Blade Sharpness Research Project

[helicopter]

Today I tested the new and current Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade that is being produced in China. While the average sharpness is fairly mils, it actually got pretty sharp during the first shave. It is just that the thick coating at the edge starts it off mild, and steel is so soft that it is mild again after the first paper cut test. I thought it felt pretty nice shaving with it today; it is very smooth.

It comes in a nice cardboard tuck of five blades individually wrapped in single printed wax paper with some small wax dots.

It has a very even and fine grind, a light coating, and something unusual going on with the distal 5% of the bevel. Perhaps they put a coating on only that part. From the measurements, I am sure that part is coated in something, so that's my guess. It may just be honed there with something that is coarser than what we normally see for distal honing. I haven't seen anything quite like this on another blade.

After testing, there is lots of fine chipping along the edge, the coating is worn, and the distal part of the edge has lost whatever we see there in the first picture of it.

If I hadn't shaved with it and measured the one I shaved with, I might have guessed it was one of those mild blades with a slippery coating that feels sharper than it is. I was trying to figure out how it felt so good during the first five sets of measurements, then measured the shaver and solved the mystery. It is fairly sharp under the coating, but it is not a durable steel and it loses that sharpness very quickly. I thought it was really quite nice, but I don't think I would use it more than twice.

The two edges were quite similar, which I like to see. Other than the distal 5% of the grind, it looks like the new and current Indian Saloon Pack Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade. The sharpness curve is also similar. I suspect both blades are made to the same or very similar specifications, perhaps with a few small differences to allow for local machinery and materials.

Date	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24
Blade	Wilkinson Sword	Gillerre China	Stainless	China	May, 2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12	1
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper	Face
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	11	14	13	15	12	10
Median F (g)	60.5	71	74	79	90	48
Mean F (g) Btm	61	73	76	82	88	51
Mean F (g) Top	64	68	77	86	93	49
Mean F (g)	63	71	77	84	90	50
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	75	90	93	100	107	62
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	78	83	94	105	113	60
Median adj. F (g)	74	87	90	96	110	59
Mean adj. F (g)	76	86	94	103	110	61

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[PALORAZOR]

Still getting fantastic results with the Dorco Prime Vietnam blade. After some research, I do think the blade tested previously was made in Korea.

 

[Cafebarian]

Shark super chrome and platinum are looking pretty good overall! And Shark super stainless is average....

 

[AndyPanda]

@Cafebarian I haven't tried the Shark branded Super Chrome - but I absolutely love the Lord Super Chrome (same factory - not sure if the blades are the same though). Very sharp and smooth. I also really like how they are packaged - the tiniest amount of glue dots and the blade releases easily from the paper without any glue blobs on the blade.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Today I tested the new and current Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade that is being produced in China. While the average sharpness is fairly mils, it actually got pretty sharp during the first shave. It is just that the thick coating at the edge starts it off mild, and steel is so soft that it is mild again after the first paper cut test. I thought it felt pretty nice shaving with it today; it is very smooth.

It comes in a nice cardboard tuck of five blades individually wrapped in single printed wax paper with some small wax dots.

View attachment 1887026

View attachment 1887027
It has a very even and fine grind, a light coating, and something unusual going on with the distal 5% of the bevel. Perhaps they put a coating on only that part. From the measurements, I am sure that part is coated in something, so that's my guess. It may just be honed there with something that is coarser than what we normally see for distal honing. I haven't seen anything quite like this on another blade.
View attachment 1887028

After testing, there is lots of fine chipping along the edge, the coating is worn, and the distal part of the edge has lost whatever we see there in the first picture of it.
View attachment 1887029

View attachment 1887042

If I hadn't shaved with it and measured the one I shaved with, I might have guessed it was one of those mild blades with a slippery coating that feels sharper than it is. I was trying to figure out how it felt so good during the first five sets of measurements, then measured the shaver and solved the mystery. It is fairly sharp under the coating, but it is not a durable steel and it loses that sharpness very quickly. I thought it was really quite nice, but I don't think I would use it more than twice.

The two edges were quite similar, which I like to see. Other than the distal 5% of the grind, it looks like the new and current Indian Saloon Pack Gillette Wilkinson Sword blade. The sharpness curve is also similar. I suspect both blades are made to the same or very similar specifications, perhaps with a few small differences to allow for local machinery and materials.

