Vintage UK Wilkinson Blades

[todot62]

I was in an antique store the other day and bought a 5 pack of UK Wilkinson Sword blades. These blades were not sealed, but all five were in the white plastic holder with the black cardboard top. I'm including a pic. I'm still on my first blade and I have to say, these things are awesome! I just had my sixth shave in my Merkur Slant, and this blade is not even hinting that it is going to slow down. I may have a dramatic drop in performance after my next shave, but I doubt it. Has anyone else had the same experience with this blade? Do all the UK Wilkinsons have the same smooth longevity, or is it unique to this blade? I know that the UK blades with the white cardboard logo are available, can I expect the same performance from those blades? Any Wilkinson experts out there, your input would be appreciated. I would like to find more, but if I have to spend up to a $1 a blade, I want to make sure I get the right ones.

Thanks,
Tod

 

[man00ver]

English-made Wilkinsons are marvelous, though I haven't done any specific longevity testing with them. I've yet to find one that didn't give me a wonderfully smooth and effective shave, even when the wrapper looked wrinkled and yellowed. I'm currently shaving with a Super Sword-Edge blade that came out of such a wrapper, and I was struck by the clean mirror-like finish on the surface when I took it out.

They made a variant called "The Blade" Chromium Edge, AKA Light Brigade, which is one of the most revered blades in the vintage lane.

Alas, none of today's Wilkinson blades are made in England anymore. They come from Germany, and India (where the brand is owned by P&G/Gillette). Some people like them, but they don't really compare to these oldies.

 

[Oblique Human]

the thread here:

http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/281893-Light-Brigade-Wilkinson

details a member's excellent experience with Wilkinsons, a month of good shaves from a single blade. Although they were of the type man00ver mentioned above but yours should be up to mark as well.

 

[todot62]

Thanks for the info. I am aware of the current offerings from Wilkinson (Germany & India) and am not a fan. I'm also aware of "The Blade", which are way out of my price range. I really want to start looking for UK made Wilkinson blades and start gathering them while maybe still affordable; but I want to make sure that I get the RIGHT blade. I know that they were made for many years in the UK, but are there differences in blades between the one above and later blades? Are there things to look for on the logos to get the blade that I currently have? I'm including a couple more pics. The first one is what I'm using now and feel that I should get at least 10 shaves from. The second pic are blades that I bought off the Bay. For those in the know, should I expect the same results from the ones from the Bay? Besides "The Blade", is there a 2nd place for UK Wilkinson blades, and if so, which ones, or should I expect about the same performance from all UK made Wilkinsons?

Pic (1) is my current Awesome blade. Pic (2) is some that I bought on the Bay.

 

[man00ver]

I think the ones you bought from eBay will be the same as what you're currently using. Leaving "The Blade" aside, from England I've seen only "Sword" and "Super Sword-Edge," both of which are very nice to shave with, and I don't think there's a huge difference between them.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

In addition to the ones mentioned already I have these made in England Sword Masters. I don't see them mentioned very often.

 

[todot62]

Those look very similar to the packaging of my blades in the 2nd pic. It would be nice to have a timeline of Wilkinson blades.

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Same color cardborad but the insert over the blades is different. Here's some more that I take the opportunity to show off whenever I can.

 

[todot62]

Same color cardborad but the insert over the blades is different. Here's some more that I take the opportunity to show off whenever I can.

Are you also finding that you get about twice the number of shaves from all of your UK Wilks? My best blade up to this point has been 7 O'clock yellows or Astras, and I could get about 3-4 shave out of those...so if the rest of my UK Wilks hold true to what I think I will get from this first blade, I'm getting more than double the shaves from them, but it's also a smoother shave, and that's hard to put a price on.

 

[todot62]

I think the ones you bought from eBay will be the same as what you're currently using. Leaving "The Blade" aside, from England I've seen only "Sword" and "Super Sword-Edge," both of which are very nice to shave with, and I don't think there's a huge difference between them.

Cool. Thanks again for the info. Do you know if all UK Wilks are about the same? I'm mainly referring to the UK Wilks that WCS sells for $2.75 a 5-pack. I would be curious if these are equal to a "Vintage" Wilkerson blade.

 

[man00ver]

Cool. Thanks again for the info. Do you know if all UK Wilks are about the same? I'm mainly referring to the UK Wilks that WCS sells for $2.75 a 5-pack. I would be curious if these are equal to a "Vintage" Wilkerson blade.

Well, WCS listed them as NOS (New Old Stock, AKA "vintage"), they are currently shown as "out of stock," and I would bet they're not likely to come back to WCS. Unless John comes across a big box of them at a thrift store, the same way Tom always seems to do! I never ordered them from WCS, and I doubt the reference picture on their site was the actual picture of those blade packs they used to have.

But my opinion is that if they were made in England they were probably very, very good.

 

[oversaturn]

A good friend in France sent me these ones:

Wilkinson Économie - they were made for the French market, and until recently they were somewhat easy to find there. They are getting harder to find now - and guess where they are made?

Nice blades, sharp and smooth

 

[HoosierTrooper]

I've tried quite a few vintage blades and the only ones that come close to the made in England Wilks is the Personna 74.

 

[todot62]

How do the UK Classics fit into the mix?

 

[shamus]

Tod, I had a great shave with one of these classic blades today.

After three passes, using some Tabac soap and a drop of "Kiss my Face" cream in the boar brush, I still have a nice smooth face that is irritation free and comfortable.

I happened upon a nice stash of these blades a couple of years back bought all that were available. These English Wilkes may have been close to the last blades made in England, before the operation was shipped to Germany.

They are individually packed, in the plastic dispenser, with the black cardboard insert. Made in England....has anyone tried these treats?

 

[NewYorkBuck]

Im the guy who posted in the linked thread above about the LB Wilk lasting a month.

I've also used the more recent UK Wilks - the white box with the gold "5" above the logo. They are great blades - IMO probably better than anything else currently produced, but they are not quite the Wilks of old.

 

[todot62]

Im the guy who posted in the linked thread above about the LB Wilk lasting a month.I've also used the more recent UK Wilks - the white box with the gold "5" above the logo. They are great blades - IMO probably better than anything else currently produced, but they are not quite the Wilks of old.

Thanks for the update. So it would appear that any of the UK Wilks work very well, with the "older the better" rule applying and, of coarse, the LBs being the gold standard. It looks like I will get 8-10 shaves out of the ones that I have, which means that, from a financial standpoint, I'm still better off with Astras; however, that is just from a longevity standpoint. You can't really put a price on smoothness and feel. That would be more of a "what's it worth" type of question. At least IMHO.

So far I've spent $27 on 60 blades. That actually puts me ahead of the game. I can find them all day long for $1 a blade, but I think I will just try to acquire what I can over time. Anyone have any they want to give up, let me know.

Tod

 

[Wildalaska]

Thats the blade I grew up with. Would love to have a few again.