I'd say late 80s - early 90s. Double edge was no longer the most sold thing in the Western world. That's when they deteriorated.That is what I remember. I have never thought that thd German blades were bad, but not the blade that I remembered.
As such, I was a bit disappointed. While they were not bad, I didn't see any thing special about them that set them aside from other modern blades, other than their more expensive $22/100 price.
They didn't seem to cut better, shave smoother or last longer. Though I couldn't find anything specifically about them to have issues with, neither could I find any thing particularly praise worthy about them.
Currently, I have both an Indian and a German blade out in rotation. Both happen to have 5-shaves each on them and the Gillette happens to be loaded in the R41 head for today's shave.
I think the biggest thing I was not aware of in returning to DE shaving was the lack of longetevity in modern blades. As such, I was over shaving the blade and would get razor burn for reasons that were unknown to me at the time.
I am currently in a quest, now that I have a greater variety of blades and have settled in on my basic procedures, to see if every blade will last a full week while still providing a top notch shave.
Currently the Gillette version's are $6/100 and the German ones are $18/100. For 1/3 the price, so far, the ones from India are giving me an excellent shave and an excellent shave for the dollar.
After the beginning of the year, my "inquiry" phase will have been concluded and I plan on a full week's rotation on each blade.
Which does have me bring up another point/question. At what point did the vintage blade longetivity of 2-3 week's go away to be replaced by 4-6 shaves?
Wilkinson Sword Classic vs German vs Chinese vs Indian
- Thread starter Tostig
- Start date
I'd say late 80s - early 90s. Double edge was no longer the most sold thing in the Western world. That's when they deteriorated.
Interesting thread!! YMMV for sure.
For me, the German classic Wilkies are very good blades. I also like the Chinese Wilkies (for the Indian market), which are just a cut below the German option.
Ditto!
Which makes some sense but not complete sense.
I would see the west as a highly profitable market but only a smaller market compared to the billions of shavers around the world, who live in less affluent countries.
Those shavers are out for value, more than in more developed nations. They, more than us, certainly wouldn't want blades that don't last more than a few days?
Don't know about them and us.
I am pretty well aware about those shavers around the world since I live in a poor Eastern European country. The transition to cartridges has been triggered by a few factors. First, the more profit the companies wanted. Second, the carts don't require the level of skill the DE require. Last but not least, DE is out of fashion even in poor countries. Even in Asia shaving with a DE razor means low incomes, low social status and such. I have been talking with an Indian genleman. The moment he sees a DE razor, he says this is considered a symbol of the past times and poorness. They'd rather shave with a disposable cart. It is the same here in my country.
I get better mileage and a more comfortable shave from Astra SPs. I have 130 shaves on the one I'm using now.
I really was not aware of this. Thinking back, it has been 30-years since I have been in Asia. DE blades seemed to be more of the norm then.
Having removed the little guys, big businesses have plowed ahead full steam. It is all about profit today. This has come at the expense of quality and practicality.
I personally hate when companies insert technology into products where it clearly is not needed and does not produce a more quality consumer product.
A clear example of this is modern washing machines. They don't clean as well as the older mechanical designs and the added electronics makes them less reliable and more expensive to service. After dumping two "modern" washing machines, for these reasons, I bought a used "refurbished" machine for $165, much better!
I don't go the DE route as a hobby, I do it for a better shave, with less irritation. I wore a beard on and off for close to forty years, mostly because I didn't like to shave!
My best sounding audio gear uses tubes.
Please understand that it was never my intention to be critical of any country or their peoples social economic status. Things constantly go in and out of style everywhere on the planet.
Still, DE shaving is mostly concentrated to countries with less developed economies.
Astra blades are probably the one blade that I am most on the fence about. I really have no issue with them. I have quanities of both the SP and the SS.
It's kind of like an old pair of brown shoes I have in my closet. I used to wear them all the time and got good use out of them with no complaints. I can take them out on occasion and think they are still good shoes, but today I am wearing others...
Checking my current rotation, I see that I retired the SP after 8-shaves. I have a SS that is still in and has 4-shaves.
I have other blades that have 8-shaves and I haven't pulled those out yet, but I am currently not pushing any blade beyond 8-shaves.
The blades I have "pulled" have maxed out their comfortable quality shaves.
I notice that some members really like the Astra. My problem is that I have a tendency to take them for granted. Though I don't have my sights on them as one of my top favorites. I am trying to revisit them none the less.
There is nothing wrong with getting only a few shaves from a blade. They are inexpensive. The most likely cause for nicks or irritation is using too much pressure. I use a very shallow angle. Others use a steep angle. The quality of the lather can make a difference, too. I suggest trying ARKO soap. 