Date	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24	8/1/24
Blade	Wilkinson Sword	Gillerre China	Stainless	China	May, 2023
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12	1
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper	Face
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	11	14	13	15	12	10
Median F (g)	60.5	71	74	79	90	48
Mean F (g) Btm	61	73	76	82	88	51
Mean F (g) Top	64	68	77	86	93	49
Mean F (g)	63	71	77	84	90	50
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	75	90	93	100	107	62
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	78	83	94	105	113	60
Median adj. F (g)	74	87	90	96	110	59
Mean adj. F (g)	76	86	94	103	110	61

View attachment 1887041


Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

Very interesting! I haven't used the Chinese versions, but I do keep a stock of the India-made Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades. I think that is the current production site for them. Folks said they were only produced in China for a year or two. I hope you get to test the Indian versions.

Thanks for all the work on this!

 

[helicopter]

Very interesting! I haven't used the Chinese versions, but I do keep a stock of the India-made Gillette Wilkinson Sword blades. I think that is the current production site for them. Folks said they were only produced in China for a year or two. I hope you get to test the Indian versions.

Thanks for all the work on this!

This one was made in May, 2023, and packaged in June, 2023.

 

[helicopter]

I measured the Sputnik, which was generously offered by @Sweeney_ for testing. I have wanted to get my hands on this blade for a while, but it has only been available on the secondary market, so I had been holding off. I had thought it was related to my favorite Russian blade, the Vostok, but this one is actually a PPI blade from Gillette's St. Petersburg plant and the Vostok is a Moscow blade. It has a very nice looking smooth and even grind, and it's edges have similar performance, which I like to see. Sharpness and durability are in the middle of the pack.

It has attractive graphic design. It comes in a typical PPI tuck of five blades, individually wrapped in nice thick plain waxed paper with four big wax dots. It is laser etched with a logo and a production date, and there is also a date printed on the tuck, which is the perfect combination. I love some nice screen printing, but I will take a laser date over anything else.

The tuck tells how it is a PPI blade, and the back of the blade doesn't have any printing. I suppose laser machines aren't cheap.

There is a thick coating over the finely and evenly ground double-bevel, and there is some additional honing right at the edge.

After testing, it is much easier to see the grind because the coating is worn off, and there is some small chipping along the edge, which is typical of good razor steels.

Information Summary:

Date	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24
Blade	Sputnik	Gillette	PPI	Russia	November 12, 2020
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	9	8	11	17	17
Median F (g)	56	56.5	59	66	71.5
Mean F (g) Btm	58	56	56	57	64
Mean F (g) Top	58	59	67	80	83
Mean F (g)	58	57	62	68	74
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	70	68	68	70	79
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	71	72	82	97	101
Median adj. F (g)	68	69	72	81	87
Mean adj. F (g)	71	70	75	83	90

It probably shaves nicely for a week or so if you like blades in this sharpness range.

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[Lane101]

Something not right here. The one's you have do not have 'made in Vietnam' printed on them like mine do. Also, the ones I have are printed in green ink. Looks like the picture of the razor blade on the package is slightly different than the one I have. Mine are some of the best blades I've tested shaving. Makes me wonder if you have a batch of fakes?
View attachment 1886493

I've never seen the plastic tuck Dorco Prime STP301 blades with individual tucks stamped with "Made in Vietnam" on the front. My 100 pack only has this on the 100 pack packaging on the back. If you look at all the images out there, including Amazon customer photos in the review section, none of the STP301s have this type of label. Also, the Dorco catalog from 2020 that was the last one to show STP301s did not have Made in Vietnam stamped on the tuck shown in the catalog image. Later catalogs only show the cardboard tuck STP300 Prime blades.

Curious, did you order an entire 100 pack or just a tuck or two? If the former see if the 100 pack package is labeled as made in Vietnam.

My best guess is that the vendor stamped this onto the tucks. No evidence that Dorco ever did. They only did this on the back of the ST/STP300 cardboard tucks.

 

[Lane101]

Actually I think the Dorco Prime blades Helicopter tested are the made in Korea version. The ones I have are the made in Vietnam version.

I can send you some of the made in Vietnam blades if interested.

