Wilk Classic - cheapest DE ever?

[Furex]

Some days ago I was shopping in a mall, and while checking DE blades, I spotted the Wilkinson "Classic" razor (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/index.php?id=1308) for 3.93 €, 5 blades included (which are worth about 1.9 €)

At a quick glance it looked all plastic, anyway I thought that maybe someone looking for a cheap way to try wetshaving out could be interested :smile:

[fritz]

Some days ago I was shopping in a mall, and while checking DE blades, I spotted the Wilkinson "Classic" razor (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/index.php?id=1308) for 3.93 €, 5 blades included (which are worth about 1.9 €)

At a quick glance it looked all plastic, anyway I thought that maybe someone looking for a cheap way to try wetshaving out could be interested :smile:
That looks incredibly similar to this one (http://www.razorandbrush.com/Delrin.html), made by Treet in Pakistan. There seems to be a metal rod inside the handle in both pictures.

[Furex]

The handle design looks very much the same. This is a shot I took with my camera phone:

[Magnulus]

But how does it shave?

I'm wondering how the balance is. It looks like it might be handle-heavy.

1960's Gillette Tech's had plastic handles, but metal heads.

It's amazing you can still buy that kind of razor in the EU, though. In the US... there is nowhere you can buy such a thing at retail. You can buy the blades but no razors- they just don't sell I guess.

[fritz]

It's amazing you can still buy that kind of razor in the EU, though. In the US... there is nowhere you can buy such a thing at retail. You can buy the blades but no razors- they just don't sell I guess.
If you mean DE razors in general, there's lots of retail outlets that sell Merkurs. If you mean that particular type of razor, I'd bet you can find them in some cities where there's a large enough Indian/Pakistani population to have their own grocery, clothes, and condiments stores. Heck, there's several within a few miles of my house, should probably stop by and see if they sell Treet Blue blades...:001_unsur

[Magnulus]

Maybe things are different in Texas but I've not seen DE razors sold in the Orlando area... ever. Not new anyways. There's a shocking amount of cultural impoverishment and lack of ammenities here. Alot of the people here think they live better than they really do just because they have a big house and chain restaurants all around them. Full of dull, uninteresting people (except me, of course). OTOH, my relatives in Tulsa, Oklahoma have some classy stuff in that city, even though it's relatively small and most of the rest of the country thinks of it as "hick" or backwards.

[Furex]

But how does it shave?

I did some searching and it could be not bad as it might look.

Heck it's so cheap I could actually buy one of those just to find out! and if it's no good I can keep the blades :001_smile


I'm wondering how the balance is. It looks like it might be handle-heavy.

Yeah, the link fritz posted says something along those lines.


It's amazing you can still buy that kind of razor in the EU, though. In the US... there is nowhere you can buy such a thing at retail. You can buy the blades but no razors- they just don't sell I guess.

If you asked me about DE before I stumbled on mantic's videos I would have told you that safety razors were dead cold, totally extinct - never actually seen one of them, or the blades. I noticed this one only because I was actively looking for DE blades.

I suppose most of those cheap razors are bought not by italians but rather by immigrants. Yet, more choice is definitely Good.


I'd bet you can find them in some cities where there's a large enough Indian/Pakistani population to have their own grocery, clothes, and condiments stores. Heck, there's several within a few miles of my house, should probably stop by and see if they sell Treet Blue blades...

There are some Pakistani "mini markets" around here, too; I could stop by for a quick check if there's an opportunity for good deals :cool:

[Labarum]

In UK Boots sell the Cheap Wilkinson and their own brand DE Razor, which is even cheaper. I haven't looked at it closely - it has a plastic handle and steel head.

[Labarum]

next up the UK price ladder seems to be

http://www.suffolkspares.co.uk/featherpopular.html

and then the cheapest Parkers

http://www.shaving-shack.com/shop/catalog/Razors-p-2-c-133.html

[VR6ofpain]

Maybe things are different in Texas but I've not seen DE razors sold in the Orlando area... ever. Not new anyways. There's a shocking amount of cultural impoverishment and lack of ammenities here. Alot of the people here think they live better than they really do just because they have a big house and chain restaurants all around them. Full of dull, uninteresting people (except me, of course). OTOH, my relatives in Tulsa, Oklahoma have some classy stuff in that city, even though it's relatively small and most of the rest of the country thinks of it as "hick" or backwards.

Ya same in California. Many places (Longs, Walgreen's, Rite-Aid, Wal*Mart, WinCo Foods) carry DE blades and shaving soaps/creams, but I have never seen a new DE razor for sale. Not even the specialty places that sell "shaving sets" with a bowl, badger brush, stand and razor. They are always some sort of Mach3 or TracII razor head on some spiffy handle. Garbage.

