Derby Extra: Blade inconsistency

[Stratofortress]

I have been shaving myself with a Merkur 37c Slantbar for about a half a year now. After using a few different blade manufacturers (Personna, Wilkinson, Merkur) I had settled on the Derby Extra's. The 10 blades which I bought with my Merkur give a much smoother shave than the other brands, at least on my face.

So when I ran out of blades I bought a 200 pack Derby's from a "well known" shaving company. I received them in two very neat cardboard 100 boxes. The first thing I noticed about the blades was the styling of the 5 pack boxes. In contrast to my previous horizontal aligned text, these where vertical aligned.

Also the grease in the paper is much thicker and stickier. The Derby logo's aren't well printed on the blades also. It seems that the logo's are less defined, and are see-through grey'ish instead of black.

But now for the most important part. They shave terribly. I have used 2 5-packs already and every one of them is horrible compared to my previous Derby's. I notice that the second shave is better than the first but after three shaves (ATG, WTG, XTG) they are completely worn out. Even the first shave is far more worse than a seventh shave on my previous Derby's.

Does anyone have the same experience? I really used to love them. They stood out against the other brands in matter of smoothness and longevity. But if this lasts through the whole box I have to find an other manufacturer.


As example (internet photo's);

Previous (Dark lettering):

New (Grey not solid, messy lettering):

 

[infotech]

Interesting... I just got a new 100 pack in the mail yesterday. I'll compare a pack of those to a pack that I bought a couple years ago and post my findings later.

 

[otherstar]

Yes, please do. Derby's are my goto blade and sometime in the next year I'm either going to have to order more, or change blades if their quality has slipped.

 

[infotech]

It just so happens that I shaved with an "old" Derby yesterday evening (here's my SOTD) and so this evening I broke out one of the "new" ones that I just got from the Shaving Factory and used the exact same setup I used last night, except for the blade. The shave went just as smooth as yesterdays shave. I won't be much help for longevity issues because I've never gotten more than three shaves out of a Derby, but I'll push this one a few more shaves and see how far I can stretch it. My new box does have the exact same packaging changes that have been noted. There are 4 huge blobs of glue on the blades now like Iridium Super and other blades have. I've never understood why blade manufactures use glue one blades... Derby and Crystal blades have always done just fine with none.

EDIT: I should add that I don't use Derby blades every day. It's been quite a while since I used one before yesterday. I just don't get very good results from them with my Futur, Slant, or HD, but like I said in my SOTD yesterday, they work rather well for me in the Ming Shi razor which was a surprise.

 

[Daliz]

Hmm..
I just bought a 5-pack of some blades, I can't remember the brand, it's some small Finnish company I believe. Anyway, turns out that those blades are actually re-branded Derbys. They have their own packaging but it has the usual Derby wrapper paper. Also Derby printed on the blades.

The thing is, these re-branded Derbys suck, big time. Derby is my goto blade, I bought 2 100pcs packs months ago from the Derby seller on ebay and they're great blades. These re-branded ones are not.

Maybe these bad Derbys you got are the same ones I got.. Does Derby have several plants making blades or just one?

 

[thunderball]

I'll be watching this thread with interest...Derby's are probably my main blade these days, it would be a shame if they've changed for the worse.

 

[Stratofortress]

I won't be much help for longevity issues because I've never gotten more than three shaves out of a Derby, but I'll push this one a few more shaves and see how far I can stretch it.

I often also do not use Derby's more than three times. I have replaced the old Derby's quite rapidly because they are really cheap. But every now and then I forgot to replace the blade. It appears that I can shave easily 6 times without noticeably wear and tear on my face.

My new box does have the exact same packaging changes that have been noted. There are 4 huge blobs of glue on the blades now like Iridium Super and other blades have. I've never understood why blade manufactures use glue one blades... Derby and Crystal blades have always done just fine with none.

Check, these "new" or I shall call them latest Derby's of mine also have the blobs of glue. They are also visible in the most lower picture in post no.1.

EDIT: I should add that I don't use Derby blades every day. It's been quite a while since I used one before yesterday. I just don't get very good results from them with my Futur, Slant, or HD, but like I said in my SOTD yesterday, they work rather well for me in the Ming Shi razor which was a surprise.

Well, the problem is, I use and used them every day. My main concern about these latest blades is that the results are noticeably worser. It feels more like pulling my hairs on a rough surface instead of gently cutting them on a very smooth and slippery surface. Also my skin feels different after letting the aftershave sink in for a while. My skin gets very dry and rough (powdery from skin cells as I can call it). Also it feels a bit more irritated. I really notice the difference because I use the latest ones the day after the old ones.

The differences are remarkably noticable. I will proceed with these Derby's to check if it is just consistency or the whole batch is rubbish.

Hmm..
Maybe these bad Derbys you got are the same ones I got.. Does Derby have several plants making blades or just one?

I have no idea. I would like to ask the supplier of my blades and point him/her to this thread but I am a bit hesitated untill I know for sure.


