Wilkinson Sword and Lord International - DE Stainless Steel Razor Blades

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I have been using Lord's, Shark Super Stainless DE blade for many years; it is what I would describe as a mid-sharp blade with assertive blade feel but still efficient, comfortable, forgiving and with reasonable longevity. That Shark SS gives loads of feedback and affords a unique voice to most razors especially those with a hollow handle. It is also good value for money, with 100 blades readily available in the UK for about GBP £5 (USD $7), when purchased in bulk. Lord also offer many of their PTFE coated Stainless Steel blades with “Platinum” and “Chrome” coatings, wether these coating names are marketing terms or describe the actual coating used I am not able to determine, but many of us quickly ascertain at the beginning of our journey what type of blade coating suits us.

Recently I have been trying Lords ASCO, Silver Star and Classic - Super Stainless blades (thanks to recent threads), each of them with different characteristics (they are very different blades to this shaver, despite some users describing them as the same blade). Whilst I enjoy Gillette's SharpEdge, Mostochlehmash's Rapira Super Stainless, Persona's Med prep, Feathers and KAI's, depending on the razor, the consistency of Lord's Shark, Asco (Orange) and Silver Star blades across all of my razors, is exceptional. The blades are well balanced, in terms of comfort and sharpness. Not as sharp as Russian Yellow's or the Japanese duo, but still give close shaves, even the ASCO, which I would describe as a mild blade but not Voskhod mild.

So how did Lord International, an Egyptian company, based in Alexandria, begin producing high quality blades?' I vaguely remembered reading that Lord International had been in partnership with Wilkinson Sword and indeed no doubt many shavers are also vaugely aware of this. A little bit of digging, and it is clear why Lord blades are a favourite for many shavers. In 1981, "Wilkinson Sword Middle East" sold its entire operations, including equipment, quality control procedures, production processes and marketing to the Soliman family. “LORD International", was launched with Wilkinson Sword technology. Your Lord blades could be considered as re-branded Wilkinson Sword blades from the 1980's.

Lord Stainless Steel blades' heritage effectively go back to the original stainless steel blade! Carbon steel shortages slowed Wilkinson Sword's production after WW2, in response, the company began developing the then entirely new and unique stainless steel blade in partnership with Osberghaus KG, based in Solingen. By 1955, this partnership had begun full-scale manufacturing of the world's first stainless steel blade, which was launched onto the consumer market in 1956. Lord International continues the journey of the stainless steel DE razor blade and today Lord International is ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 certified and holds OHSAS 18001 certifications, an enviable achievement, in terms of quality standard recognition. If you passed Lord's blades by, you may want to consider giving them a try.

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If you passed Lord's blades by, you may want to consider giving them a try.

Amen, brother!

... and your proposal that in many respects, these are as if the vintage Wilkinson Sword line carried on.

I'm still running through the Lord stable and hoping that a stash of all manner of peripheral brands will actually arrive with me some time. Standout blades, for me, are the Shark Super Stainless, Lord Classic Super Stainless and the Silver Star Super Stainless. All Super Stainless. I've enjoyed the Chrome blades from both Lord and Shark, which I find really very neutral (consider that a good thing) but not enjoyed the Platinum.

The Silver Star Super Stainless is right up there with the PermaSharp Super for a very sharp and keen, yet smooth (in no way harsh) shave. The Lord Classic, too, a really good daily driver smooth from the off. The Shark Super Stainless is perhaps a little divisive, as it does indeed have a lot of character - some might not like his character, but he's a vocal fellow and gives a lot of sensory feedback.
 
Amen, brother!

... and your proposal that in many respects, these are as if the vintage Wilkinson Sword line carried on.

I'm still running through the Lord stable and hoping that a stash of all manner of peripheral brands will actually arrive with me some time. Standout blades, for me, are the Shark Super Stainless, Lord Classic Super Stainless and the Silver Star Super Stainless. All Super Stainless. I've enjoyed the Chrome blades from both Lord and Shark, which I find really very neutral (consider that a good thing) but not enjoyed the Platinum.

The Silver Star Super Stainless is right up there with the PermaSharp Super for a very sharp and keen, yet smooth (in no way harsh) shave. The Lord Classic, too, a really good daily driver smooth from the off. The Shark Super Stainless is perhaps a little divisive, as it does indeed have a lot of character - some might not like his character, but he's a vocal fellow and gives a lot of sensory feedback.

...do you have Lord's "Rainbow" in hand or inbound?' they do not appear to be readilly available in the UK at a good price. I agree with you on the Shark and Silver Star. I suspect the Classic may also be at the top of Lord's blade hierarchy, and although it is an excellent blade my preference is for the Shark, Silver Star and Asco, particularly the Asco even though it is relatively mild. I think the Asco blade maybe somewhat thicker than most DE blades but I need to re-check. A blade that fits me, is like a favourite pair of broken-in boots, and the Asco fits so very well - and adds to my overall well being :)
 
Rainbows are inbound ... along with Crown, ASCO Red & Big Ben Classic ... and Lord Tajam, Extra & Superior Platinum.