Luckly we always have the internet to solve our problems! Still waiting on my order of shaving products from drugstore.com (had a gift certificate, so I bought $25 worth of stuff that I couldn't find locally...free shipping).

[rtaylor61]

Some days ago I was shopping in a mall, and while checking DE blades, I spotted the Wilkinson "Classic" razor (http://www.wilkinson-swords.co.uk/index.php?id=1308) for 3.93 €, 5 blades included (which are worth about 1.9 €)

At a quick glance it looked all plastic, anyway I thought that maybe someone looking for a cheap way to try wetshaving out could be interested :smile:

Two years ago, my daughter spent 6 weeks in England and brought me back a pair of these. They are still unopened. I'm waiting to sell them on ebay in about 30 years as "better than new"!

Randy

[zachster]

Ya same in California. Many places (Longs, Walgreen's, Rite-Aid, Wal*Mart, WinCo Foods) carry DE blades and shaving soaps/creams, but I have never seen a new DE razor for sale.

Last time I saw a "new" DE in a drugstore in San Francisco was about 5 years ago. It was at a small, independent chain (since gone under), and looked like it had been gathering dust for a few years. It was the cheapest looking Gillette razor I'd ever seen, probably the last model they made just to placate the Old Man Market. Otherwise, you have to go to cutlery shops or tobacco stores to fine new Merkurs.

[CatMan]

Giovanni at http://www.razorandbrush.com/barberiaraz.html
sells the Treet razor for $7.50. I got one from him. It's a very forgiving Newbie razor, even more forgiving than the Weishi that I also own. Went back to my Merkur 33C, and keep the others as a back up.

[mastermind]

unfortunately Wilkinson Sword classic is unavailable in Belgium.
I bought mine here:
http://www.blademail.co.uk/
Easy, simple, and good razor. It's an all plastic (except handle core) 2 piece razor -that works like the Merkur HD.

[Furex]

Great! Next time I'll go there to buy BIC I'll probably buy one just out of curiosity :thumbup1:

[Furex]

Eventually I bought one :biggrin:

I will try it on my face at least one time then I'll be using it as a head shaver, if I find it mild too mild.

So now I have Wilkinson german blades, too.

[Furex]

It's not as light as I would have expected: the balance says 44 grams which is half the Progress, give or take - in fact it's slightly heavier than my M3 (36 g)

[Exapno]

In UK Boots sell the Cheap Wilkinson and their own brand DE Razor, which is even cheaper. I haven't looked at it closely - it has a plastic handle and steel head.

I've seen that Boots own razor and often thought about purchasing it as it's so cheap... I suspect the shave is reflected in the price of the razor though :w00t:

[Furex]

I suspect the shave is reflected in the price of the razor though :w00t:

If price was the only important thing in shaving goods, everybody would be using a Vision loaded with Merkur blades and shunning anything with Proraso on its label :biggrin:

I do not have great expectations, but maybe I'll be surprised by it just because of that :wink:

[fritz]

If price was the only important thing in shaving goods, everybody would be using a Vision loaded with Merkur blades and shunning anything with Proraso on its label :biggrin:
Except in America. Here Proraso is quite expensive ($12-14 for 100 ml of per-shave + shipping), so it works much better!:thumbup:

[galopede]

The Wilkinson was my first new DE when I started again after many years with a beard.

It works just fine though it is rather mild as someone else mentioned above. Quite weighty too with the metal handle.

I passed it onto my son a while back when I got him interested in DEs and wet shaving. He's still using it as he's too tight to spend money on anything better! Might give him one of the assorted Gillette DEs I've collected, especially as I seldom use them. (mostly straights and the occasional Slant these days)

Gareth

[Sleeman]

I bought one of the Wilkinson DE razors while in Portugal. I paid about 5 euros for it. They are cheap and I am sure they break after a drop or two but they shave pretty well and for the price you can't beat them.

Jeff

[Furex]

Went for a head shave today, and put the Classic to the test.

This thing is actually more aggressive than my Progress! last time I shaved my head with the Progress (set at +1) and a new Treet DuraSharp: it did not feel smooth, just mowed down to an ultra-short hair. The classic was loaded with an old, used Swedish G, and I got BBS mostly (maybe CBS as in "cue ball smooth" is better? :biggrin:) - Applied Proraso post on the skull then, to fight back a little irritation.

I tried it on the neck but I had a hard time keeping a correct angle back there, using a pivot-head razor is likely most reasonable.