owner edgewell personal care country united kingdom introduced 1772 ; 244 years ago 1772 related brands schick markets 12 countries previous owners pfizer energizer holdings tagline free your skin website www.shaving.com wilkinson sword is a brand owned by edgewell personal care for razors and other personal care products sold across europe . it was originally founded as a company in london in 1772 by henry nock and originated as a manufacturer of swords made in shotley bridge in county durham . besides swords the company has also produced guns bayonets and products such as typewriters garden shears scissors and motorcycles . 1 gardening equipment is still made under the wilkinson sword name by e.p. barrus under a licensing arrangement . 2 wilkinson sword has manufactured its products in three uk locations over the years in london chelsea and acton cramlington in northumberland and bridgend in wales where it made gardening tools . in 2000 the company closed its razor plant in the uk and consolidated production in germany . contents 1 history 1.1 motorcycle production 1.2 stainless steel razor blades 1.3 merger with british match 1.4 current products 2 products 3 in popular culture 4 references 5 external links history edit motorcycle production edit wilkinson tmc 850cc wilkinson sword produced some of the earliest motorcycles in 1903 . these were two cylinder machines with belgian engines made by antoine which were marketed by a garage in chelsea london one of the first motorcycle dealerships in the uk . the venture was not a success however . 3 in 1911 wilkinson developed and manufactured the wilkinson tmc a luxury touring motorcycle between 1911 and 1916 when production was stopped by wwi . 4 the first wilkinsons were originally designed for military reconnaissance by p g tacchi who was granted a patent for the design in 1908 . citation needed demonstrated to the british military in the summer of 1908 the wilkinson motorcycle failed to impress the authorities despite optional accessories including a sidecar complete with maxim machine gun and a steering wheel instead of handlebars . 5 undaunted the company continued development and exhibited a new version a year later at the stanley clyde motorcycle show at the agricultural hall islington london in 1909 . 6 only about 250 wilkinsons were produced before wwi restrictions brought the line to its end in spring 1916 and wilkinson had to produce thousands of bayonets for the war effort . after the war they decided to continue to develop the in line four engine but in a new car called the deemster and they never resumed motorcycle production . 4 stainless steel razor blades edit in 1962 wilkinson sword introduced stainless steel razor blades and soon the company s blades made rapid gains in shares of the market because one blade though somewhat more expensive could be used for a week . the earlier carbon steel razor blades rusted quickly enough that many people used a new blade each day . so although wilkinson gained a larger percentage of the market the demand for razor blades declined to approximately fourteen percent of its previous level . this introduction gave wilkinson a substantive market share and previous market leaders quickly responded by introducing their own stainless blades . the technology had been available for some time but the market leaders such as gillette which held a patent on stainless blades presumably knew that any gain for them in market share would be overwhelmed by the dramatic reduction in the size of the market . 7 merger with british match edit in 1973 wilkinson sword merged with the british match corporation to form wilkinson match . 1 this was intended to create a stronger company with a larger advertising budget that would enable the company to fight its american rival in the consumer shaving market the gillette company and its british subsidiary also called gillette . in this advertising war wilkinson sword loudly touted its long and proud tradition of bladesmithing in its print and electronic media advertisements . allegheny ludlum industries of pittsburgh purchased wilkinson match in 1978 . after becoming allegheny international inc. the company filed for bankruptcy reorganization in 1987 . allegheny sold wilkinson match in 1986 to swedish match which merged with stora group two years later . 1 in 1989 gillette helped finance a buyout of the swedish match consumer products division which included wilkinson sword by the netherlands based eemland holdings giving gillette a 22 % stake in eemland . 8 after gillette was ordered by the european community commission in 1992 to sell its interest in eemland eemland sold wilkinson sword to warner lambert owner of schick razor brand forming schick wilkinson sword . the schick name was used on its products in north america and japan and the wilkinson sword name in europe . 1 in 2000 pfizer acquired warner lambert and three years later divested the wilkinson component . most of the former bryant and may operations of wilkinson match were closed or sold in the late 1970s and early 1980s including the bryant and may factories in bow and melbourne . the gardening tools division was sold to fiskars in the 1990s . during this time wilkinson sword produced ceremonial swords for the household cavalry of the british army and crafted the ceremonial sword for the golden jubilee of elizabeth ii in 2002 . the sword factory combined state of the art manufacturing technology with traditional skills and 19th century machinery to produce original fighting quality swords . the production of swords came to an end when the company s sword factory at acton closed in september 2005 . 