The circa 2010 Wilkinson Sword Twin Blade disposables from Walmart were also awesome. I think the blades were from Germany. Cheap too, $1 for 6! Then the were taken off the market and that magic is no longer available.
Wilkinson Sword blades made in Germany: what do you think?
- Thread starter lak611
- Start date
I started shaving about 15-20 years ago and tried many cartridge and disposable razors with no luck. They caused me major irritation and ingrown hairs. I finally tried a Schick Hydro 5 that was given to me from somewhere I ordered and it was pure magic for the next 10+ years. I could usually get at least 2-3 weeks of daily shaves from them and they were very smooth and close shaving.
About 5+ years ago I noticed my new Hydro 5s started pulling and causing irritation and new blades felt worse then my old well used blades. After some research and looking at the back of the packaging I found out the old Hydro 3-5s were “Produced by Wilkinson Sword” in Germany. The new ones said they were “made in USA by Edgewell”. That’s when I finally switched to safety razors.
Those old Hydro 5s shaved as well as any safety razor I’ve ever used if not better but it wasn’t as much fun. I wish I still had some for when I am in a hurry. I have seen the foreign market still has a Wilkinson Sword hydro brand but since Wilkinson changed their DE blades a few years ago I doubt they’d be as good as the old Schick ones from 10 years ago. I still may give them a try someday.
Interesting that I wasn’t the only one having such an experience. It wasn’t my imagination! Those 6 for $1 packs were just great!
I never tried the cheap disposables from them (that I can remember) but I imagine the blades in both were quite similar since they were both made by Wilkinson in Germany. Another thing I really liked on those Hydros was the gel pad that kept things gliding easily.
I used to be able to shave in the shower without shaving cream if I wanted and still not get irritation. I’ve never even been able to find another cartridge to give me irritation free shaves even with good cream. Maybe the gel built into them helped when I didn’t use cream.
They were truly great shavers for me. But even if they were still around today I’ve grown to love the safety razor and find it’s a lot of fun trying all the new blades/razor combinations out. And for price it’s hard to beat a safety razor if you don’t go down the razor hole like most of us forum members and buy lots of gear that’s not necessary in pursuit of the best shaves.
The German made Wilkinson Sword are my number one blade now. I tried the Wilkinson blade from India and they were just a mediocre blade. From the same factory in India I'm using the Gillette 7 'o Clock Permasharp blade and they were my number one blade until my purchase of another 200 of them last year and they changed something because the packaging is different and I am running into a number of dud blades, two on todays shave. I am about to toss them out and order Wilkinson Sword German made blades.
Coming back to this: I tried a couple more single German Wilkinson Sword blades from RBC. The packaging was perfect as usual; never received anything questionable from them. And yeah...they're just not as sharp as they used to be. Presumably they are current production and my memory is sharper than the blade.
The first pass on older German Wilkies was always a little tuggy, but they quickly smoothed out into an upper-sharp blade with long life. The more recent ones look the same, but they start off slightly more dull and fail to improve.
Wilkinson Swords were a great multi-day Wizamet substitute whenever supply +/- politics intervened, but I've been changing out Silver Stars or 7oclock Permasharps every 1-2 days instead and am really enjoying the results.
Kind of a bummer @skibik to hear about a possible 7oclock Permasharp change - they were/may still be my next 100pack. For Science, of course.
The first pass on older German Wilkies was always a little tuggy, but they quickly smoothed out into an upper-sharp blade with long life. The more recent ones look the same, but they start off slightly more dull and fail to improve.
Wilkinson Swords were a great multi-day Wizamet substitute whenever supply +/- politics intervened, but I've been changing out Silver Stars or 7oclock Permasharps every 1-2 days instead and am really enjoying the results.
Kind of a bummer @skibik to hear about a possible 7oclock Permasharp change - they were/may still be my next 100pack. For Science, of course.
The blades you got from RBC to order individual blades to try or full packs? Just wondering if you got the correct Wilkinson Sword blade. The ones from India aren't that great, they are not as sharp as the German made blades.
