Blade Wars: Voskhod vs. Wilkinson Sword Classic

Blade Wars: Voskhod vs. Wilkinson Sword Classic

This blade war pits two PTFE (Teflon) coated blades against each another. Both of these blades garner a great deal of admiration from YouTube wet shavers and others. I have never used the Wilkinson Classic blade, so I am curious to see how it does. Voskhods are made in Moscow, Russia, and these particular Wilkinsons are made in Germany. I purchased 100 Voskhods for approximately $10, including shipping, on eBay. I acquired my pack of Wilkinson Swords with a razor purchase, but have seen 100 German-made Wilkinson Sword Classics on Amazon for approximately $20.


My razors for this blade war will be two Razorock Mentors, which have fairly aggressive heads and somewhat short stainless steel handles. One handle will be marked with a blue Sharpie for differentiation, but I won’t know which blade is in which razor. I’ll shave half of my face with each razor, and switch sides with each subsequent shave. I intend for the competition to last for six half-face shaves, but will let it go longer if there isn’t a clear winner and I’m not getting irritated.

As we go, I’ll share what I experience and invite you to comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts, reactions, and predictions.

Do you have a favorite? Which do you think will come out on top? Voskhod or Wilkinson Sword Classic… which blade do you think will win the Blade War?

In for the results.
I think the Wilkie is sharper, but I prefer the Voskhod for it's forgiving nature in my lineup.

Look forward to it.

Both are great blades, seems I use the Wilkinson's more only because a local hardware sells em.

Both are good blades, but IMHO the Wilkinson Sword should win hands down on longevity

adamchur said:

Both are good blades, but IMHO the Wilkinson Sword should win hands down on longevity

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+1 I'm on shave 10 with no loss of comfort. Most blades only give me 4-5 comfortable shaves.

Shave 1
Face lathered with Maca Root Shave Cream for Men (The Body Shop)
Blue Razor=right side of face, Silver razor=left side of face

Pass 1 - Blue: Good pass. The razor feels a little tuggy. The blade does not feel ultra sharp, as blades sometimes do on their first pass.
Silver: The blade feels a little prickly. I can feel the sharpness of the blade.
rinse: This was a good pass, but not particularly close. I can still feel and see stubble left behind on both sides of my face.

Pass 2 - Blue: Really smooth. So comfortable I didn't want to stop. Silver: Very smooth. This was an excellent pass on both sides. The blades remind me of 7 O'clock blacks and yellows after their initial harshness had worn off. This pass was so pleasing, I decided to do a third pass, as I didn't want the shave to end.

Pass 3 - Blue: I started on my neck, and it didn't feel like there was a blade in the razor. As I hit spots on my cheek, I could feel stubble being removed, but this was as "glidy" and smooth as a pass gets.
Silver: This was a very nice pass, but there was considerably more drag than with the blue razor.

cold water rinse: I could feel a little sting, especially on the right (blue) side of my face.

Applied Thayer's Lemon witch hazel and Nivea Mens Sensitive balm. Both sides are extremely close. The right side may be ever so slightly closer, but not significantly so. I feel a tiny bit of irritation on the right side of my neck (which is most likely a remnant from a previous shave.) I opened a scab on my chin from a nick I gave myself the other day after drinking vodka before shaving. Note to self: vodka is a good ingredient in homemade aftershave, but less than excellent as part of your pre-shave ritual.

This was a wonderful shave. One note about Maca Root Shave Cream: this is a wonderfully slick, protective cream that lathers voluminously. It normally sells for $16 a tub, but the Body Shop has regular sales. I got mine for $8 with free shipping. If you see that same offer, I suggest you jump on it.

emwolf said:

+1 I'm on shave 10 with no loss of comfort. Most blades only give me 4-5 comfortable shaves.

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On Youtube, PaulH (PaulHfilms) is on his 9th or 10th shave with one, and his blade is still going strong.

I could be wrong but I thought Paul H used swords made in India. Is there there much of a difference between the English, German, and Indian swords?

I can't speak to the Wilkinson yet but I am totally sold on Voskhod. I got some in a blade swap. Turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

RadVigg said:

I could be wrong but I thought Paul H used swords made in India. Is there there much of a difference between the English, German, and Indian swords?

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I haven't tried any of them. I've heard the NOS English Wilkies are fantastic.

cw62803 said:

I haven't tried any of them. I've heard the NOS English Wilkies are fantastic.

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I like the nicknames many use for blades. "Wilkies."

We also have "Voskys", "lab blues", "yellows", "dull-bys", "meds", "ninjas", "g-blues" and "plat smooths".

(Okay I made some of those nicknames up just now.)

kluber said:

I like the nicknames many use for blades. "Wilkies."

We also have "Voskys", "lab blues", "yellows", "dull-bys", "meds", "ninjas", "g-blues" and "plat smooths".

(Okay I made some of those nicknames up just now.)

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Nice work.

Thanks I pride myself on nonsense.

Early guess is blue is Voskhod.

On my face, Voskhod wins hands down for smoothness, sharpness and price. Was interested to see what the outcome is here

FatboyFan said:

On my face, Voskhod wins hands down for smoothness, sharpness and price. Was interested to see what the outcome is here

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We'll see how it unfolds ....

Shave 2
Silver=right side, Blue=left side
Face lathered with Tabac

Pass 1 - Silver: The razor felt a little bit tuggy, but it was a good pass.
Blue: This blade felt sharper and smoother than the other.

Pass 2 - Silver: This was a good, workmanlike pass. It feels a lot like my first favorite blade, the Personna Lab Blue. Smooth and sharp but not exceptionally so.
Blue: Smoother than the silver. Blade seems to cut cleanly and glide easily.

Followed with Florida Water, which gave me a mild sting, and finished with Man Lotion. Neither side of my face is significantly closer than the other. So far, I have been enjoying the blade in the blue razor more than the silver because of its smoothness. It cuts cleanly and glides almost effortlessly.

Shave 3 - We have a clear leader.
Blue=right side, Silver=left side

Pass 1 - Blue: smooth, wonderful pass. Silver: Tuggy, somewhat uncomfortable pass.

Pass 2 - Blue: Smooth as glass. Exceptional. Silver: Smoother than the first pass, but still tuggy.

Followed with Brut splash - no sting. Finished with Nivea Mens Sensitive Balm.

The right side (blue) of my face is closer than the left. At this point, it looks bleak for silver. The blue has outperformed it in three consecutive shaves. To be a sport, I'll give silver one more try, but it may be over except for the crying.

Who put the blades in the razors, ?

I predict the winner will be ws, used the voskhod, terrible pulling , tugging, call it what u want, for my beard type this was terrible, ws has performed better on me

Jm2cents