9 wilkinson sword then held an auction of the tools equipment sword drawings and forging and milling machinery . robert pooley who had commissioned the company to produce swords bought many of these items and began supplying the army in place of wikinson sword . 10 other sword manufacturers and in particular wkc in germany also bought items including the roll forge . many of the tools and machines are still in use today . current products edit energizer holdings bought wilkinson sword from pfizer in 2003 along with schick . in 2015 energizer demerged its personal care business as a new company edgewell personal care of which wilkinson sword and schick became part . 11 both are now brands used by edgewell ; wilkinson sword is used in europe and schick is used in edgewell s remaining markets . wilkinson sword branded three four and five bladed razors for men and women have been produced in germany since 1998 when production moved from the uk . 12 products edit quattro titanium energy wilkinson sword hydro wilkinson s sword redesigned razor system released on april 6 2010 . wilkinson sword hydro 5 a 5 blade razor system with skin guards advanced hydrating gel and a flip trimmer . wilkinson sword hydro 3 a 3 blade razor system similar to the 5 blade system but all for a flip trimmer . wilkinson sword hydro silk a 5 blade women s razor system . initially introduced in mid 2012 as a schick model ; added to the wilkinson sword line later that year . wilkinson sword hydro 5 power select a motorized version of the hydro 5 with three user selectable vibration levels . wilkinson sword intuition a women s shaving system that lathers and shaves at the same time . wilkinson sword quattro a four bladed razor for men introduced in 2003 . the quattro midnight and quattro titanium are models with redesigned handles and different color schemes from the original quattro . quattro power a motorized version of the quattro ; it is supposed to reduce friction . the quattro titanium power is a quattro power with a different color scheme and quattro titanium cartridges . the quattro power is powered by a single aaa battery . quattro titanium includes a titanium coating on the blades that is claimed to reduce irritation . quattro for women a modified version of the quattro with a feminine color scheme . wilkinson sword protector a razor that is claimed to protect against nicks . wilkinson sword protector 3d a disposable razor wilkinson sword xtreme3 a three blade men s shaving razor . now also sold in the usa as wilkinson sword tech 3 . wilkinson sword xtreme3 disposable a disposable version of the xtreme3 introduced in 1999 . wilkinson sword tech 3 sensitive a us only three blade disposable razor marketed for users with sensitive skin . wilkinson sword extra 2 sensitive a two bladed disposable razor that comes in four different varieties . a similar model is sold in the usa as wilkinson sword classic twin . wilkinson sword extra 2 beauty a two bladed disposable women s razor . sold in the usa as wilkinson sword classic twin . wilkinson sword xtreme3 beauty a three blade disposable women s razor . sold in the usa as wilkinson sword oasis . the oasis name is also used for a usa only three blade refillable women s razor system . wilkinson sword classic a budget entry level double edged men s safety razor produced exclusively for the european market . wilkinson still also makes double edge razor blades for safety razors . in popular culture edit in the mad men season 7 part 2 premiere don has a dream wherein rachel menken auditions for an ad campaign and shows how smooth her legs are . he tells her admiringly you re not just smooth . you re wilkinson smooth . 13 references edit a b c d wilkinson sword ltd. history . funding universe . retrieved 8 march 2013 . about us . e.p. barrus ltd. retrieved 25 january 2016 . de cet mirco 2005 . quentin daniel ed . the complete encyclopedia of classic motorcycles . rebo international . isbn 978 90 366 1497 9 . a b currie bob 1988 . classic british motorcycles of over 500cc . patrick stephens ltd. isbn 1 85260 083 7 . brooks john 2000 . the national motorcycle museum . jarrold publishing . stanley clyde show . progress vol v issue 5 . 1 march 1910 . retrieved 2013 03 08 . competition beastly blades . time . 23 november 1962 . yenkin jonathan 11 november 1992 . gillette ordered to sell stake in wilkinson parent . apnewsarchive . associated press . retrieved 2013 03 08 . army sword factory gets the chop . bbc news . 20 september 2005 . retrieved 25 january 2016 . british military swords . pooley sword . retrieved 25 january 2016 . andrew goodman . with the energizer split what will edgewell look like . forbes . retrieved 17 december 2015 . wilkinson sword cuts jobs . bbc news . 1 october 1998 . retrieved 8 march 2013 . sepinwall alan april 5 2015 . season premiere review mad men severance is that all there is . hitfix . external links edit official website v t e edgewell personal care shaving schick products personna wilkinson sword skintimate edge sun care banana boat hawaiian tropic feminine care playtex carefree o.b. brand infant care playtex skin care playtex wetones pet care litter genie v t e british motorcycle manufacturers manufacturing in the united kingdom current ajs ariel ccm cheney greeves hesketh megelli m tisse norton triumph wasp defunct abc 1919 1923 abingdon akd 1903 1925 advance 1905 1947 aer 1937 1940 ajw 1928 1976 ajs motorcycles ltd 1909 2000 alldays & onions 1903 1915 ambassador 1946 1964 ariel 1902 1970 armstrong 1980 1987 ascot pullin 1928 1930 amc 1937 1966 baker 1927 1930 bat 1902 1926 baughan 1920 1936 beardmore precision 1914 1930 blackburne 1913 1922 bradbury 1902 1924 brough 1908 1926 brough superior 1919 1940 bsa 1919 1972 calthorpe 1909 1939 chater lea 1900 1936 clyno 1909 1923 corgi 1946 1954 cotton 1918 1980 coventry eagle 1901 1939 coventry victor 1919 1936 dmw 1945 1971 dot 1908