I don't know what the deal is with the 7 o'clock Permasharp blade. I had thought maybe it was me going 3 days without shaving but that isn't it because I opened a new box, after tossing out the remainder from the last box, and have a great shave on 3 days growth. The second shave was good but could tell it had dulled and tossed it after that shave. They don't seem to last very long now, 2-3 shaves versus on the old Permasharp blade I was getting 5-6. I get that maybe my whiskers have gotten tough in my old age but not that bad. I have some old Permasharp blades left and these Wilkinson Sword blades now. Not sure if I will even bother with these newer Permasharp blades.
These were definitely German Wilkinson Swords. Individual blades, yes, but it is a distinct wrapper and blade that I know well. I added the individual blades to a 100 pack order of different blades after a tuck made me think I had lost my mojo with them a few months prior. I also had the same experience with German Wilkinsons in an ebay sampler pack. So, 2 sources (one of which is high volume) over 3 time points, along with other comments in this thread. There is always the possibility that the problem still does not lie with the blades (humans are what they are and B&B Threads don't make everything Fact).
I have only recently been using the 7oclock Permasharps but also only get a couple shaves per blade. Probably don't know what I'm missing vs older stock. You are comparing 7oclock Permasharp vs. 7 oclock Permasharp...right? There is Russian Perma-sharp (which looks very different), and Russian 7oclock Super Stainless which is also green like the Indian 7oclock Permasharp. The Russian Super Stainless are not as sharp but last longer.
As an aside, the currently-very-expensive 7 oclock Platinums do not last much longer and I like the 7 oclock Permasharps better!
I have only recently been using the 7oclock Permasharps but also only get a couple shaves per blade. Probably don't know what I'm missing vs older stock. You are comparing 7oclock Permasharp vs. 7 oclock Permasharp...right? There is Russian Perma-sharp (which looks very different), and Russian 7oclock Super Stainless which is also green like the Indian 7oclock Permasharp. The Russian Super Stainless are not as sharp but last longer.
As an aside, the currently-very-expensive 7 oclock Platinums do not last much longer and I like the 7 oclock Permasharps better!
There have been some Wilkinson Sword blades I can't say I have tried, Amazon had some in a yellow blister pack, some in a blue blister packer, and now some in a black and silver box, none of which I have tried. I tried the Indian Wilkinson and not impressed with those one bit.
Yes, my comparison is Gillette 7 o'clock Permasharp Stainless from India. I made sure and messaged the seller that I was actually getting the Permasharp blades and not the Super Stainless in the green box. I have saw some sellers mixing those two up. I tried the SS blades and didn't like them. I have also tried the Perma-Sharp blade from Russia and another not so good blade. Here is a pic from my other post about these blades and the difference in packaging. The ones on the left are the good blades and the ones on the right are the newer style single wrapped blade. I just think the quality isn't as good. I am finding good blades and then some I can't even get a stroke of the razor and have to change or grab my Injector to get on with the shave. Here is a link to my other thread about these, Question to those who use Gillette 7o'clock Permasharp Stainless blades. - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/question-to-those-who-use-gillette-7oclock-permasharp-stainless-blades.642747/
Re: India permasharp.... there are these with plain wrappers
I've bought 100 pack of the India Wilkies (well 110 pack - 10+1 tucks) and they are very sharp - they don't last as many shaves as the German Wilkies but they are great for 2-3 shaves. I suspect the batch I have isn't the same as the batch you didn't like. BTW The India Wilkies are Gillette and the German Wilkies are not.
I've bought 100 pack of the India Wilkies (well 110 pack - 10+1 tucks) and they are very sharp - they don't last as many shaves as the German Wilkies but they are great for 2-3 shaves. I suspect the batch I have isn't the same as the batch you didn't like. BTW The India Wilkies are Gillette and the German Wilkies are not.