I only use Wilkinson Swords from Germany, unless I can't get them, then I will use Parker blades. At this time, I can get German Wilkies for $1.20 a tuck from Woodmans. I have a Parker 91R razor, and the German Wilkinson blades really work well for me. Smooth, sharp, no irritation! I have used a blade for at least 12 shaves or more, till it starts pulling, or clean ups become too much. Will be using them for some time to come...
Experience from my Rockwell on plates 4 and 5:
German ones are superb, one of the best blades around.
Indian ones, including the green 7 o'clock and the Gillette 365 which are all from same factory, are terrible in my experience. Rough, not sharp enough, they literally pull out my hair and litter my face with red dots. I got a few tucks to try out and I used them just for the sake of not throwing away my money but now they're on the fast lane to the trash bin.
Haven't tried the Chinese ones and will not.
German ones are superb, one of the best blades around.
Indian ones, including the green 7 o'clock and the Gillette 365 which are all from same factory, are terrible in my experience. Rough, not sharp enough, they literally pull out my hair and litter my face with red dots. I got a few tucks to try out and I used them just for the sake of not throwing away my money but now they're on the fast lane to the trash bin.
Haven't tried the Chinese ones and will not.
Just wanted to say that my shave with a Wilkinson Germany blade pared with a wardonia razor gave a superb 2pass shave near bbs. Lovely blade.
German Wilkies are one of my favorite blades. Work well in all my razors. Never tried the others.
After extensive testing with Chinese, Indian, and German wiki's, I've concluded that the order of quality goes:
1. German
2. China
3. India
I've gotten used to using less pressure with sharper blades, so these are ranked in order by how little pressure is needed to get through the hair. The only problem with the German blades, which is even worse for the other wiki's, is that it will still tug if I don't shower beforehand. If I do shower, they are arguably my favorite blade. Might have to get some Nacets for when I don't prep, but I think I would still get some tugging.
1. German
2. China
3. India
I've gotten used to using less pressure with sharper blades, so these are ranked in order by how little pressure is needed to get through the hair. The only problem with the German blades, which is even worse for the other wiki's, is that it will still tug if I don't shower beforehand. If I do shower, they are arguably my favorite blade. Might have to get some Nacets for when I don't prep, but I think I would still get some tugging.
For me the Indian ones are sharp and smooth. They typically last about 5 shaves
I've only tried the Gillette Wilkinson blades I think I have a black tuck of the German ones somewhere hm ut I can't recall how I liked them. But since I haven't used them in so long I assume I didn't like them but I'm revisiting all my old blades and finding since my technique is better I'm liking ones I never used to so I'll push them up on the list to retry.
Are they the ones from India?
I find them to give an excellent shave. Quite an accomplishment for a 6-cent blade. Considering that the German version were 3x as much. Not that $21 is a great stretch...
I never thought there was anything wrong with the German version but relatively speaking, I didn't see the improvements over the other $10 (average) DE blades that justified twice the price. That was before I acquired the ones from India.
This site sells German, Indian and Chinese blades.
I buy my blades on this site, it is very serious and trustable
I buy my blades on this site, it is very serious and trustable
I am disappointed in the German Wilkinson Sword blades due to their inconsistent shaving performance. I have tried 5 blades from various sample packs and each of the 5 blades felt different from each other. They ranged from a dud to a fantastic blade. So with the Wilkinson Sword blades, I never know which blade will show up!
I’m frustrated with myself for even giving Wilkinson Sword Blacks a 2nd, much less 3rd chance. I’ve tried two tucks, bought at different times from different sources, 3 different blades so it isn’t just a sample of one, and in shaves 1-3 on three different blades I bled severely. I like Gillette plats, GSB, Nacets and recently the German blue coated Personnas. I don’t prefer, but can shave with a Bic or a feather in any of my razor Without issue. These seem smooth, then gouge deep or open a trail of weepers with no warning. I’ve ended up with bad bleeds, weepers, birdshot neck and severe irritation every time I have touched “Wilkies” Whether that was in a vintage Gillette or a RR Gamechanger 84 Sb. YMMV is the rule of the shaving universe, I guess. I seem to fall in line with the average experience on a lot of reviews but the overwhelmingly positive reviews for the Wilkinson Sword black blades leave me 100% dumbfounded. These are just as bad (for me) as the time I used a utility blade out of the garage in my grandfather Gem when I was 16. The remaining blades are going in the trash.
I would try less pressure with any of the blades you listed. Technique will trump over most blades. But, for some it may never happen. Some blades are just not meant to be used by some folks. That's why there are so many blades on the market. I had the same experience with Vokshod. While they are "sharp", just felt like they were scraping my face, with weepers. I finally used the "corking" method on the blades to take the rough edges off of them. They were a lot more comfortable after that. Just not for me. I enjoy my daily shaves with the German Wilkies, as they are close, smooth, never any irritation. Hope you find your comfort zone...
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