Hi, see my post #388 above to your first post here on this. No evidence that the tested blades were not made in Vietnam. Dorco never stamped "Made in Vietnam" on the STP301 tucks, just on the 100 packs. Likely a vendor added this to your tuck.

 

[PALORAZOR]

I've never seen the plastic tuck Dorco Prime STP301 blades with individual tucks stamped with "Made in Vietnam" on the front. My 100 pack only has this on the 100 pack packaging on the back. If you look at all the images out there, including Amazon customer photos in the review section, none of the STP301s have this type of label. Also, the Dorco catalog from 2020 that was the last one to show STP301s did not have Made in Vietnam stamped on the tuck shown in the catalog image. Later catalogs only show the cardboard tuck STP300 Prime blades.

Curious, did you order an entire 100 pack or just a tuck or two? If the former see if the 100 pack package is labeled as made in Vietnam.

My best guess is that the vendor stamped this onto the tucks. No evidence that Dorco ever did. They only did this on the back of the ST/STP300 cardboard tucks.

I ordered a 100 pack from Amazon. Each tuck has Made in Vietnam stamped on it.

 

[PALORAZOR]

Hi, see my post #388 above to your first post here on this. No evidence that the tested blades were not made in Vietnam. Dorco never stamped "Made in Vietnam" on the STP301 tucks, just on the 100 packs. Likely a vendor added this to your tuck.

Made in Korea …. No made in Vietnam stamp

Dorco Prime Platinum HQ Double Edge (DE) Blades

Elevate your shaving routine with Dorco Prime Platinum Double Edge (DE) Blades. Experience exceptional smoothness and precision with these premium razor blades.

www.razoremporium.com

Made in Vietnam …. Stamped

Dorco Prime Platinum Double Edge Blades, 100 Blades

NOTE: When you add this item to cart, you will see a second line item showing the individual packs that are part of this bulk pack, with a price of $0. This does not mean you will be getting double the blades - it is only for our inventory and order picking systems. Sorry for the confusion...

maggardrazors.com

I have no idea if the websites are correct, but that is what they state.

I say a test is in order.

 

[Lane101]

I ordered a 100 pack from Amazon.

Were your blades sold and shipped from Amazon or one of the many other vendors selling through their web site? Amazon is currently selling Primes from 9 different vendors. I purchased mine in 2020 and they were sold and shipped from Amazon.

Did the back of the 100 pack state "Made in Vietnam"? That is the only place where Dorco places this on the packaging.

Note Dorco does not cellophane wrap the individual STP301 tucks so it's easy for a vendor to stamp something on the tuck after the fact. Everything else in your photos looks like genuine Dorco Prime blades so I don't think you have fakes. Agree with you that these are great blades and the test results are not consistent with the experience of most of us who use these. Also they are the same blade as the ST300s that were also tested. Chalking this up to manufacturing or testing variance.

 

[PALORAZOR]

Were your blades sold and shipped from Amazon or one of the many other vendors selling through their web site? Amazon is currently selling Primes from 9 different vendors. I purchased mine in 2020 and they were sold and shipped from Amazon.

Did the back of the 100 pack state "Made in Vietnam"? That is the only place where Dorco places this on the packaging.

Note Dorco does not cellophane wrap the individual STP301 tucks so it's easy for a vendor to stamp something on the tuck after the fact. Everything else in your photos looks like genuine Dorco Prime blades so I don't think you have fakes. Agree with you that these are great blades and the test results are not consistent with the experience of most of us who use these. Also they are the same blade as the ST300s that were also tested. Chalking this up to manufacturing or testing variance.

Mine don’t have Made In Vietnam on the box. Each tuck is labeled Made In Vietnam.

 

[Lane101]

Made in Korea …. No made in Vietnam stamp

Dorco Prime Platinum HQ Double Edge (DE) Blades

Elevate your shaving routine with Dorco Prime Platinum Double Edge (DE) Blades. Experience exceptional smoothness and precision with these premium razor blades.

www.razoremporium.com

Made in Vietnam …. Stamped

Dorco Prime Platinum Double Edge Blades, 100 Blades

NOTE: When you add this item to cart, you will see a second line item showing the individual packs that are part of this bulk pack, with a price of $0. This does not mean you will be getting double the blades - it is only for our inventory and order picking systems. Sorry for the confusion...

maggardrazors.com

I have no idea if the websites are correct, but that is what they state.

