Wilkinson Sword Chromium/Light Brigade - Was this just marketing for the US Market?

[psfred]

The chromium sputtered onto the edge is to make it slick -- chrome, platinum, and tungsten all, when coated, do not have the granular structure of stainless steel. The steel is rather "sticky" to hair as it cuts, so bare stainless blades drag more. Chrome and tungsten are definitely harder that the steel as well, leading to longer edge life. I don't know if platinum is harder, I don't think so. But they are all lower friction.

I find plain "super stainless" blades to drag more and be less comfortable than platinum blades, but the shaves are impossible to tell apart otherwise.

 

[SGWB]

The chromium sputtered onto the edge is to make it slick -- chrome, platinum, and tungsten all, when coated, do not have the granular structure of stainless steel. The steel is rather "sticky" to hair as it cuts, so bare stainless blades drag more. Chrome and tungsten are definitely harder that the steel as well, leading to longer edge life. I don't know if platinum is harder, I don't think so. But they are all lower friction.

I find plain "super stainless" blades to drag more and be less comfortable than platinum blades, but the shaves are impossible to tell apart otherwise.

Thank you for correcting me on platinum hardness. I looked it up. It is somewhat softer than a typical stainless steel.

 

[mjclark]

So at last I have some Light Brigades in their first incarnation - the New Chromium.

I’m going to do a shave off with a fresh Light Brigade against a fresh New Wilkinson blade.
Let’s compare these two blades which were released in the same year but distributed in different markets:

 

[mjclark]

Ok fresh out of the wrappers I can confidently say that the New Wilkinson and the Light Brigade are NOT the same blade.

The New Wilkinson is a phenomenal shaver but the Light Brigade is unbelievably even sharper and smoother.
Wow!
So perhaps there isn’t a British market equivalent of the Light Brigade and they were made for export only to compete with the Spoilers etc.

But I read that the London Bridge Blades which were for export to the Middle East market are as good as the LBs.
Now we need to try those!

 

[TADIII]

@mjclark , The earliest "Light Brigade" ad I have seen is from LOOK Magazine, Feb 27, 1970:

And, I found this ad for your blade (with a new and strengthened edge) in a Feb 5, 1970 English Football paper:

...so they were both being advertised at the same time on either side of the ocean.

Also, @poikkeus had a pack of New Chromium Edge blades (Light Brigade description) in the old Super Sword black, gold, and red packaging from late 1969, bottom:

which makes me think the Light Brigade (and Waterloo) packaging might have been more a marketing strategy than a country-specific, special blade.

Tom

 

[mjclark]

@mjclark , The earliest "Light Brigade" ad I have seen is from LOOK Magazine, Feb 27, 1970:
View attachment 879477
And, I found this ad for your blade (with a new and strengthened edge) in a Feb 5, 1970 English Football paper:
View attachment 879474
...so they were both being advertised at the same time on either side of the ocean.

Also, @poikkeus had a pack of New Chromium Edge blades (Light Brigade description) in the old Super Sword black, gold, and red packaging from late 1969, bottom:
View attachment 879481
which makes me think the Light Brigade (and Waterloo) packaging might have been more a marketing strategy than a country-specific, special blade.

Tom

That is great information!
So if any blade is the Light Brigade equivalent then it’s got to be the New Wilkinson.

As I said in the previous post, on the first comparison a New Wilkinson felt less smooth than the LB but maybe that’s just an illusion or something to do with different storage conditions...

 

[TADIII]

That is great information!
So if any blade is the Light Brigade equivalent then it’s got to be the New Wilkinson.

As I said in the previous post, on the first comparison a New Wilkinson felt less smooth than the LB but maybe that’s just an illusion or something to do with different storage conditions...

I would not rule out storage conditions; forty-eight-year-old blades have had life conditions we may never know about. I have blades that have been in my possession for thirty-five + years, and I think I know what their storage has been like, but they have been in storms that knocked out power for a couple of days, and there have been times when I was out of town two to four weeks with no knowledge of what humidity levels were like while I was gone.

I did think it was interesting, though, that the earliest print ads I could find of your blade and the LB were contiguous. I mentioned in one of the other threads on these blades that I have been a dedicated Wilkinson user since 1966, and I don't remember thinking that the '70 to '74 blades were a wonderful uptick, or that after 1974 there was a downturn in quality. Only the move the Germany made me aware of a change.

HTH. You and @Goatywoaty have asked some interesting questions!

Tom

 

[Goatywoaty]

Wow great info Tom, great research! How did you find the newspaper adverts?

I've got a tuck of new stainless so I will have to compare one to the LBs Mjclark generously gifted to me, life gets in the way a bit but I need to dedicate some more time to the Wilkie research

 

[mjclark]

Wow great info Tom, great research! How did you find the newspaper adverts?

I've got a tuck of new stainless so I will have to compare one to the LBs Mjclark generously gifted to me, life gets in the way a bit but I need to dedicate some more time to the Wilkie research

Brilliant - we’re really making progress with this now!

 

[TADIII]

Wow great info Tom, great research! How did you find the newspaper adverts?

Google Images!

