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Wilkinson Sword Classic vs German vs Chinese vs Indian

I'm on the fence about ordering some Indian or Chinese to try but 100 is a lot if I don't end up liking them. I agree Light Brigades are the best of the best.
 
I'm on the fence about ordering some Indian or Chinese to try but 100 is a lot if I don't end up liking them. I agree Light Brigades are the best of the best.

They come in packs of 50. You gotta remember, in India the list price for a 50-blade saloon pack is less than US$2. It costs about another dollar to mail them to the US (last time I had 50 blades delivered from India, the postage cost was INR 78. There are about 70 rupees to the dollar.) So you can order a 50; they're under $5 on eBay. They'll just wrap paper around it and mail it to you. If you want a smaller pack then they're spending time disassembling boxes and wrapping, so it's not really worth it to anyone to send fewer than that. If you don't like them, just give them away or throw them out.
 
They come in packs of 50. You gotta remember, in India the list price for a 50-blade saloon pack is less than US$2. It costs about another dollar to mail them to the US (last time I had 50 blades delivered from India, the postage cost was INR 78. There are about 70 rupees to the dollar.) So you can order a 50; they're under $5 on eBay. They'll just wrap paper around it and mail it to you. If you want a smaller pack then they're spending time disassembling boxes and wrapping, so it's not really worth it to anyone to send fewer than that. If you don't like them, just give them away or throw them out.
Did not know that, just assumed like most other brands per 100. I'll look into it.
 
Those made in England Wilkinson Sword blades were superb. I got some in the 90s. Fantastic shaving and they were longer lasting than any of the modern blades. The German ones can't hold a candle to them
 
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That aside, it's been my experience that the Gillette blades are more consistent from shave to shave than the German blades, but they are consistently duller and don't last as long. The low price doesn't make up for that for me.

That is my experience with the Gillette WS blades as well. They do not change much from the 1st shave to the 2nd or 3rd whereas the German WS blades become sharper. Since I like sharper blades for my tough beard, the German blades work better for me in most razors. For my aggressive Muhle R41, a slightly less sharp blade is fine.
 
I've used W.S.. since the early '60 , stopped buying them till I used up the ones I had (white dispenser) and bought some in the black dispenser and they are not as sharp as I they once were. Crystal and AstraSP are far much better. Who makes the ones in black and how do I tell the difference between the 4. Maybe Ill make life easier and stay with the Astra' or Crystal's.
 
Thanks Bogeyman, Hopefully not the Personna Platinum too

The Israel plant is closing and all orders for the blades made there will be filled out of the plant in Solingen, Germany. The only part we don't know is whether the blades made in Germany will be different from the ones made in Israel. Edgewell already makes blades in Solingen.
 
The Israel plant is closing and all orders for the blades made there will be filled out of the plant in Solingen, Germany. The only part we don't know is whether the blades made in Germany will be different from the ones made in Israel. Edgewell already makes blades in Solingen.

Thanks for the update!

Do you know if they are moving the machinery to Solingen?
 
Thanks for the update!

Do you know if they are moving the machinery to Solingen?

Unless some insider comes on here and tells us, we won't know until blades start rolling out into the stores. :) All we know is what has been publicly announced.
 
Recently on a whim I ordered a single WS Economie blade that is purportedly made in Germany. I merely tossed it into the basket on the order just out of curiosity as I had tried one a few years back and I remember it as rough. Well, I used this new one today in a Gillette postwar Tech with P&B Spitfire soap and the resultant shave was simply without peer!! :yikes: Now I don't know if it was a fluke or what. Perhaps an experimental blade slipped out. ;) Regardless, I am talking top tier Gillette type shave here, i.e., no resistance and perfect glide. Color me impressed, or was it the soap perhaps............:whistling:
 
Recently on a whim I ordered a single WS Economie blade that is purportedly made in Germany. I merely tossed it into the basket on the order just out of curiosity as I had tried one a few years back and I remember it as rough. Well, I used this new one today in a Gillette postwar Tech with P&B Spitfire soap and the resultant shave was simply without peer!! :yikes: Now I don't know if it was a fluke or what. Perhaps an experimental blade slipped out. ;) Regardless, I am talking top tier Gillette type shave here, i.e., no resistance and perfect glide. Color me impressed, or was it the soap perhaps............:whistling:

Apparently they're sold as barber-only blades in 125 packs (25x5) in Italy and France, which I guess would explain the languages on the packaging. I can't really tell but it appears they might have once been made in Italy and now in Germany? I don't know why they'd be any worse than the German blades packed for sale to consumers in NA/Eur/Aus...
 
Apparently they're sold as barber-only blades in 125 packs (25x5) in Italy and France, which I guess would explain the languages on the packaging. I can't really tell but it appears they might have once been made in Italy and now in Germany? I don't know why they'd be any worse than the German blades packed for sale to consumers in NA/Eur/Aus...
I can confirm that they're for sale as individual tucks in at least one supermarket in France (at least they were in July of last year). Regrettably I didn't buy any...
 
Apparently they're sold as barber-only blades in 125 packs (25x5) in Italy and France, which I guess would explain the languages on the packaging. I can't really tell but it appears they might have once been made in Italy and now in Germany? I don't know why they'd be any worse than the German blades packed for sale to consumers in NA/Eur/Aus...

I think they (Economie) were first made in England and then perhaps later in France(?). Regardless, the one I bought is made in Germany and shaved better than any German Wilkie I have ever used before. Interesting.
 
We should start a "Go Fund Me" page to charter a Brazilian cargo ship chock full. Maybe I could become a real "Blade Runner"!!! :D

I gather from your avatar change you must have received a few tucks of Brazilian WS blades last week. Did you try them yet? I have four shaves in two of them (accidentally damaged the first one) and find they're probably the best of all the different current production blades carrying the WS name, but I don't think they're so much better than PPI blades that I'm sad I can't get more. Between these and the three dozen Brazil GPPs I still have, I think I'm not looking to buy more from there.
 
I gather from your avatar change you must have received a few tucks of Brazilian WS blades last week. Did you try them yet? I have four shaves in two of them (accidentally damaged the first one) and find they're probably the best of all the different current production blades carrying the WS name, but I don't think they're so much better than PPI blades that I'm sad I can't get more...

Yes a buddy there sent me some, but I had used a three tuck blade or two in the past and I agree with your conclusion.

As a note, I am wondering if current German WS production has changed for the better. I wonder this as I compared a WS Economie of recent production against one at least five years or so old and the newer blade is smoother.
 
I find the Gillette Wilkinson Swords are almost indistinguishable from an Astra SP in all characteristics except the print on the blades.
 
Those made in England Wilkinson Sword blades were superb. I got some in the 90s. Fantastic shaving and they were longer lasting than any of the modern blades. The German ones can't hold a candle to them
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?
 
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