A Wilkinson Conundrum

From January of 1966 until the summer of 2013 most of my shaving was done with a Gillette Slim and a Wilkinson blade. A couple of times in the 80s and 90s I was in a position to take advantage of a drug store going out of business and buy at great discount hundreds of Wilkinson stainless steel blades. My Slim came with Gillette blades and I am sure I tried other blades, as well, but the Wilkinsons were my go-to blade, and I used each one for 10 to 14 very good shaves.

After discovering B&B (see summer of '13, above), I went on a blade-hunting tour (as well as an open-comb hunting tour), and recently spotted the blades below (in the thumb-dispenser) - Super Swords! After I got them home I had to take the dispenser apart and prise each blade from its brother (eventually using a used Feather - you should see my fingertips) because the lubricant between the blades had petrified. I believe I managed to avoid the edges of the Wilkinsons during the endeavor.

I had my fifth shave with one this morning, a DFS, and I concluded that my old faves were not as sharp as Feathers, although they will last longer (but why should I bother? and do I want to go another nine shave with this blade just because I can?)

My technique is certainly better since I discovered B&B, and my beard is probably tougher than it was in my callow youth, but was I able to go 10 to 14 shaves because I just didn't know any better? My conundrum - I still want to love my Wilkinsons, but Feathers, GSBs, and Polsilver Super Iridiums have set the bar high for those first couple of shaves; what am I to do?

Easy! Do what you do with an old car -- admire the workmanship, but enjoy the ride of the Corvette.

This blade longevity question has been discussed in some detail on these boards. One member (Turtle) did 100+ shaves on an NOS British Wilkinson blade.

However there seems to be a few variants of the British Wilkinson around. I am currently on shave 35 with this blade:
Nobody really seems to know what to expect from these old blades. I have done 56 shaves on a Polsilver SI modern blade but it didn't feel this sharp at 35 shaves.

There is a club for finding out more about blade longevity; Excalibur Club ( http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/431416-Excalibur-Club-Blade-Longevity-DE-SE-and-Injector ). I report there every week how this goes. Why don't you pop over and have a look?

Postscript: why does the site software turn my pic 90 degrees?

Vintage Wilkinson and vintage Schick Platinum Plus are probably my favorite blades. They may not be as sharp as Feather blades. They do however last longer, give me a more comfortable shave with less irritation and work well in all my razors. They are more expensive than currently produced choices. I only buy them when I can get them for 20 cents or under. Difficult to find but not impossible. I have several hundred and they are part of my regular shave routine. If you like your modern blade choices better shave with them, it is all in what works for you. I have tried many blades that members have raved about and found they did not work for me and lowly rated blades that work for me.

For blades that are fused together I soak the the blade in alcohol during shave prep and don't find it necessary to wipe to remove dried lube. It seems to work as I have not had a problem.

I love the vintage Wilkies, but can't justify the cost. I like the Personna Lab Blues a lot. Give me nice smooth shaves with little or no irritation, have sensitive neck skin, and can get at least 7 shaves per blade. You can get them cheaply enough on Amazon & other website for a boy $0.12 / blade. Box of 100 will probably last me ove a year.

I still get about 12 shaves from a "Made in England" Wilkinson Sword blade, and they have the same sharpness for me as for instance a Personna Platinum Chrome blade. Not the sharpest, but smooth, and very consistent.

I do not get more than 7 shaves from a Personna blade though.

TADIII said:

My conundrum - I still want to love my Wilkinsons, but Feathers, GSBs, and Polsilver Super Iridiums have set the bar high for those first couple of shaves; what am I to do?

Click to expand...

If it is any consolation, I find that the Russian blades shave more like vintage Wilkinsons than vintage Gillettes. I would just shave with whatever of those blades blades suits you best. Super Iridium is sometimes mentioned as a good substitute for English Wilkinson. I shave with vintage Wilkinson Sword frequently, and I often alternate with Polsilver Super Iridium because they are close enough for me.

I use a variety of blades, new and old Wilkinson, Gillette and Schlick blades are always my favourite as long as they are stainless. They just don't make them like they used to and I can usually get about 12-16 shaves before feeling the dullness drag. I like some of the quality brand new blades too but rarely push them past 6 shaves.

As a help to gents who need to unstick vintage Wilkinson-Sword slider packs, I have added take-apart photos to Refilling_Razor_Blade_Slider_Packs on the wiki. The construction is somewhat similar to Schick Kuhnl packs, but I found the Wilks a bit more difficult to take apart without damaging something. The metal is very thin.