What's new

SIXTH ANNUAL "One Blade in February" Challenge

DrAwkward

DrAwkward

bosseb said:
:001_rolle

I must confess that I'm quite surprised by this myself.

I have some inside info about the making of the blade and this info made me curious to try one out. The steel used in this blade was the pride of Swedish steel manufacture and specifically made to outlast the best Gillette blades. It contains a mixture of metals and the production line was tweaked to very tight tolerances as the machinery was renewed.

This blade certainly does not look like a winner and contains no buzz words, unlike the ones made for the US market, but it does deliver! The problem is getting an unopened pack, with the factory sealing and hoping that it has been stored correctly in the British harsh wet climate...
Click to expand...

I have a few of the SSE and find them to be excellent. My understanding (like yours) is that Wilkinson, not previously a blade maker, looked at the offerings from Gillette and decided they could do MUCH better. I still prefer the UK Wilkinson chromium edged blades, which are probably the same as the SSE but with a PTFE coating ...
 
bosseb

bosseb

DrAwkward said:
I have a few of the SSE and find them to be excellent. My understanding (like yours) is that Wilkinson, not previously a blade maker, looked at the offerings from Gillette and decided they could do MUCH better. I still prefer the UK Wilkinson chromium edged blades, which are probably the same as the SSE but with a PTFE coating ...
Click to expand...

This is my impression from my source also. We only discussed the DE blades briefly as I was more interested in the straight razors from Eskilstuna at the time of our conversation. I got the distinct impression that this DE blade tweaking was a onetime operation and that the composition of the steel did not change. The rest was just marketing.

The guy had started as an apprentice at the Heljestrand smithy before WWII and knew a lot about the Swedish steel industry into the '80s. He did not want to talk about the fact that the Swedish industry supplied the Nazi army with steel for cannons and ball bearings for the tanks but everything else he was very open about.

He had very good insights about the developing of the raw steel to all manufacturers of blades. He mentioned Gillette, the British (~ Wilkinson), the Americans (~ Personna) and the Japanese (~Feather?). They all used different versions of the steel and the production lines were tweaked to very tight specifications. This is probably why the moving of the machinery without the operators seems to affect the quality of the product in a negative way.

In hindsight one can draw the conclusion that Gillette changed the market into multi blades rather than trying to beat the quality of the competitors. As we all know they succeeded in their intentions.

Unfortunately my source has passed away so I cannot check with him any more. At the age of 94 he was hit by a drunk driver in Eskilstuna, very near Heljestrand Street.
 
Last edited:
5savages

5savages

I may be starting early. My current blade will be tossed tomorrow. Rather than start a new blade and pitch it early, I'll probably just start on my UK Wilkinson on Friday.
 
Haggises

Haggises

1. goby - Astra
2. Kevdogg329 - Gillette Wilkinson Sword (China)
3. MuhleShaver - Gillette 7 O'Clock Black (Super Platinum)
4. Hellboy - Merkur Super
5. Cosmos Mariner - GEM Stainless Steel PTFE Coated
6. Dr. Awkward - Vintage English Wilkinson Sword chromium edge (Light Brigade)
7. T.Orso - Feather.
8. Executive Contour - Vintage English Wilkinson "Super Sword-Edge"
9. Calhoun1 - Lord Platinum
10. Guru17 - 7 O'clock Sharp Edge (Yellow)
11. Galaktus- Treet Black Beauty
12. Atos - Wilkinson sword
13. TheVez2 - Personna Platinum Chrome (Military Exchange rebrand)
14. talibeard - Captain (red), carbonsteel blade made by Lord
15. 5Savages - vintage UK Wilkinson
16. showard - Game Time Decision
17. Billy Goatee - Personna platimun chrome
18. JimK - Astra
19. coolcanuc - English Wilkinson Sword, Super Sword-Edge
20. SanKaloon - Gillette Nacet Stainless
21. poikkeus - English Wilkinson Sword, Super Sword-Edge
22. whosaidpigeon - Polsilver SI
23. Gig103 - Gillette Platinum (dark blue pack)
24. eventi - Gillette Silver Blue or Chinese Schick Injector
25. Ahmaq - Gillette 7 O Clock Black Super Platinum
26. KQY61 - Personna 74
27. TexLaw - Personna 74
28. Steve in Shalimar - Derby
29. Penknight - Polsilver Super Iridium
30. Haggises - Feather
 
L

lloydrm

bosseb said:
This is my impression from my source also. We only discussed the DE blades briefly as I was more interested in the straight razors from Eskilstuna at the time of our conversation. I got the distinct impression that this DE blade tweaking was a onetime operation and that the composition of the steel did not change. The rest was just marketing.

