First impressions of the Wilkinson Sword 'The Edger' razor

[JasonJT]

Just opened the package to my new razor. Here are my first impressions:

The razor feels very weighty indeed. It feels slightly heavier than my Sledgehammer. It has a nice polished finish without any dimples or blemishes (complete with a barber-pole type grip) and the butterfly doors open with a very nice positive action without any slop.

The grip feels very substantial and it feels unlikely to slip in your hand during shaving. On closer inspection the fit and finish seems very positive without any rattles or ill-fitting components and it seems built to last. The safety bars seem well-machined and are perfectly aligned at right angles.

A review will follow soon.

Jason.

 

[Slanterino]

This has been out for years. Someone once mentioned that it's a chinese clone.

 

[sternej]

Just opened the package to my new razor. Here are my first impressions:

View attachment 1692823View attachment 1692825View attachment 1692827

The razor feels very weighty indeed. It feels slightly heavier than my Sledgehammer. It has a nice polished finish without any dimples or blemishes (complete with a barber-pole type grip) and the butterfly doors open with a very nice positive action without any slop.

The grip feels very substantial and it feels unlikely to slip in your hand during shaving. On closer inspection the fit and finish seems very positive without any rattles or ill-fitting components and it seems built to last. The safety bars seem well-machined and are perfectly aligned at right angles.

A review will follow soon.

Jason.

Nice overview. It's a 'Non adjustable' razor, correct?

 

[JasonJT]

Nice overview. It's a 'Non adjustable' razor, correct?

Yes. It doesn't have an adjustment feature.

Jason.

 

[JasonJT]

A follow-up remark to my previous post.

I do have an adjustable razor (The Gillette Slim Adjustable). But now I have found my ideal setting I have left it at that and I have no desire to change the setting. So in my opinion once you have found the 'sweet setting' on an adjustable; then it is no longer an adjustable.

Jason.

 

[Ranyart Finn]

I began my DE shaving journey with the Wilkinson Sword Classic, as it used be known, but it's the same as the 'Edger'. It's a good, inexpensive razor, and I like the smoothness of the shave, which is comparable to a Gillette Slim on 3 or 4, and the long handle. I keep it in my rotation. Compare the safety guard of the Wilkinson with the Gillette Slim, and you'll see it's very similar - so feels similar too in use.

With adjustables, I do dial through the settings as I shave. With my Slim, I usually start at 5 or 6 for the first pass, drop a notch for shaving my neck area and XTG pass, then drop again for the final AGT pass. I may dial back up for blade buffing on troublesome areas, but it's rare for my adjustables to remain fixed on a sweet-spot setting, and so they are true adjustables.

 

[BelfastBlade]

I saw these for sale recently and was curious about them also. The idea of a good but inexpensive and readily available razor is always appealing to me. Like years ago you could go to any store and pick up a Gillette Adjustable for less than two dollars and it would work great.

There just doesn't really seem to be many of that kind on the market these days. The only other razor besides this Wilkinson Sword that I can think of is the King C Gillette and while the KCG does get quite good reviews, many people who own it seem to say its just like a Muhle R89.. and I already own an R89 so I don't really see the point. From what I gather it'd be very similar and I like some variation.

I was going to pick one of these Wilkinson Sword up just to try it out but I didn't as I thought maybe I'll not like the shave it gives, then use it once and never again! So I figured I'd check some reviews out first. The head looks quite similar to old TTO Gillette razors like the Super Speed and such.. even the little markings on the bar part.

I will definitely look forward to hear your full review on it.

Thanks!

 

[Alexland]

I finally picked up a discounted The Edger (sounds rude) in a moment of madness. My view is you can totally feel the cheapness. The head is made of very thin light material, nowhere near the quality of a vintage Gillette, the knurling is ineffective and the handle is too long for my taste. Even the twist action feels unrefined. I didn't think it shaves well either.
If going for a popular budget shave brand I much prefer the solid head on the King C Gillette even if the handle could also be improved with better knurling and a flat bottom. It leaves me wondering how these big companies fail at the simple task of producing a nice, affordable, mass market DE razor. Are these products slightly designed to give people a bad experience of DE shaving so they go back to profitable cartridges?

 

[WetShaveVet]

A follow-up remark to my previous post.

I do have an adjustable razor (The Gillette Slim Adjustable). But now I have found my ideal setting I have left it at that and I have no desire to change the setting. So in my opinion once you have found the 'sweet setting' on an adjustable; then it is no longer an adjustable.

Jason.

So....how does it shave?

 

[Theodore]

I finally picked up a discounted The Edger (sounds rude) in a moment of madness. My view is you can totally feel the cheapness. The head is made of very thin light material, nowhere near the quality of a vintage Gillette, the knurling is ineffective and the handle is too long for my taste. Even the twist action feels unrefined. I didn't think it shaves well either.
If going for a popular budget shave brand I much prefer the solid head on the King C Gillette even if the handle could also be improved with better knurling and a flat bottom. It leaves me wondering how these big companies fail at the simple task of producing a nice, affordable, mass market DE razor. Are these products slightly designed to give people a bad experience of DE shaving so they go back to profitable cartridges?

The days of the top-shelf TTO seem like they've been over for a while... I hope they come back one day.