Vintage Wilkinson Blades

[Jamies]

Following on from my recent acquisition post about the above and Dodgy's input, I wonder if we should try and come up with a definitive thread about old Wilkies. I've Google'd & searched a few forums but can't come up with much.

The one's I've got today appear to be the same versions, except from different eras.

The ones on the left clearly have a Boots Price ticket of 57p, but if you look closer the gold printing is quite grainy, almost glittery and clearly they were sold either as loose packs or in a tuck, as there's no glue on the back of the packs.

The ones on the right, apart from increasing in price have far better printing quality and they all have glue spots and bits of card stuck to the back of them, indicating that they were attached to card hangers and sold individually.

Now I'm of the 1973 vintage, so have no idea when these blades were sold at these prices, anybody shed any light on this?

From what I've read, there was:
Sword Master
Super Sword
Light Brigade
Chromium

And maybe others, who's the Wilkie expert around here?

 

[dodgy]

Following on from my recent acquisition post about the above and Dodgy's input, I wonder if we should try and come up with a definitive thread about old Wilkies. I've Google'd & searched a few forums but can't come up with much.

The one's I've got today appear to be the same versions, except from different eras.

From what I've read, there was:
Sword Master
Super Sword
Light Brigade
Chromium

And maybe others, who's the Wilkie expert around here?

Whew doggies (said in my best Jed Clampett voice),

That's a real can of worms there buddy. I'm not an expert on Wilkinson blades.....well maybe I am around here anyway. I've probably used more types of those vintage ones than anyone else, so that's a small something. Far as the dating goes.........good luck with that.

There's other versions I could add to your list, such as Super Shave and Sword Edge, plus more I'm forgetting. Then you got a number of different kinds of Super Sword Edge blades.....yeah, not all of those are the same.

I can't tell you when any of em were made. You probably saw the same posts in other forums that I did when trying to get some dating info. Heh, pretty tough finding anything.

If you ever feel ambitious and feel like doing reviews on each one, I'd be happy to send you out some of every Wilkinson blades I have to sample. There's probably7-8 different packs floating around the arsenal......running anywhere from good to amazing. Sound like something you might like to try in your spare time?

Might I suggest you post a pic of the wrapper, plus the actual blade itself, whenever you have a Wilkinson to show. There's lots of variations on a theme and sometimes it helps to have all the info available.

I hope you take me up on my offer,

Martin

Oh yeah, i have some 5 packs (Sword Edge gray pack) that were priced at 47 cents. Now those gotta be pretty old I'd think. Heh, they're also a top blade of mine.

 

[SpeedyBabylon5]

Have only so far managed to snag some Wilkie classics which aren't as old as your ones but they are still made in England. They give a lovely smooth shave and really enjoy using them. I didn't see your ones on ebay but have been busy lately and most of the ones I find on the bay are normally in the States for mental prices.
Martin has a big advantage living in the States with seemingly more coming up on the market.

 

[Jamies]

Have only so far managed to snag some Wilkie classics which aren't as old as your ones but they are still made in England. They give a lovely smooth shave and really enjoy using them. I didn't see your ones on ebay but have been busy lately and most of the ones I find on the bay are normally in the States for mental prices.
Martin has a big advantage living in the States with seemingly more coming up on the market.

You won't believe this, but they were a UK seller with UK only delivery and I was the only bidder (£11.50) delivered:angel:

Just tried one this morning and OMG, these ones are even better than the others I've got.

You know that felling you get with the first stroke of a blade new to you.
Well this morning my initial thought was 'shit' been sold some duff worn down used blades, that don't even reach over the guard bar to touch the skin:icon_eek:

Then I realised two days stubble was gone in one stroke and it doesn't even feel like there's a blade in, talk about smooth, I even did an ATG pass which I never do and just to push my luck I did some ATG touch ups in stubbon areas without re lathering, just a splash of water:icon_razz:

I now know what BBS feels like, no iritation or blood loss of any kind, but the AS splash let me know it was a very close shave.

It's interesting looking at your blade and wrapper, it seem's like some of the earlier ones have the black stripes that are on your blade on the wrapper as well. Also note the H and K on your blade, mine's got X and D, these must be date codes of some sort, or maybe plant and product version codes (argh this is going to drive me nuts) someone out there must know Wilkies codes.

I'll add some more pictures of the wrapper and blade later tonight.

 

[dodgy]

You won't believe this, but they were a UK seller with UK only delivery and I was the only bidder (£11.50) delivered:angel:

Just tried one this morning and OMG, these ones are even better than the others I've got.

I realised two days stubble was gone in one stroke and it doesn't even feel like there's a blade in, talk about smooth,

I now know what BBS feels like, no iritation or blood loss of any kind, but the AS splash let me know it was a very close shave.

Also note the H and K on your blade, mine's got X and D, these must be date codes of some sort, or maybe plant and product version codes (argh this is going to drive me nuts) someone out there must know Wilkies codes.

I'll add some more pictures of the wrapper and blade later tonight.

What's up Jamie,

Not only did you get one hell of a deal on those old blades, but they seem to be a great fit as well. Pretty nice when things work out that way.

I have a few Wilkinsons that act the same for me, and I'll use those along with a few other vintage blades instead of my previously favored Iridiums. Yep, they don't make blades like they used to.

Heh, if you figure out that Wilkinson date code you'll be famous!