I think I read the various forms of Lord Platinum are all the same blade but have different packaging as they intended for different markets.

Lord seemed to have released a fair few new blades over the last few years though, the Blue Sword is a new one and I've not seen this one before

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I imagine this is for the Pakistan market, the normal Silver Star in 10 packs for India, same blades but different packaging.
 
I have a pack of the Blue Sword ... one to add to the (growing) list of new blades to try. I'm going to do a Lord month when I get all the blades together. Next month is Treet month.

Silver Star (Green), eh? I like that. Playing on the Gillette 7 O'Clock PermaSharp colouring? Treet 7 Days Platinum is an obvious nod and wink to the the Gillette for Indian & Pakistani markets.
 
I have a pack of the Blue Sword ... one to add to the (growing) list of new blades to try. I'm going to do a Lord month when I get all the blades together. Next month is Treet month.

Silver Star (Green), eh? I like that. Playing on the Gillette 7 O'Clock PermaSharp colouring? Treet 7 Days Platinum is an obvious nod and wink to the the Gillette for Indian & Pakistani markets.

I think the Treet month will be a good one, there's quite a lot of variety in their line be it stainless steel or carbon steel blades, with quite a lot of difference amongst their blades too.
 
Probably a few others kicking about.

This one?
 
Paul, there are a few I can think of aside from the ones you've mentioned. Aside from the standard Lord Platinum and Asco Platinum there are a few lesser known ones which seem to have gone under the radar.

There are the Lord Captain blades, which are carbon steel. £30 for a 100 on Ebay.

These Lord Super's, which I've never seen elsewhere aside from here.

Also, from this thread, Bolzano blades are no longer made in Germany but in Egypt, presumably by Lord. I'm not sure whether that means the Elios blade is also made by them.
 
This one?

Yes, that is actually pictured ... as a single underneath the Shark Platinum.

Interestingly, it is a different sleeve to the "Superior" Platinum, second row, second from the bottom. Interestingly, the nomenclature "Platinum Class" is no doubt because it's one of those platinum blades that isn't ... kinda like "Gold Class". Whether the "Superior" Platinum is indeed platinum is anyone's guess.

I'm on a SuperMax month, so this little lot will have to wait ...

Paul, there are a few I can think of aside from the ones you've mentioned. Aside from the standard Lord Platinum and Asco Platinum there are a few lesser known ones which seem to have gone under the radar.

There are the Lord Captain blades, which are carbon steel. £30 for a 100 on Ebay.

These Lord Super's, which I've never seen elsewhere aside from here.

Also, from this thread, Bolzano blades are no longer made in Germany but in Egypt, presumably by Lord. I'm not sure whether that means the Elios blade is also made by them.

Indeed, the Platinum Class. You sent me a couple.

I shyed away from further platinums as I was starting to get a thought that I might not like platinums, but after a few SuperMax house Super Platinums, maybe I'm getting used to them. Yeah, I'll get the Lord Platinum Class, the ASCO Platinum and RACER Platinum in ...

Interesting note about the Bolzano & Elios blades. I'll pick them up as potential flankers, like the Super Tez, Super Power & Super Glide from the (not labelled) Treet factory.

Problem with little collections like this is, you'll always end up with one to get and you have to buy 200 to get the one tuck :ROFLMAO:
 
I finally gave Lord's Rainbow DE Blades a first try today...

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They come in a similar high quality card box and paper wrapping, that Lord's Sharks do - 4 colour, varnished, heavy card outer, with a thick glossy inner paper wrapping - , with the "Rainbow" branding printed prominently on the blade. The blade itself has an unusual copper hue and the inner wrapper appears slightly larger than need be. I head and face shave daily, starting with my head, ATG. I so much wanted these blades to perform as I love the graphics and Lord's Sharks, Silver Star and Asco orange fit me like a glove...alas the blade failed to perform, it struggled to cut one day's hair growth on my head. I ended up switching out the blade for an Asco — normal service was resumed. Lord's Rainbow's received a lot of love about 10 yrs ago, so I am at a loss as to why it did not perform for me, as I can usually make any blade work and can not recall switching out a blade. It maybe the blade edges were damaged in transit (certainly not during unwrapping as I exercise care when unwrapping a blade; Lord has downgraded the blade; they are not genuine Lord blades; poorly stored / old perished stock or I just had an off day. I will give them another go but my perception of these blades may already be coloured. The one positive was that it confirmed how good Lord's Sharks, Silver Star and Asco's work for me.
 
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One thing I learned with Lord is to save money and simply skip the underling blades and use their Platinum. No blade they make shaves better IMO.
 
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