Wilkinson Sword blade confusion

[willie45]

Hi everyone.

I'm new to the safety razor experience, having decided it seemed an awful lot cheaper and offered a more pleasant experience, than the cartridge blades I've been using.

I bought a Merkur 34C razor, a brush and soap and started out.

The choice of blades is pretty daunting. I've been working my way through a sample pack I bought here in the UK.

I've tried Derby which I thought were a bit lacking in sharpness for me ( though I tried it with a good three days growth so maybe not very fair and I might give them another go)

I also tried Gillette 7 o'clock sharp edge, which were pretty good, and the Merkur blade that came with the razor was pretty good for me too.

I'm currently on Wilkinson Sword blades in a black dispenser with white label. I'm not sure but a look around the net seemed to suggest they are "Solingen" blades? I quite like them and so far they seem to suit me as well if not better than any of the others. When I was checking for prices I came across some other WS blades some in a white dispenser with white label and others mysteriously called "Gillette Wilkinson Sword", and I'm a bit confused. I assume these are all different types of blade but names seem to change from place to place. Can anyone point me to a quick resume of the types of Wilkinson Swords available with a brief description?

As I say I like the Wilkinson Swords in the black dispenser so might seek out more of these. Mind you I've still got Crystal ( I believe aka Blue Personna), and Red Personna blades still to try so who knows.

Any advice re the WS would be appreciated.

Thanks

Willie

 

[xillion]

Welcome to B&B.

Check out this page.

I lists the various Wilkinson blades and their country of origin.

Of the current production blades I have only used the German made ones in the
black plastic dispensers. They didn't feel very smooth or sharp enough in the
razors I tried them in.

 

[mblakele]

Welcome to B&B!

The Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades are probably the Indian ones.

 

[savagejoerude]

I bought a pack of the Wilkersons in the black pack. Says "Made in Germany"... These blades are working for me in my Parker 96R. Nice smooth shave. I've used Shark Super Chromes which I like and Feather blades which were kinda rough... So far the Wilkersons are working best for me. I haven't tried them in my Fatboy yet but since they are working for me in the Parker I think that's where I'm going soon....

 

[willie45]

Thanks for the link and the information folks. It's really interesting how different blades work for different people's combinations. The more I read about the different blades available the more I realise how personal choices in this area are.

None of the blades shown in the link seem to be the ones I have though, or if they are, they are in a different packaging. I believe they are German and the dispenser plastic is black whereas the label is white.

Willie

 

[xillion]

Are any of these the blades you have? All of the following blades are made in Germany.

These are the same blade as the first one shown in the link the only difference is the color of the plastic dispenser.


These are the same as the second in the link, but in a black plastic dispenser.


Then there are these which are the same blade in a slightly different plastic dispenser.


And there are there are the Walmart Wilkisons in slide dispenser and black plastic dispener.

 

[Jamisonia]

I picked up a pack of the Wal-Mart ones. I was shocked they carried them. Put one in today, and I got one of the best shaves of my life. Then again it could be because I proaso shaving soap to replace the Williams Mug Soap.

 

[willie45]

Hi xillion. Sorry for the late reply. I'd forgotten I made this post

The blades I have seem to be the second ones you show, so I'm guessing Classic White Label made in Germany. Would that be right?

Thanks for your help and once again apologies for the late reply

Willie

 

[pipskicks]

Welcome to B&B.

Check out this page.

I lists the various Wilkinson blades and their country of origin.

Of the current production blades I have only used the German made ones in the
black plastic dispensers. They didn't feel very smooth or sharp enough in the
razors I tried them in.

Those are some expensive blades!

Oh and I loved the German WS, but then I tried an India made one and I was happy I only had one, it was a pretty bad shave. Weird how they are so easily confused, yet at least for me, they are very different in quality. I would think for just marketing purposes that they would call the Indian one a different name, now I like WS, but I hate WS from India, it gets too damn confusing!!

 

[lowjax]

I enjoy the Wilkinson's that I get at Walmart. They look like they are the ones made in Germany.