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Wilkinson blades

I am very new to de shaving and have only just begun to accumulate my new tools. I have been researching blade quality and reviews and I am curious about Wilkinson blades in particular.

I understand that their blades manufactured in England are considered to be superior to those made in Germany. Would anyone have any experience with the blades currently being offered at the Wilkinson company website and labeled as the "classic". The link is here (photo included below):
http://www.needblades.co.uk/classic-double-edge-5-blade-pack-27-p.asp
 
IIRC, none of the Wilkies are made in UK any more. Everything is German (and very good, btw). If you can get UK-made, it's NOS and they do show up on ebay and around here from time to time.

Also, fwiw, I've found the black label ones (as seen above) to be inferior (and much rougher) as compared to the white labels. But, that's a YMMV thing.
 
I gave up on Wilkinson when the old UK stock ran out, which took about two years after they stopped making them. Us DE shavers really are a minority. Matter of fact, the quest to find replacements is what got me to B&B.

You can get better blades cheaper, so, outside of settling your curiosity, why bother?
 
Wilkinson were the first blades I tried (while I waited for red personnas).
They're good razors, I find them even better than Derbys.

You can find them on boots for like 1.5 pound the pkg of 10
 
Thank you for your comments.

The blades I currently have are Gillette Super Stainless Super Inoxydable which were given to me with a 1970's super slim twist. The reviews of those blades so bad I am afraid to use them. I think a local drug store may carry the above mentioned Wilkinson and I wanted to get some opinions before buying.

As mentioned in a previous post, given the size of the de market being what it is, it seems pretty hard to find good products in local shops.
 

luvmysuper

My elbows leak
Staff member
I have gotten consistently good shaves with the less expensive blades such as the Wilkinson white at Bed, Bath & Beyond and with the Personnas at Walmart.

YMMV and you may hate them.
 
Wilkinson stopped making blades at the UK plant in 1998 or so (I believe), but you can still find them occasionally. I have some of the later made UK blades and they are pretty decent. There is a seller on eBay that sells them in boxes of 60 for a pretty decent price, so if you have an interest in them pick some up. I picked up a few boxes and have not been disappointed. They don't seem to last as long as the older Wilks but they are still pretty smooth.

The Indian made Wilks are not bad either.
 
I like the German Wilks, nice blades in my Progress..... Although it really is a YMMV situation..... Anyways try Boots for those blades or Wilko, they have them at a good price.... :D

Tom
 
I suppose I can also look around NYC next time I visit? Pasteur, New London, Cambridge...? Probably not going to be priced as well as buying online.

Thanks again for your comments.
 
When you can lay your hands on NOS UK Wilkinsons; buy whatever you can get! For me the german white label blades vary too much in quality from blade to blade and aren't even close in performance to the old UK blades.
Servicable but a lot of cheaper blades do a far better job.

YMMV as always..
 
The German Wilks are decent for me, and I can get them at BB&B.

The NOS Wilks I really stocked up on, and unfortunately I dont know a source that still sells them.

I have finally stumbled across a few LB Wilks, and even more unfortunate these are scarcer than the NOS UK Wilks......
 
The Wilks at a local drugstore are actually quite good. I can't remember the packaging, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them to most guys:001_smile
 
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