I say a test is in order.

The Razor Emporium website that states made in Korea is wrong. They either didn't update copy when Dorco moved these to Vietnam or didn't bother reading the packaging. Look at their ST300 listing (linked below) where they also state "Made in Korea" yet show an image of a tuck that states "Made in Vietnam".

See the "Made in Vietnam" stamped on the STP301 listing Maggards tuck photos. Again this was likely added by someone other than the manufacturer. Dorco only denoted manufacturing location on the 100 packs, not the individual tucks.

Happy to see another STP301 blade test given the variance risk.

Dorco Platinum HQ (Blue) Double Edge (DE) Blades

Razor Emporium is your one-stop shop for vintage shaving. Whether you need a new razor or some wet shaving supplies, we’ll have just what you’re looking for.

www.razoremporium.com

 

[Lane101]

View attachment 1887276View attachment 1887278
Mine don’t have Made In Vietnam on the box. Each tuck is labeled Made In Vietnam.

You have stock that may not have been made in Vietnam. My 100 pack from 2020 has "Made in Vietnam" right on top of a bar code, printed directly on the package, on the lower right side in an area that is obscured by the white label in your photo.

To move the stock the vendor stamped "Made in Vietnam" on each tuck. In fact if you look really closely you can see how the "Made in Vietnam" stamps positioning varies slightly in relation to the rest of the image on some tucks (especially the top one). Perhaps these blades were originally intended for a country where nation of origin labeling wasn't required and it was added to the tucks to satisfy U.S. requirements.

What matters is your blades are excellent and work well for you.

 

[PALORAZOR]

You have stock that may not have been made in Vietnam. My 100 pack from 2020 has "Made in Vietnam" right on top of a bar code, printed directly on the package, on the lower right side in an area that is obscured by the white label in your photo.

To move the stock the vendor stamped "Made in Vietnam" on each tuck. In fact if you look really closely you can see how the "Made in Vietnam" stamps positioning varies slightly in relation to the rest of the image on some tucks (especially the top one). Perhaps these blades were originally intended for a country where nation of origin labeling wasn't required and it was added to the tucks to satisfy U.S. requirements.

What matters is your blades are excellent and work well for you.

I don't think any vendor would spend the time/resources to take apart tucks and reprint them, there's no profit reason to do this. Would be easier to just print it one time on the box.

The graphic on these is completely different than other tucks that don't have Made in Vietnam on them. Also the blades are stenciled with different fonts and ink colors.


The tuck tested, blade graphic is completely different:

The tucks I have:

The blade tested, stenciling is different and ink color is different:

The blade I have.

This is from Dorco's global website. The blade on their website looks like my blade, not the blade tested.

 

[helicopter]

This is an interesting one. It is a vintage English Wilkinson Sword Super Sword Edge that @Sweeney_ offered for testing.

Chat GPT Date Estimate: Early 1970s: The most probable production date for your Wilkinson Sword Super Sword Edge blades is around January 4, 1971, assuming the last digit of the code on the tuck card indicates the year within the Julian date code format. This interpretation fits with the era before barcodes were widely used and matches the typical pricing and packaging details from that time.

Wilkinson Sword is famous for bringing us stainless blades that can be used more than once after the Gillette patent expired. This blade had a bottom edge that lost sharpness quickly and a top edge that had exceptional durability. I measured the top edge of a second individual blade to make sure it wasn't just damage, and the second one had the same issue. If you have this blade, I think there is a good chance you will get two edges of exceptional durability. That was definitely Wilkinson's proposition when they first penetrated the US market.

The blade has a reputation for being mild, even dull, but testing showed that both edges were similarly quite sharp when new. It could be batch variation, but I suspect reviewers were just feeling friction since this blade lacks the Teflon coating of modern blades.

It comes in a blister pack for the US market.

It has a plastic tuck of five blades. Each is individually wrapped in nicely printed waxed paper. There are some glue dots, but no wax. It is stenciled with the attractive and iconic logo.