Last edited:
Do you have the box of those plain wrapped Permasharp blades? Just curious what year they were packaged. That kind of looks like the inner wrapper of the older ones I have when they were double wrapped dated 2015 and 2016, the ones on the left in the darker green outer wrapper. I guess it wouldn't surprise me if they were newer so they save money on ink so to make a larger profit. The German made Wilkinson Sword blades are the ones I like. I wanted to like the India made ones but they just didn't seem as sharp.
Interesting read. My indian 7oclock permasharps were the newer, green, single wrapper. No idea on dates since the blades are gone. I need to start saving the boxes. Purchased from Razor Blades Club within the last few months. Did not use them consecutively or always in the same razor, so I could have missed mild variation. Definitely a great 2 shave blade for me (maybe 3-4 if I REALLY wanted to stretch a 12cent blade), which is pretty typical...no way I was getting most of a week like with older German Wilkinsons or wizamet.
Can you interpret? does that mean Dec 2017? Not double wrapped. These are from the Lucky 7 comparison PIF going on right now in this blade forum. Others in the thread like these - they are pretty good for me but not as sharp nor as smooth (for me) as one of the other blades we're testing in that thread.
If they are like GSB or Nacet or even Astra wrappers I believe they are plain wrapper from 2017-2019ish. Then started being marked with logos around 2020-2021 so I bet the PermaSharps are the same.
I had my first shave with a 09/21 single wrapper with logo the other day and it was a great blade. Much sharper then current German Wilkies in my opinion. Maybe not compared to old ones but it’s been awhile since I’ve used those. It’s also possible the newer 2020+ ones are sharper then the older 2017ish ones since it seems like my newer Astras are sharper on average but I haven’t experienced the same with Nacet or GSB over the years.
I had my first shave with a 09/21 single wrapper with logo the other day and it was a great blade. Much sharper then current German Wilkies in my opinion. Maybe not compared to old ones but it’s been awhile since I’ve used those. It’s also possible the newer 2020+ ones are sharper then the older 2017ish ones since it seems like my newer Astras are sharper on average but I haven’t experienced the same with Nacet or GSB over the years.
Yes, that is the date they were packaged on, they were likely made just prior to that date. If you look at my image above in post 49 the ones I have are dated 7/15 and also have some date 2016. Those have the darker green outer wrapper, the blade itself is wrapped in a plain white inner wrapper where the blade is waxed to the that inner wrapper. The ones on the right are from January 2021 and are just single wrapped but with printing. If yours are single wrapped in plain white paper than maybe they just got rid of the outer wrapper sometime in 2017 and after that added the lighter green printing to it that is in my phone on the right. I had a good shave today with ones from 2021 but was starting to pull by the time I got done with the first pass, it was a fresh blade, I did managed to complete the shave but it went into the blade bank upon finishing.
I agree they are good but not the greatest anymore. I got 5-6 great shave from the old Permasharp blades but not with these newer ones. Since I am running into packages with dud blades and since they don't last as long, either the machinery is worn out or quality control went out the door. I guess I am asking a lot from a $.09 blade but it shouldn't be too much to ask to get beyond the first stroke of the razor before one has swap blades or razors.
I put in German Wilkinson from my latest order and tried it. Same razor and same soap as last shave only difference was that last shave was a new Permasharp that was starting to pull by the time the first pass was done. The results, way better than the last shave.
If these blades have changed a few years back I can't tell but I guess we will see if I can get at least 4 or 5 shaves from this blade. I am not sure but at one time I thought these blades were double wrapped but maybe I am mistaken since I haven't used them in such a long time. The other pack I have from about 2 years ago are single wrapped also.
If these blades have changed a few years back I can't tell but I guess we will see if I can get at least 4 or 5 shaves from this blade. I am not sure but at one time I thought these blades were double wrapped but maybe I am mistaken since I haven't used them in such a long time. The other pack I have from about 2 years ago are single wrapped also.
I'm not a fan of these blades due to I have found them to be inconsistent. One blade can be great and another a dud.
Similar threads
- Article
