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Wilkinson Sword blades

A few days ago, I opened my first tuck of Wilkinson Sword blades. I've been shaving for 3 days now with my first Wilkinson blade and I'm quite impressed. Present but not noise or aggressive. And the best shaving result I can wish for with only a one pass WTG routing.

I wonder how you guys rate these blades, and how comes there's little fuss about them on B&B (as far as I can see)
And then, there seem to be more than one 'Wilkinson Sword' blade, depending on the country of origin. What are the better, best, worse ones? And how can I tell which one I got (it only says 70711010 in small print on the paper insert in the plastic tuck).
 
If it's Wilkinson Sword blades in the plastic tuck, it's German Wilkinson Sword blades.
Very nice blades, my favorites to be honest (tried them, Feather, Astra SP, Shark Chrome, Merkur, Polsilver). Very smooth and nice in mild razors I believe.
 
I’ve tried the ones in the white packaging - the German made ones. They’re decent enough. for me, it was about the same as some others I already have a lot of, so I probably won’t buy any more of them.
 
The German ones inside of the black plastic tuck are actually very good blades. The only issue is that the Teflon coating causes them to tug on my beard and makes the first use unpleasant. Based on a suggestion I read in a forum, I strop them through styrofoam prior to the first use. Apparently, this removes the coating.

Once stripped of the coating, I find them to be sharp, forgiving and very durable, but the issue with the Teflon coating could be specific to my beard type.

I also purchased Gillette WS saloon pack blades made in India. These get great reviews but they are not quite sharp enough for me. They tug a bit. I noticed that these blades are very thin and flexible. The razor that they are paired with might have a significant effect on their performance. I was a little surprised that I got better performance out of the German blades.
 
Wilkinson Sword was originally a brand produced in England. They no longer are produced there. Edgwell Personal Care/Personna owns the trademark rights in some parts of the world and makes the Wilkinson Sword Classic blades in Germany. Gillette owns the trademark rights in other parts of the world and sells Gillette branded Wilkinson Sword blades made in India.

In certain countries, you might find that only one of the brands is available. In the United States, both are available.

From my perspective, the German made blades are slightly better. However, like the Personna lab blue blades made in USA, the blades have a rather thick PTFE coating that makes the blades slightly less sharp on the 1st shave. As the coating wears off, the German WS Classics become super sharp, so much so that they can easily draw blood if your are not accustomed to using them.

The Indian made Gillette Wilkies are a mid-range blade. For those who like the performance of Gillette Platinum and Voskhod blades, this version of Wilkinson Sword might be ideal. Unlike the German made blades, the Indian blades have a thinner coating so the blades ramain fairly consistent in sharpness throughout their useful life. For those who do not require a super sharp blade, this might be a good thing.
 
I have tried about five German Wilkies from various sampler packs. Each blade felt different from each other from first rate top tier to a complete dud! With this inconsistency, I tend to steer clear from these blades, but hey, if they work for you, then use them!
 
Have used the German, Indian and Chinese versions. For me Germans in the black plastic are best by a wide margin and the Chinese edge out the Indian. All are servicable and all get used frequently.
 
If it's Wilkinson Sword blades in the plastic tuck, it's German Wilkinson Sword blades.
Very nice blades, my favorites to be honest (tried them, Feather, Astra SP, Shark Chrome, Merkur, Polsilver). Very smooth and nice in mild razors I believe.

+1! Agreed! German Wilkies are very nice indeed! :thumbup1::thumbup1:
 

lasta

Blade Biter
I found German Wilkies on the sharper end (after the first few swipes), but a bit rough. Similar to German Personnas.

I preferred the Indian varieties. Brazilian even better, but hard to get nowadays.
 
I have tried about five German Wilkies from various sampler packs. Each blade felt different from each other from first rate top tier to a complete dud! With this inconsistency, I tend to steer clear from these blades, but hey, if they work for you, then use them!

If there are slight variations in the thickness of the top coating, I can see where you might perceive this as inconsistency. The Wilkies are far from my favorite blade because I do not like the thick coating.
 
The German Wilkinson Sword blades are consistently top tier for me - sharp and long lasting. The Indian and Chinese Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades are solid performers for me as well but not quite as sharp or long lasting for me as the German Wilkinson Sword blades are.
 
However, like the Personna lab blue blades made in USA, the blades have a rather thick PTFE coating that makes the blades slightly less sharp on the 1st shave. As the coating wears off, the German WS Classics become super sharp, so much so that they can easily draw blood if your are not accustomed to using them.

... the Indian blades have a thinner coating so the blades ramain fairly consistent in sharpness throughout their useful life.

If there are slight variations in the thickness of the top coating, I can see where you might perceive this as inconsistency. The Wilkies are far from my favorite blade because I do not like the thick coating.

Okay, enlighten me:
- what is a PTFE coating
- what's the purpose of it (why do they do it)
- what is there to like about a blade with PTFE coating
- what is there to dislike about this coating
 
Okay, enlighten me:
- what is a PTFE coating
- what's the purpose of it (why do they do it)
- what is there to like about a blade with PTFE coating
- what is there to dislike about this coating

PTFE is the fancy chemical name for Teflon, which is a registered trademark.

The reason it is used on razor blades is the same reason it is used on pans. It is slippery. It provides dry lubrication to the surface of the blade and reduces friction.

It can give you a smoother shave.

Too much PTFE applied to the edge of the blade can reduce its edge sharpness.

In that case, the coating will wear away with use. Usually a shave or two. This is why you will hear that some blades become sharper after the first use. The blade isn't getting any sharper. It's just the coating wearing away from the edge.
 
PTFE is the fancy chemical name for Teflon, which is a registered trademark.

The reason it is used on razor blades is the same reason it is used on pans. It is slippery. It provides dry lubrication to the surface of the blade and reduces friction.

It can give you a smoother shave.

Too much PTFE applied to the edge of the blade can reduce its edge sharpness.

In that case, the coating will wear away with use. Usually a shave or two. This is why you will hear that some blades become sharper after the first use. The blade isn't getting any sharper. It's just the coating wearing away from the edge.
Thank you so very much for this explanation. Also answers my question about blades 'getting sharper' which didn't fit into my understanding of physics.
 
As said the Teflon is to act as a lubricant to help the blade glide during the shave. There will be some pushback of the Teflon during the 1st shave, which typically most prefer the 2nd shave.

The Teflon has no bearing on the sharpness of the blade, that said too much coverage of Teflon applied before the Sintering process can effect blade performance.
 
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