It has a double beveled edge with fine and even grind on the primary bevel and medium polish on the secondary. It isn't the same grind as any of the new ones tested, but it shares a double bevel with the German one. The German one has a taller secondary grind and a coarser and less even primary grind. This one would probably be a lot smoother if it had a coating.

After testing, the top edge is in exceptionally good condition.

Unfortunately, the bottom edge is covered in medium chips with several dead spots. If you have it, hopefully you got two good edges. I am not sure why this edge doesn't perform properly, but it probably affects a whole batch or lot because I checked two of them and both failed like this.

Information Summary:

You can see overall performance was alright for a while; that bottom edge just didn't last.

You can also see that the top edge was really exceptional, with virtually no wear through two cut tests, and limited wear on the third and fourth. If you got a good batch, you could use two a month and come on the forum to talk about how they really quit making good blades way before the Cold War ended, and before the PPI blades came to the West.

Date	8/2/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24
Blade	Wilkinson Sword	Super Sword Edge	Stainless	England	January 4, 1971
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	30	30
Std. Dev.	4	12	12	20	25
Median F (g)	50.5	50	53	58	61.5
Mean F (g) Btm	51	58	59	75	86
Mean F (g) Top	51	49	51	55	58
Mean F (g)	51	53	55	65	72
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	62	71	72	91	105
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	62	60	63	68	71
Median adj. F (g)	62	61	65	71	75
Mean adj. F (g)	62	65	67	79	88

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration

 

[Leverspro]

Very interesting thread. So, many blades made by Gillette. This week alone I used four different Gillettes. Today was these Super Thins made in China. It felt like a better shave than the Platinums and the GSB.

The photography of the blades here is very interesting. I know that the commentary on blade is meant to be made obvious by the pictures, but a tutorial on what to look for in the picture would be helpful for me.

 

[Flanders]

After testing, there is lots of fine chipping along the edge, the coating is worn, and the distal part of the edge has lost whatever we see there in the first picture of it.

I can't help but wonder if that's not a wire edge, but obviously we can't tell from a direct side on view. It would be interesting to cork a fresh one and take another look under the microscope. It's definitely not right whatever they did. I have much older ones presumably from the same factory and I am certain that they wouldn't measure the same as this.

Also, you did a put a myth to rest when it comes to these blades. I won't repeat the whole apocryphal story, but just what an Indian poster on here told me a year ago: blades from either factory could be found at any random shop there. And the next question is always the dates, whether they are selling older product. The answer was no, they have current product from both factories. What seems to be happening is that the CN factory is being used to meet demand that the IN factory can't handle alone. I am glad that I have several hundred older ones because these current ones are frankly garbage based on what I am seeing here.

 

[helicopter]

Here we have the London Bridge Super Stainless blade, which is made in China by Gillette for the Philippine market. It is branded as a new version of a classic English blade. This one was produced December 6, 2018.

It comes in a nice cardboard tuck of five blades that are individually double wrapped with a nicely printed outer wrapper and some medium wax dots. There is a date code on the tuck, which I like to see. The blade has some nice stenciling, including grind numbers, which I like to see.

It has a medium to fine grind, with some uneven coating on the distal 60% of the blade and light honing at the very edge of the bevel.

After the test, the steel has lots of medium denting and chipping. This steel isn't as tough and durable as most steels, but it should be alright for a few shaves.

The new blade was fairly sharp, but it isn't consistent and dulls quickly.

Date	8/2/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24	7/31/24
Blade	London Bridge	Super Stainless	Gillette	China	December 6, 2018
Shaves	0	P3	P6	P9	P12
Location	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top	Bottom/Top
Medium	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22	Stren 6 .22
Dulling Substrate	New	Paper	Paper	Paper	Paper
Measurements	30	30	30	20	20
Std. Dev.	6	10	14	18	15
Median F (g)	51	61.5	70.5	68.5	84.5
Mean F (g) Btm	54	66	68	73	78
Mean F (g) Top	51	62	79	80	88
Mean F (g)	52	64	74	77	83
BESS Adj. Factor	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22	1.22
Av. Adj. F (g) Bt	66	81	83	89	95
Av. Adj. F (g) Top	62	75	96	98	107
Median adj. F (g)	62	75	86	84	103
Mean adj. F (g)	64	78	90	94	101

Blade Sharpness Test Index

Complete Data and Media Calibration