What's the deal with UK Wilkinsons?

Pjotr

Pjotr

Cultured Philistine
Moderator
2016 Sabbatical
Joined
Feb 15, 2011
Location
Western Australia
Having just bought 200 NOS UK Wilkinson Sword blades (on a whim and in no small part because it made @Monsta_AU green with envy) I've been lurking at various sites to see what information I can glean regarding these and UK Wilkinsons in general. To be honest I can't find diddlysquat other than the hand over to a German company and the almost universal conclusion that that was a very bad move. No timelines or talk about different blades, different finishes, different factories etc etc.

There appear to be a large number of UK Wilkinson Sword blades in different packaging and logically I can't imagine that, in a market with such marginal profits, a factory would completely retool just to produce yet another range of blades. So, is the hype surrounding some of the harder to get ones (Light Brigades, Super Sword etc) just the usual "I've paid a fortune for this hard to find blade and yes it is absolutely amazing, so go and suck it you poor bastards", or is there any physical evidence such as production in a different factory, different finish (PTFE, chromium, platinum coating etc) to back it up? Common you vintage blade tragics (I have become a bit of one myself) gimme some science and logic.
 
gthomas04 said:
All you, or anyone else needs to know is @Monsta_AU says they are really really good - all other opinions are therefore irrelevant :)
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That is a given. I wasn't particularly asking if or not they're good. Just what's the deal with all the different permutations. Are they the same blade in a different sexy package? If not, what's the evidence aside from the gushing reviews which as we all know you have to take with a grain of salt at the best of times.
 
Same sort of thing as all the different Gillette permutations really. Different blades were produced in different factories, then factories were either closed or moved to other locations with cheaper labour.

Wilkinson had three UK factories IIRC, one shut down in the mid '80s while the second closed in approx 2000 just prior to the Pfizer buyout of Warner-Lambert. Suffice to go into all the details, but the UK factories had a very good quality record, and the blades produced there (Light Brigades) were as good as any other. The Light Brigades are known the world over as one of the top blades ever produced in the world... possibly beaten by the Personna P74.

Manufacturing moved to Germany under Pfizer and it remains there today after Energiser bought the Wilkinson company from Pfizer after it wanted to divest it in 2003. The quality is still good but nothing like what it was back in the English production.

For the record, the Gillette Platinums produced in the UK prior to the move to Lodz, Poland (precursors to the Dark Platinums) are possibly the best Gillette blades ever made. The English knew how to make a blade sharp, smooth and long-lasting. I know who had some and I will be trying to get my hands on them soon. They look like the picture following, and they are a buy on sight item at under $1 per blade, I'd personally pay more.

1970%20(P1)%20Gillette%20Platinum%20stainless%20stell%20blade%20England.jpg
 
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This might seem a daft question - but why does it say "Do not wipe blade"?

Any blade, not just this one pictured.
 
Actually just spotted 40 of these on ebay UK. Contacted the seller. He agreed to ship them to Aus. Then my bid was rejected because he obviously hadn't cleared it for shipping abroad. They went for 10 quid. Obviously don't know what the max bid was but there were no other bidders. Oh well. Typical of my ebay luck!
 
Pjotr said:
I think that's a safety thing. I've read it on other blade packets.
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No, it's so you do not start peeling of the PTFE coating on them. Many people used to strop them in the old days which removes the teflon which was applied to the edge.
 
Anyone regulars over there wants a PO Box with forwarding for the eventuality that a seller won't ship to Oz, yell. Happy to be an intermediary and put some extra custom through my village post office (always at the risk of closure if they don't do enough trade)
 
Hello hunnymoster. Thanks for that. That's gotta be the ultimate enablor (should be a word) offer. I just discovered when I was scouring various forums to find information on Wilkinson blades that you're part of the Shaving Room forum. Seems like a nice site!
 
Yep... We're of the same heritage as this place but about 2-3 years further down the road (social group at YKW that attracted the ire of the Sturmabwehr mod team)
 
That's why I liked the place! By the way, in the (extremely) unlikely event that you spot anything on ebay that's CONAUS only, feel free to yell back.
 
Used my first English Wilk today. Wow, with 6 days stubble someproraso white croap, and a Merkur 38C HD I haad a nice smooth close shave. These things are marvelous.

My lather was a bit sloppy and I would have expected a harsher shave but these blades are quite forgiving. I'll be putting a few up for sale but it wont be many.
 
hunnymonster said:
Obviously any such shipments are still at the mercy of AQIS and the formidable list of stuff Royal Mail won't allow to be sent http://www.royalmail.com/australia )
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That was interesting. About the only thing I could see that you are allowed to send is tram and railway rolling stock (??). Other than that anything ever made by the human race or made by or from any other organism on this planet is either prohibited or restricted. By the way, that includes the wood pulp product called paper:
  • Pulp of wood or of other fibrous cellulose material; waste and scrap of paper or paperboard; paper and paperboard and articles thereof
  • Paper and paperboard; articles of paper pulp, of paper or of paperboard
  • Printed books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans
 
  • Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof
This is as silly as iTunes T's and C's stating that you can't use any part of their coding to manufacture weapons of mass destruction.

And I quote:

"You also agree that you will not use these products for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture or production of nuclear, missiles, or chemical or biological weapons."

https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/appstore/dev/stdeula/
 
I didn't know somebody was contravening Royal Mail guidelines by sending me a Christmas card. Oh my God, I've got a couple of books arriving. Subject to computer access privileges I could be posting my next from a correctional facility.
 
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