Martin

 

[Father Ted]

I love vintage Wilkies.
I have a few different ones and will get my backside in gear later and either scan or photograph them.
I would willingly trade all my Bleue Extras for Wilkis

 

[Jamies]

The original post has now been updated with wrapper & blade picture, codes of NF & XD are visible, NF being the earlier versions (I suspect)

Two more versions I've got.

From what I've found out the ones on the left date from about 1973 and are marked VA, note the introduction of the black & gold stripe across the white card.

The ones on the right are marked 4N and were produced later, as the printing on the tuck is better/more modern, the carton now brandishes a bar code unlike the other carton, plus the Double Edge wording and the new style blade wrapper that matches Speedy's Classic's posted above.

The carton's also have a numbering system on the end flap 005/023 for the earlier ones and 005/088 for the later ones. Only a guess, but I think it's a fair assumption that 005 means packs of 5, the second numbers are anyones guess (date/week/carton style).

From what I can tell, these are the same blade, again just from different eras (certainly shave the same).

Oh dear, it looks like I'm off down another rabbit hole:huh:

---

If you ever feel ambitious and feel like doing reviews on each one, I'd be happy to send you out some of every Wilkinson blades I have to sample. There's probably7-8 different packs floating around the arsenal......running anywhere from good to amazing. Sound like something you might like to try in your spare time?

Might I suggest you post a pic of the wrapper, plus the actual blade itself, whenever you have a Wilkinson to show. There's lots of variations on a theme and sometimes it helps to have all the info available.

Oh yeah, i have some 5 packs (Sword Edge gray pack) that were priced at 47 cents. Now those gotta be pretty old I'd think. Heh, they're also a top blade of mine.

Thanks Martin,
That's a kind offer that I may take you up on. I agree that adding blade & wrapper pictures help's a lot, so I've updated mine.

Those grey pack Sword Edge's of yours would be some of the very first Wilkies from 1956 if the word Stainless isn't on the pack, if the word is there then they'e between 1957 and 1963 ish.

 

[dodgy]

Those grey pack Sword Edge's of yours would be some of the very first Wilkies from 1956 if the word Stainless isn't on the pack, if the word is there then they'e between 1957 and 1963 ish.

Here's an old pic of that grey pack with the wrapper. The blade itself says 'super sword edge' on one side and the other has 'stainless...made in England' on the other. This is the only Wilkinson I've seen with the plain wrapper. You can see the word 'stainless' on the package, so I'm guessing they're made later than the first versions.

For me anyway, these are a top blade that about comes very close to matching the famous Light Brigade version. You don't see these come up for sale too often.

Thanks for the info you posted and I look forward to you finally figuring this crazy Wilkinson dating thing out. Let me know when you'd like me to send some various blades out to sample and photograph......heh.

Martin

 

[dodgy]

Hiya,

Just for the heck of it, here's a pic of that Light Brigade version. This one has the same writing on both sides. and these will normally sell for between $2-4 per blade. Sheeesh. Heh, if you accept your assignment, one of these will be included to sample.

I bought a small Wilkinson lot for very little money, and one of these 10 packs was included in the mix.

 

[Tim B]

I remember buying these back in the early 1990s from my local bargain shops, at around 50p for 5. Both the WS and WS Classic were brilliant to use at that time, giving a very smooth shave.

 

[Audiolab]

I quite like the Wilkinson blades, still got a stash of them and do use them now and again.

Nice to see you can still pick them up here and there.

 

[Jamies]

I love vintage Wilkies.
I have a few different ones and will get my backside in gear later and either scan or photograph them.
I would willingly trade all my Bleue Extras for Wilkis

Thanks FT if you could that would be great.

Actually can I ask if anyone has old made in England Wilkies to do the same.

If you could upload photos showing packaging, dispenser, wrapper & blade that would be ideal. Any other info such as packaging numbers, bar codes etc would also be most useful.

I'm going to have a crack at figuring this out or at least coming up with a resource that no other forum has managed to do and I'm sure the collective knowledge on TSR is second to non.

Come on chap's lets see your wilkies:s (awaiting pigcat response)

 

[dodgy]

[I'm going to have a crack at figuring this out or at least coming up with a resource that no other forum has managed to do and I'm sure the collective knowledge on TSR is second to none.

Here's a few pics that I took a while back. Part of a fairly large selection of different vintage Wilkinsons.

Whenever you're ready for these (plus a bunch of others) Jamie...............

Dodgy

Sorry, but I am too damn lazy to photograph each version with the dispensor, wrapper, and blade showing. Plus, I don't wanna take em outta the wrapper unless I plan on using one.

 

[A - W]

Some on the bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Sword-Double-Edge-Razor-Blades-Classic-Pillar-/330450608151?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf0642017

 

[Father Ted]

Some on the bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Sword-Double-Edge-Razor-Blades-Classic-Pillar-/330450608151?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf0642017

Many customers ask us specify where the stock is made, we receive stock made in UK and made in Germany.

 

[dodgy]

Some on the bay:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Sword-Double-Edge-Razor-Blades-Classic-Pillar-/330450608151?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4cf0642017

Many customers ask us specify where the stock is made, we receive stock made in UK and made in Germany.

Good point Teddy,

Yeah, I'd have to guess the blades being sold would be the Deutsch ones, which are different than the vintage UK made versions.