The guy had started as an apprentice at the Heljestrand smithy before WWII and knew a lot about the Swedish steel industry into the '80s. He did not want to talk about the fact that the Swedish industry supplied the Nazi army with steel for cannons and ball bearings for the tanks but everything else he was very open about.

He had very good insights about the developing of the raw steel to all manufacturers of blades. He mentioned Gillette, the British (~ Wilkinson), the Americans (~ Personna) and the Japanese (~Feather?). They all used different versions of the steel and the production lines were tweaked to very tight specifications. This is probably why the moving of the machinery without the operators seems to affect the quality of the product in a negative way.

In hindsight one can draw the conclusion that Gillette changed the market into multi blades rather than trying to beat the quality of the competitors. As we all know they succeeded in their intentions.

Unfortunately my source has passed away so I cannot check with him any more. At the age of 94 he was hit by a drunk driver in Eskilstuna, very near Heljestrand Street.
Click to expand...

Any experiences with Heljestrand SE blades?
I am mostly curios about the performance of their SE razors but am wondering about if the blades are worth the extra work of drying, honing and stropping, etc.
 
KQY61

KQY61

Hi,

Oh, yeah. It would be easy for me to go a year without honing. I just don't like the time required to shave with a straight. I went thru a three year period back in the mid 80s when I was into using Grandpa's SR as well as making a few of my own in the machine shop. A good tool steel holds an edge for a long time just cutting those really soft whiskers (as opposed to really hard metals they were intended for).....

Stan
 
Last edited:
T.Orso

T.Orso

I am glad to see that I will have some company (Haggises) in shaving with a Feather.

I have had a couple of Feather blades on the go since about the start of January, and both are still providing great shaves. One started in a Tech and moved over to a New LC after five or six shaves. The other was in an Aristocrat Jr until this morning, when I moved it to the Tech. So I am thinking that two weeks of daily shaves should not be a problem, and more seems entirely possible.

I think I will start with the Tech. How about you, Haggises?
 
T.Orso

T.Orso

I'm stubbornly sticking with those two Feather blades for the month of January, by the way. It will be interesting to feel how much sharper a new blade is on February 1st.
 
bosseb

bosseb

lloydrm said:
Any experiences with Heljestrand SE blades?
I am mostly curios about the performance of their SE razors but am wondering about if the blades are worth the extra work of drying, honing and stropping, etc.
Click to expand...
No, I don't have any experience of their SE blades at all.

I know that they are made of the same steel that the shop used for the late versions of their domestic model straights. I never learned to hone those either... :mad3:
 
Haggises

Haggises

T.Orso said:
I am glad to see that I will have some company (Haggises) in shaving with a Feather.

I have had a couple of Feather blades on the go since about the start of January, and both are still providing great shaves. One started in a Tech and moved over to a New LC after five or six shaves. The other was in an Aristocrat Jr until this morning, when I moved it to the Tech. So I am thinking that two weeks of daily shaves should not be a problem, and more seems entirely possible.

I think I will start with the Tech. How about you, Haggises?
Click to expand...

Ok, I'll dig out my Tech from its underused slumber :)
 
L

lloydrm

bosseb said:
No, I don't have any experience of their SE blades at all.

I know that they are made of the same steel that the shop used for the late versions of their domestic model straights. I never learned to hone those either... :mad3:
Click to expand...

Thanks for your reply. It is never too late ...
 
Gig103

Gig103

I'm looking forward to this because the Viking Sword I am currently using is ready to go after 3 shaves. I will have one more shave before I put in my trusty Gillette Platinum for as long as I can make it work.
 
TheVez2

TheVez2

T.Orso said:
I am glad to see that I will have some company (Haggises) in shaving with a Feather.
Click to expand...
Good luck with the feather guys. I have personally used a feather for 66 shaves, so it can be done. Hopefully you can get it to last the whole month.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Mike M
The 15th Annual One Blade in February Challenge
37 38 39
Replies
764
Views
26K
Mike M
Mike M
cranewarrior
Rank These Blades in Sharpness
2
Replies
32
Views
2K
profusion
P
Luc
Luc DE Blades Review Project
2
Replies
21
Views
2K
Luc
Luc
Luc
Top blades
2
Replies
35
Views
4K
Quaznoid
Quaznoid
C
Fun blade battle
Replies
13
Views
1K
Cranky James
Cranky James
Top Bottom