2021 
) So I wont NEED to buy blades until about 2021 - Thread starter
- #555
ok well I made it to a dozen shaves, then in a fit of rage snapped the blade in half and threw it out (it bit me, a few times) So I guess I will start a new one. Even still... 12 shaves out of a hundred pack of blades... Im good for about 3-1/2 years. (and I have 200
When I snap blades in half I put them in my Parker shavette
My 100 blade order arrived today. They all look like this (not like the picture in the auction). This is one of the greatest values in wet shaving!
I have a long way to go to catch up to Turtle, but today was shave #8 with my first English Wilkinson and it was still as sharp and smooth as shave #1. 3 passes and a little touchup around my chin and it was BBS with zero irritation.
Well, it has been a while since I used that blade, but I have been lazy about reporting back because... well. it was nothing special at all: four shaves and it was done.
On the other hand I have used some other blades that lasted (respectively still are lasting) much longer than the ones of the same brands usually do: I binned one Feather after 18 shaves and two other ones at 16 shaves each (normally I get 4 to 6 shaves from a Feather), and at the moment a Gillette Silver Blue is at its 17th shave and still performing flawlessly, same with a "black" Indian 7 o'Clock at shave 25. I'm not in a hurry to take a blade to 100 shaves though, but it is nice to know that sometimes this may happen.
Actually, it does not surprise me very much that a a cheap mass produces item may show great quality differences, even if it is the same production batch. But certainly, some blades have the potential to last "forever" while others definitely don't have it.
I'm glad to report that I am now on shave 23 with this Wilkie:
I acquired two tusks with 5 blades each from a source in the UK. They were not from the blisterpacks seen earlier in the thread but seem to come from a 100 pack.
I am following my ordinary shaving routine and the blade reached the 'buttery blade' status only recently, at shave No. 17. This is somewhat later than when I did 56 shaves with a Polsilver SI.
I will be reporting on the progress intermittently in this thread.
I acquired two tusks with 5 blades each from a source in the UK. They were not from the blisterpacks seen earlier in the thread but seem to come from a 100 pack.
I am following my ordinary shaving routine and the blade reached the 'buttery blade' status only recently, at shave No. 17. This is somewhat later than when I did 56 shaves with a Polsilver SI.
I will be reporting on the progress intermittently in this thread.
I wonder if this is like how some manufactures will produce a "lemon" really bad product. Are these blades just the opposite where as the manufacture made the "perfect blade" just by chance? Surely not all Polsilver SI blades will last for 56 shaves.
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