Wilkinson Sword Classic Stainless Steel Double Edge Razor Blades 5 Count (Pack of 20)

So I'm a relative newbie to the world of shaving with your standard DE blades. I finally got tired of paying 4 bucks a cartridge for a schick/gillette type blade and watched some videos and gave this a shot. While I'm only about a half dozen shaves in, I can give this feedback (and advice)1. If you have never "wet shaved" with DE blades before, understand, this is a different kind of shaving. You will need to make at LEAST two lather/shave passes to get the close shave that you are used to with cartridges. First pass goes with the grain of your beard, second goes across (not against) the grain.2. These are NOT the sharpest blades out there - if you are new at this, that is actually a very good thing as it will minimize nicks/cuts that WILL happen. Most of them will close almost instantly with application of after shave and are not a big deal at all. Feather makes a MUCH sharper blade, but it will cut you and will likely also leave you VERY razor burned until you get your technique down. I've not had that issue at all with these blades.3. The blades last. I'm about 2 weeks in on the same blade, and I grow pretty heavy stubble. I'll probably change out soon - not because the blade is going bad per se, but because at 20 cents a blade, there's no reason to use them until they start to dull.4. Understand that as important as the blade is the razor handle you choose. When shaving in this way the weight of the handle and angle are what drive the cutting edge: you do not put pressure on outside of that (or you cut your face). These blades fit well and hit the proper angle in my merkur shaving handle quite nicely.5. Lets be honest here, these are standard double edge razor blades. They do the job, are not too aggressive for new shavers, and at 20 bucks for a box of 100 I won't be buying more for a very, VERY long time making them an excellent value.I highly recommend picking up a quality pre-shave cream, a rich lathering shaving soap, a good quality brush (so you don't end up with hairs all over your face), a stiptik pencil in case of cuts, and that you do watch a couple of youtube videos on how to use all of the above appropriately.Sorry the review turned into more of a shaving lesson - so for those who want the abbreviated review: can't go wrong with these blades. Nothing special, but do the job without irritating your face the way some super-sharp blades will

I tested 5 different sets of blades over he last 3 1/2 months. It is Interesting to read reviews with comments on the relative sharpness of blades. I could not discern any difference in the initial sharpness of any blade and consider any such evaluation very subjective, but I can tell when blades get dull by the discomfort from the pulling of individual hairs towards the end of a blade's useful life. In my experience a blade should provide at least 10 acceptable shaves. The Wilkinson I am presently using is at about 20 and I am about to change it out of boredom though it did not start out well. With the first shave the thick grease or wax coting interfered with the shave, but after cleaning its performance has been excellent.I clean blades after each use and flip them top to bottom. This is a step that I have not seen in any other reviews, but I believe is necessary to flex the cutting edge back into alignment. The blades that I tested were the new Wilkinson's, a set of Wilkinson's that are about 20 to 25 years old, Derby, Feather and a set of 25 to 30 year old blades made in the USA with no brand name. The only blades that I would not buy are the Derby's. The first blade was good for over 10 shaves, but the second blade was only good for 4, and the third somewhat in between. Derby seems to have a problem with consistency.The Feather which is highly recommended by some reviewers is an excellent blade, but in my opinion, no better if as good as the Wilkinson after the Wilkinson is cleaned. Interestingly, the old blades were on par with the new blades, but the new Wilkinson's seem to last the longest. I intend to buy based on price between the Wilkinson and Feather blades in the future.

This listing is grievously mislabeled and overpriced. I purchased what was labeled as "5 Count (Pack of 20)" indicating that 20 packs of 5 blades, or 100 total blades were being sold. Instead I was sent a pack of 4, for 20 total blades. The wording on the listing needs to be corrected at once.

I've tried other blades off and on over the years, always to my regret. These are the best safety razors on the market, bar none. They're good for 3 shaves for me. Always a smooth shave, and never an in-grown whisker from using them.If you've never used a safety razor, be prepared. You're going to cut your face until you learn to let the weight of the razor do the work. You do not need to press these into your face to get a close, smooth shave. Some good shaving soap, like Taylor of Old Bond Street, a badger hair brush (boar hair is too stiff for me, and doesn't seem to pick up the shaving soap as well), and a shaving mug, and you're ready to rock.Also, buy a stiptic pencil for the bleeding. Once you get the hang of the technique of shaving with these, you'll rarely nick yourself, unless you decide to go off res and use inferior blades to these.

I started using Wilkinson's double-edge blades forty years ago. My Dad and his Dad used them, too. I took off a star because these are not the thickness metal that they used to be and therefore don't last as long. I get four shaves before they start to get unbalanced and dulled. It seems like just about every company makes things as cost-effective as possible - at the risk of reducing quality. That said, these blades will still get the job done nicely. I tried Feathers, Astra Platinum Superiors, Personna Israeli, Derby, Merkur, Gillette, and some others. These blades, with either the Merkur 34c or the Edwin Jagger 89L, still give me a BBS shave every time. When I first bought these 100 blades, a few months ago, they were $12 and change. Now, they are priced a little high. As of today, the best deal on Amazon are the Astra Platinums at $12. I will repurchase the Wilkinsons if the price comes back down to normal.