The company was founded as a manufacturer of guns made in Shotley Bridge in County Durham, by Henry Nock in London in 1772.

Besides guns, the company has also produced swords, bayonets and products such as typewriters, garden shears, scissors and motorcycles.

[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.

Henry Nock began trading as a gunlock smith out of Mount Pleasant in London in 1772.

[3] When Henry Nock died in 1804, he left the company to his foreman and adopted son-in-law, James Wilkinson.

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.

[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.

[6] 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.

Restrictions brought the line to its end in spring 1916, and Wilkinson then produced thousands of bayonets for the war effort.

[5] Wilkinson Sword began producing the Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife for British Commandos and special forces during World War II.

Although Wilkinson gained a larger percentage of the market, the demand for razor blades declined to approximately 14% of its previous level.

That same year Wilkinson purchased the American pen and lighter company Scripto, Inc. in an attempt to diversify its holdings.

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.