Wilkinson blades

[PaulH]

I got a couple of the pillar packs (100s) of UK Wilkinson's fairly cheaply on ebay and ended up PIFing most of them because I found them a bit rough, especially on first use. Corking them helps but I'd only describe them as 'OK' rather than 'good'. FWIW my favourite blades are Nacet and unfortunately these are as rare as hen's teeth

 

[talibeard]

I got a couple of the pillar packs (100s) of UK Wilkinson's fairly cheaply on ebay and ended up PIFing most of them because I found them a bit rough, especially on first use. Corking them helps but I'd only describe them as 'OK' rather than 'good'. FWIW my favourite blades are Nacet and unfortunately these are as rare as hen's teeth

Nicest P&G blades I encountered but indeed a bit hard to get.

 

[Topgumby]

I had my first Wilkinson shave yesterday...white wrapper with the black print and logo. German made?

Not bad, not great. While the end result was good, I worked a little harder than I do with Sharks and found that the blade acted grabby when I went against the grain.

Seems like a decent blade, and I dimly recall that they had really cool TV spots when I was a lad. Still, I wouldn't go out of my way to obtain or avoid them.

 

[Stubblefield]

I had my first Wilkinson shave yesterday...white wrapper with the black print and logo. German made?

Probably German made, although the UK ones also had black on white printing and also came in a plastic dispenser.

 

[TorzJohnson]

I recently got some NOS UK Wilks, and I've only used one so far, but it wasn't all that great. Maybe I just got a bad one to start with, or maybe they've been sitting around too long. I'll have to use a whole pack before making up my mind about them though.

 

[blue_titan]

Most comments that I've read on the German made Wilkinson (outside of this thread) are that they are decent blades, but might not be the first choice. I think what I have is an Indian made Wilkinson given that the packaging and the blade are identical to what's seen in this review posted on shavemyface:

http://www.shavemyface.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30207

I have had only one DE shave and it was with this blade. For what it's worth, given my lack of experience, I found it to snag a little on the first pass, but was pretty smooth for the second and third passes.

 

[Stubblefield]

I recently got some NOS UK Wilks, and I've only used one so far, but it wasn't all that great. Maybe I just got a bad one to start with, or maybe they've been sitting around too long. I'll have to use a whole pack before making up my mind about them though.

"NOS" really covers a lot of territory when discussing Wilkinsons, as they could be from the 70's/80's, 90's, and made for the Canadian/American/European market (in comparison, Schicks and Gillettes of the era are pretty easy to ID).The UK Wilks made in the late 90' are not bad blades, and certainly better than the German Wilks-- but they don't hold a candle to the Light Brigade Wilkinsons of the earlier era. Sigh.

Anyway, it would be interesting to figure out which particular NOS Wilkinson blade you have.

 

[blue_titan]

I can now say that I have had TWO, yes two whole DE shaves, and both with the same Indian made Wilkinson blade I mentioned in my previous post.

For my second shave I found it to be very smooth throughout the entire shave, no snagging at all. I should also say that I waited until I had some beard growth (~2days) before each of my two shaves, which obviously has some impact on the shaving experience.

 

[Gringo]

Glad to hear that.

A friend brought back 100+ Wilks from India.

Hadn't had a chance to try them. Maybe this week.

Are the Wilkinson blades from India the Wilkinson Economies?

 

[Stubblefield]

Are the Wilkinson blades from India the Wilkinson Economies?

I believe the Economies are made in the EU.

 

[strat1117]

I just picked up a couple of 5 packs of the made in Germany "Classic" in the white package for $1.01 ea. at my local drugstore. At that price, I couldn't just leave them there, could I?

I think I'll try one in my Aristocrat tomorrow morning.

 

[blue_titan]

I am curious to know what you think. As I've said, the Indian made ones that I've tried (three DE shaves now) have been pretty smooth. Of course I have nothing else to compare them to. Hopefully if I can visit Pasteur in NYC next week I'll find some other brands to try.

 

[sam2g70]

I got a couple of the pillar packs (100s) of UK Wilkinson's fairly cheaply on ebay and ended up PIFing most of them because I found them a bit rough, especially on first use. Corking them helps but I'd only describe them as 'OK' rather than 'good'. FWIW my favourite blades are Nacet and unfortunately these are as rare as hen's teeth

There are some Nacet blades currently listed on E-bay. Hope this helps you out a bit

 

[e d o]

I saw those Nacet blades and was curious about them. I tried an older purple wrapped Nacet once and didn't much like it but these are platinum coated and UK made. I wonder where and when? I thought blade production stopped in the UK.

 

[Stubblefield]

There are some Nacet blades currently listed on E-bay. Hope this helps you out a bit

Those are the Nacets that are made in Russia.

 

[SHarris]

How can you tell the difference between NOS and the German/Indian made Wilkinsons.

 

[Stubblefield]

How can you tell the difference between NOS and the German/Indian made Wilkinsons.

The Inidan blades are the first pic, the German will look similar to the second and third. Also, the last of the UK wilks came in a plastic dispenser and look similar to the German Wilks in the second picture but say 'made in England' on the back.

There were so many different types of NOS Wilks made spanning a 30-40 year period it would be difficult to post them all.

 

[e d o]

Guys, I've got a few NOS English Wilkinson blade packs where the card is missing from the plastic box. The blades have white wrappers with either one diagonal line or two. These differ from some other NOS blades that I have with complete packaging that were made in England and packaged in the US. I seem to like the blades with diagonal lines a little better. Do these sound like Light Brigades? I don't have any LB's with complete packaging.

 

[D.Irving79]

i LOVE german wilkinsons. my go to blade. i get 9-10 amazing shaves from a blade.

suprisingly, i HATE the LB wilkinsons.i tried one. once. horrible shave.

 

[Stubblefield]

Guys, I've got a few NOS English Wilkinson blade packs where the card is missing from the plastic box. The blades have white wrappers with either one diagonal line or two. These differ from some other NOS blades that I have with complete packaging that were made in England and packaged in the US. I seem to like the blades with diagonal lines a little better. Do these sound like Light Brigades? I don't have any LB's with complete packaging.

The Light Brigades that I have do not have the diagonal lines. Pretty sure that is a UK blade, but don't know much else, as I ran out of em.

I'll put up a pic later of the LB's.