I just discovered Wilkinson Sword's website and they list a DE safety razor as still being available. Blademail.co.uk has them listed as well. I imagine they would be in the same vein as Feathers own DE effort. Has anyone tried or can otherwise comment on this?
Wilkinson Sword Safety Razor
- Thread starter jfm
- Start date
Hmmmm.... Plastic or metal ?
If they were still making the "sticky" then that would be cause for celebration, but as for this one? It is worrying that the first conclusion you draw is that it is similiar to the Feather DE (hardly an endorsement is it?) Still this is the same company that made the sticky in the first place, so it might be worth looking into, I'll let you know when mine arrives (I'm weak okay, RAD has me in its grip.)
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With The Grain said:
Yep, that's the one. Don't worry though, I had no illusions as to what I might be getting. Just bored with nothing else to buy at that particular second.
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You got me excited there for a second. Re-releasing the sticky would be a cause for celebration.
My daughter spend a few weeks in England last summer and presented me with 2 of those razors upon her return home. I've never opened them. I'll have to go home and take a close look at them, but I doubt I'll open one up. After all, in a few years I can sell them on ebay as "better than new"!
Randy
Randy
jfm said:
I ordered a Merkur HD as my first DE along with a Shavemac set.
The very next day I went out shopping for some Proraso and happened to run across this Wilkinson Sword Classic. I was anxious to try wetshaving, so I figured it was worth a try for a minimal cost (razor and a pack of blades were about $5 as I recall).
It worked for a few shaves but I haven't used it since the HD arrived. I was able to get through those first few shaves without butchering myself, so I guess that is something.
Compared to the Merkur HD, the Wilkinson Sword is a pretty lousy razor. The head is lightweight plastic, so it tends to stick rather than glide.
If you have decent technique, you could still get a decent shave out of it. The HD was a big upgrade for me-- much easier to learn and a better end result.
The highest compliment I can give the Wilkinson Sword Classic that it is better than nothing. Possibly worth buying if you found yourself on a business trip but had forgotten your razor. For about the same cost as a pack of blades, you get a razor also but it is really just a disposable DE.
Yup, I've held one of these and I can tell you right now that I wouldn't use it.
Now, if I could find one of those Sticky razors on ebay, I'd grab that in a second. They come up from time ti time, but my impression is that they didn't make many of them.
Anyone know the truth about them? Anyone here actually use one regularly? Just curious.
Peace,
Pierre
Now, if I could find one of those Sticky razors on ebay, I'd grab that in a second. They come up from time ti time, but my impression is that they didn't make many of them.
Anyone know the truth about them? Anyone here actually use one regularly? Just curious.
Peace,
Pierre
Buzz said:
I'm new to DE shaving (experienced wet shaver, but not with a DE), and am really just trying it out. I've got one of these, and find it seems to work OK and around the same as using my old Gillette Sensors. I've managed to get less irritation, though, which is impressive for me. I have no illusions that the limitations of this razor are the same for DE shaving as a whole, although if this is a bad shaver, then if I get my hands on a Merkur Classic, which I'm thinking of getting, then I'm going to be one happy bunny. If/when I do get the Merkur, I'll be keeping this thing, though, because it was my first venture into DE shaving, so won't want to throw it away.
Graham
vox_rox said:
It is my daily shaver. Well, one of them is anyway.
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rustyblade said:It is my daily shaver. Well, one of them is anyway.
You smug *******
Absolutely fantastic photos.
- Jim
- Jim
- Thread starter
- #17
That doesn't look like a bad razor at all! Maybe if CVS, Walgreens, and Wal-Mart carried them, DE shaving would make a huge comeback and blades would quadruple in price!
I have some more info and pictures here
The razors are from sometime around the late 50's early 60's. They were sold in England and North America (not sure about the rest of the world). A razor that is almost 50 years old and still looks modern (it won a design award - see link). It is an aggressive razor (look at the blade exposure), but strangely, doesn't feel that aggressive. Note the compact head, angle and curvature of the blade. The optimum shave angle is different from a Gillette and takes a bit of practice to get it right. It is a great shaving razor once you learn the 'sweet spot'. I have many vintage Gillettes and Merkurs (since sold) and have stopped using them all. This is my only razor now, along with my Feather Artist Club.
Wilkinson Sword put their thinking caps on when they designed this razor. I think the only problem was, they didn't sell very well as they probably were quite expensive at the time and Gillette's marketing machine was more powerful (ah! we've seen that before!).
The razors are from sometime around the late 50's early 60's. They were sold in England and North America (not sure about the rest of the world). A razor that is almost 50 years old and still looks modern (it won a design award - see link). It is an aggressive razor (look at the blade exposure), but strangely, doesn't feel that aggressive. Note the compact head, angle and curvature of the blade. The optimum shave angle is different from a Gillette and takes a bit of practice to get it right. It is a great shaving razor once you learn the 'sweet spot'. I have many vintage Gillettes and Merkurs (since sold) and have stopped using them all. This is my only razor now, along with my Feather Artist Club.
Wilkinson Sword put their thinking caps on when they designed this razor. I think the only problem was, they didn't sell very well as they probably were quite expensive at the time and Gillette's marketing machine was more powerful (ah! we've seen that before!).
To comment on the "Wilkinson Classic".. Its a very cheap razor, it was my first DE and I actually liked it quite alot. It was and I say still is a exellent razor to use as a first DE since it makes the change from cartridge really easy.. Its a very forgiving razor, I didnt nick myself with it at all. I say its a good "convert" razor. So cheap you can give it away, and very easy to use - with a ok result...
