*made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

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Big Swifty
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*made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Big Swifty »

Hello gents
For those who have tried them are the Wilkenson sword "super sword edge" good blades to have, I have been searching for some NOS "light brigades" but they are hard to find, but I've seen these readily available and I was wondering about them. Any info would be greatly appreciated
~Steve

~proponent of a strong salvation army, born again Calvinist, cunning linguist, flaming heterosexual

"Life is too short to drink shitty beer"
CMur12
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by CMur12 »

Hi Steve -

As you might already know, the Light Brigade Wilks = Chromium Edge.

I have a couple sealed dispensers of the Super Sword Edge blades, but I have never actually tried them. I find the LB Wilks a bit harsh, so I haven't felt pressed to try the others.

Edit/Addition: The Super Sword Edge are still probably some very good blades. You might recall, from around the time that you and I joined SMF, that some of us were doing group purchases of pillar packs (100 blades) of the last English production of Wilkinson Sword blades (from around 2001). Those, though not of the same quality as earlier blades, were still quite decent. I would expect the Super Sword Edge blades to be better, if not significantly better.

- Murray
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Big Swifty
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Big Swifty »

Thanks Murray,
Yes I do remember when everyone wanted those Englishs made wilks but I never got any. The Wilkensons I did get were made in Germany and had a gold colored "5" on the front cover card in an all white package, I was not too impressed with them at the time and I haven't shaved with Wilks since. I went ahead and ordered 2 sealed packs of the super sword edge on Ebay, I hope they are nice, the Light brigades don't come up for sale very often and when they do they go quickly
~Steve

~proponent of a strong salvation army, born again Calvinist, cunning linguist, flaming heterosexual

"Life is too short to drink shitty beer"
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BPman
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by BPman »

Swifty, I have tried all the NOS ones and IMO they are all great. I recently shaved with four or five different Made in England Wilkies and I'll be damned if I could tell any difference. The Chromium was introd in 1969 with the Light Brigade coming shortly thereafter as merely the same blade in a fancy pkg. The Super Sword-Master ones in the sliding blade packets are to my face just as good as is the one marked in red letters "Stainless Steel" and the later XCN Chromium. Bottom line: all the English made Wilkies were great.

FWIW, WS helped out Lord in Egypt in 1978 and IMO today's Lord Platinum blade is just as smooth as the NOS Wilkies. Try one.
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Squire
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

Lord makes some good ones, no doubt, though I haven't found their highest end brands to quite touch the hem of Wilkinson's garment. Need to dig some out for a revisit.
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BPman
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by BPman »

Squire, one poster has stated that a Lord rep told him that ALL their blades are the same with only different packaging, albeit with two exceptions: their Lord Platinum & Super Chrome which are also one in the same and have their best coatings. I think the Lord Platinum is the best bang for the $$ in the industry now with it being IMO a tad smoother than the Astra SP. Mind you, this is the new Lord Platinum as I don't know how long it's been available.
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Squire
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

BP have you ever heard of a rep who didn't toe the company line? They are salesmen who's job is to fill orders and only know what they are told. Years ago I knew a rep for a whisky distributor who stoutly maintained a certain prestige line was made by a small, family owned distillery in Kentucky and every bottle was hand crafted and worth the premium. Only partly true, the producers were small and family owned, but they didn't actually make any whisky and all their labels were repackaged bulk goods from a major distiller who sold exactly the same Bourbon under it's own labels for a fraction of the cost. The rep might even have believed what he was told to say but he didn't really know any better and if he had known and told the truth his job would've been in jeopardy.

Lord does sell same make blades under different labels. Certain animal images, numbers and colors are considered fortunate signs in different cultures so of course Lord and other blade manufacturers change the packaging to suit the market. Yet Lord makes a wide range of blades using different steels, coatings and finishes, made on new, used and close to worn out equipment. Their cheapest stuff is sold only in poorer parts of the World and are truly sub-par by hobbyist standards. I was sent some Lord blades sold only in Egypt by a distributor who wanted to show me just how bad a DE blade can be and they were truly execrable. He challenged me to find something good to say about them and I couldn't.

Now, if a rep gets a call from a customer who want's 25,000 Super Chromes and the rep doesn't have them is he going to say, nope, can't help you, take your business elsewhere, or, is he going to say don't have those but have the Racers and all Lord blades are the same, just different boxes y'know.
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Squire
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Rufust445
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Rufust445 »

Well said, Squire, but just to add my $0.02 worth, I recently tried one of the Lord Platinum class blades that came with my Lord L.125 razor. One was enough, and I put them away, no comparison to the Shark SS blades I have been using. I have received and tried most of the Lord brands & models, received as samples from orders with Gianni back in the day. The Asco orange, Silver Star, Rainbow, Racer, and even Crown gave tolerable to very good shaves. Big Ben and Asco red, meh. The Shark SS is the only blade with my current technique and razor that I have been able to push to four comfortable shaves. Back in earlier days of discovery, even took one to six, but not as comfortable shaves.

As Always with blades, YMMV
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

Shark is easily one of the better blades I've used and I believe the best of the Lord brands I've sampled.
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CMur12
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by CMur12 »

Is there any difference between the Shark Super Stainless and the Shark Super Chrome?

- Murray
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BPman
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by BPman »

All I can say is buy a blade of Lord Platinum from tryablade.com and decide. I like it a lot. Of course as always, YMMV.

http://tryablade.com/blade/lord-platinum
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Squire
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

Good question Murray, wish I knew the answer. I believe I've used the Chromes but haven't had enough coffee yet to clear out the brain fog. If Giovanni stocked them I tried them (he even sent me blade samples that he received but stock) but darned if I can recall anything about the Chromes except the name sounds familiar.
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CMur12
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by CMur12 »

Squire, when Giovanni had his store, I think the Shark Super Stainless was the only variation. The Sharp Super Chrome seems to have appeared since then. I see current vendors stocking both, side by side, often for the same price. Beyond that, I don't know if "chrome" and "stainless" have special brand-specific meanings within the Lord family of blades.

- Murray

PS. I miss-typed "Squire" when I started this post, resulting in "Squirre." At that point, it occurred to be that tis a fine line that distinguishes a squire from a squirrel. :P
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Squire
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

Nothing a thesaurus wouldn't cure.
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CMur12
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by CMur12 »

That was a good answer, Squire, though spellcheck would probably suffice.

- Murray
preidy
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by preidy »

Nothing good last forever.
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blantyre
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by blantyre »

CMur12 wrote: I miss-typed "Squire" when I started this post, resulting in "Squirre." At that point, it occurred to be that tis a fine line that distinguishes a squire from a squirrel. :P
I'm sure he has quite a collection of blades squirreled away!
Rick
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Re: *made in england* Wilkenson sword blades

Post by Squire »

Enough to give a feeling of calm serenity when I think on it.
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