 

[TADIII]

Review the pics in post #45; Wilkinson USA used a common black, gold, and red hang-card scheme for several years. The earliest print ad showing it that I have found is 1967, and the latest 1972. Look at the pre-pricing: 69 cents, 79 cents, and 89 cents. But for all three of them, the black insert card says "Super Sword-Edge," even the third one that, otherwise, has the verbiage that would appear on the Light Brigade packaging.
Here is a better pic of that "New Chromium Edge" packaging and the LB packaging:

The package on the left says NEW but also Super Sword. Was it really a new blade, or a repackaged SS at a higher price. I wonder if they went to the LB packaging to overcome the price increase.
I don't have the package on the left, but comparing these two blades might be an interesting exercise.
Anyway, I just thought it was worth sharing.

Tom

 

[mjclark]

Review the pics in post #45; Wilkinson USA used a common black, gold, and red hang-card scheme for several years. The earliest print ad showing it that I have found is 1967, and the latest 1972. Look at the pre-pricing: 69 cents, 79 cents, and 89 cents. But for all three of them, the black insert card says "Super Sword-Edge," even the third one that, otherwise, has the verbiage that would appear on the Light Brigade packaging.
Here is a better pic of that "New Chromium Edge" packaging and the LB packaging:
View attachment 880364View attachment 880365
The package on the left says NEW but also Super Sword. Was it really a new blade, or a repackaged SS at a higher price. I wonder if they went to the LB packaging to overcome the price increase.
I don't have the package on the left, but comparing these two blades might be an interesting exercise.
Anyway, I just thought it was worth sharing.

Tom

Even more interesting!
My Chromium XCN packaging contained Super Sword Edge blades too.
So now we have Super Sword Edge, New Wilkinson and New Chromium all circulating at the same time and potentially the same blade...

 

[mjclark]

So I tried a Super Sword Edge blade.
Wow! This seems every bit as good as the Light Brigade but with a slightly different face feel.
Very smooth and unbelievably incredibly sharp.
I wonder if the Super Sword Edge, New Wilkinson, New Chromium and Swordmaster all have slightly different coatings onto the same underlying blade.
And also whether degradation in the coating on specific individual blades is what is making these so hard to compare.
There is no doubt though that all the British Wilkinsons are phenomenal blades.

 

[Mouser]

The story about how Gillette miscalculated on the whole stainless steel blade introduction and Wilkinson almost got in over their heads is an interesting one. I'll post what I've been able to unearth when I can get on my laptop. Trying to type out something that long on a phone is over my tech paygrade.

 

[Jaidmaster]

Interesting thread. I have 2 shaves on a Super Sword Edge and find it very tuggy - more so than the Lab Blue I recently retired with 25 shaves on it. Same exact setup. Maybe it just doesn't like steep angle shaving, or just haven't aged well... I will admit the results are quite nice, but not comfortable shaving.

 

[mjclark]

Interesting thread. I have 2 shaves on a Super Sword Edge and find it very tuggy - more so than the Lab Blue I recently retired with 25 shaves on it. Same exact setup. Maybe it just doesn't like steep angle shaving, or just haven't aged well... I will admit the results are quite nice, but not comfortable shaving.

View attachment 881059 View attachment 881060

Yes this gets even more interesting!
My Super Sword Edge is very very smooth and that’s WITH steep angle shaving in a vintage British Open Comb.

@Jaidmaster The fact that your Super Sword Edge is tuggy really suggests that these blades are sensitive to storage conditions and this might explain why there are so many differing reports comparing the blades.

My New Wilkinson, Super Sword Edge, New Chromium and Swordmaster are all equally sharp but feel different on the face.

And the fact that @TADIII remembers all the different British Wilkinson blades being very similar when he bought them new in the ‘70s adds weight to the idea that they are just degrading unpredictably over time.

Could it be that since the Light Brigades by definition are still in their original blister packs they have just stored well compared to loose blades or opened packs and that’s why they are generally experienced as the very best?

 

[TADIII]

Yes this gets even more interesting!
snip
And the fact that @TADIII remembers all the different British Wilkinson blades being very similar when he bought them new in the ‘70s adds weight to the idea that they are just degrading unpredictably over time.
snip

Forty to fifty year old memories! From someone who wasn't doing anything like a scientific analysis of those blades! The fact that I didn't notice any difference doesn't mean there wasn't any; it could mean that I wasn't knowledgeable enough to note it. Porter used to remind us that someone might look at these posts sometime in the future and take our memories or speculations for gospel. I just wanted to add that.
Tom

 

[Goatywoaty]

Jaidmaster - how was your blade stored?

I'm thinking that YMMV may be coming into play here quite a bit, also razor type is another variable... I've had tuggy shaves with vintage Wilkies, then swapped the blade into a different razor and had a superb shave!

 

[mjclark]

Forty to fifty year old memories! From someone who wasn't doing anything like a scientific analysis of those blades! The fact that I didn't notice any difference doesn't mean there wasn't any; it could mean that I wasn't knowledgeable enough to note it. Porter used to remind us that someone might look at these posts sometime in the future and take our memories or speculations for gospel. I just wanted to add that.
Tom

You make a good point - I suppose to truly compare would require all the different blades to be fully sealed and all used by the same person in the same razor with the same prep.

And we are really generating a good resource about these blades in this thread...

 

[Jaidmaster]

Jaidmaster - how was your blade stored?

I'm thinking that YMMV may be coming into play here quite a bit, also razor type is another variable... I've had tuggy shaves with vintage Wilkies, then swapped the blade into a different razor and had a superb shave!

I received them as loose blades, so I don't know their history.
First 2 shaves in my Ikon Tech, with one shim, steep angle. I have removed the shim for the upcoming 3rd shave.
I'd be happy to drop one in the mail if someone wants to compare to some they have. CONUS preferably.