I always thought blade performance was only noticeable from the 6th digit. But apparently it is _really_ noticable.

 

[Chevyguy]

Try corking your blade it may just have rough edges. Derbys have been hit or miss for me. The last five pack I used worked out really well, but I have had some pretty rough ones that I had to smooth out with a cork.

Clayton

 

[HoosierTrooper]

Used a Derby Extra for the first time this morning. I ordered 25 from Amazon and they just arrived yesterday, look just like the one in the pictures posted with the faded lettering. I honestly couldn't tell a difference between the Derby and the Personna's I've been using. Granted, I have limited experience with the DE's but I've been getting very close, irritation free shaves once I mastered the no pressure technique.

I'll give it a few more days and see how the blade changes after a few uses. One thing I like about the Personna's is the price. A 10-pack at Walmart cost $1.76 so at 17 cents a blade I can use a new blade every work day for less than a dollar a week.

 

[13ALPHA]

I have a bunch on the way, wonder what kind they are...

 

[blue_titan]

Incredible. I have been planning on starting this exact same post. I have also found that there is a very noticeable difference between the two packages. The shaves I've gotten from the horizontally printed package have been incredibly smooth, forgiving, and very close. The vertically printed package have some blades that are decent, but nowhere as good as the horizontally printed package, and the bad ones are simply unusable. The difference in their performance is stark and it seems as though there has been some change in their manufacturing.

 

[memoryleak]

I have been shaving myself with a Merkur 37c Slantbar for about a half a year now. After using a few different blade manufacturers (Personna, Wilkinson, Merkur) I had settled on the Derby Extra's. The 10 blades which I bought with my Merkur give a much smoother shave than the other brands, at least on my face.

So when I ran out of blades I bought a 200 pack Derby's from a "well known" shaving company. I received them in two very neat cardboard 100 boxes. The first thing I noticed about the blades was the styling of the 5 pack boxes. In contrast to my previous horizontal aligned text, these where vertical aligned.

Also the grease in the paper is much thicker and stickier. The Derby logo's aren't well printed on the blades also. It seems that the logo's are less defined, and are see-through grey'ish instead of black.

But now for the most important part. They shave terribly. I have used 2 5-packs already and every one of them is horrible compared to my previous Derby's. I notice that the second shave is better than the first but after three shaves (ATG, WTG, XTG) they are completely worn out. Even the first shave is far more worse than a seventh shave on my previous Derby's.

Does anyone have the same experience? I really used to love them. They stood out against the other brands in matter of smoothness and longevity. But if this lasts through the whole box I have to find an other manufacturer.


As example (internet photo's);

Previous (Dark lettering):

New (Grey not solid, messy lettering):

Hmm, I thought this sounded familiar:

http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=16526

I hear spooky Twilight Zone music...

 

[infotech]

Had my second shave on the same blade and it performed as well as the first time around with it. I even pushed it an extra pass due to the mildness of the Ming Shi.

 

[Synack]

For what it's worth. I've used both styles shown and really couldn't find a discernible difference between them. In fact, the second style is my default DE blade when I don't have time for a straight.

 

[nemo]

For what it's worth. I've used both styles shown and really couldn't find a discernible difference between them. In fact, the second style is my default DE blade when I don't have time for a straight.

I'm not seeing it either. I do have a couple saved packs of the older ones (with horizontal printing and DERBY embossed on the bottom, although they have faded paint on the blades, NOT dark) and I'll try them again after a few more shaves. But I'm perfectly satisfied and hadn't noticed any difference in my new ones.

 

[sandmountainslim]

For what it's worth. I've used both styles shown and really couldn't find a discernible difference between them. In fact, the second style is my default DE blade when I don't have time for a straight.

Same here. I have a handful of the first style and almost 500 of the second style and they shave the same to me also.
Wp

 

[johnmrson]

I've just started looking for a decent source of Derby Extra blades and I've noticed that some are listed as being manufactured in either Sweden, England or Japan and some are listed as being manufactured in Turkey. Could the difference be different blades made in different countries?

 

[sandmountainslim]

I've just started looking for a decent source of Derby Extra blades and I've noticed that some are listed as being manufactured in either Sweden, England or Japan and some are listed as being manufactured in Turkey. Could the difference be different blades made in different countries?

The steel comes from Sweden, England or Japan but all the blades are made in Turkish Occupied Constantinople

derbyexclusive on ebay is the person to buy them from as that is the official US distributor and a FINE vendor if I may say so.
Wp

 

[faster_than_u]

I got 2 5 packs of them from fendrihan they are made in turkey. The writing on them is like the second picture and for me they shave better then the astra's i got

 

[johnmrson]

The steel comes from Sweden, England or Japan but all the blades are made in Turkish Occupied Constantinople

derbyexclusive on ebay is the person to buy them from as that is the official US distributor and a FINE vendor if I may say so.
Wp

Thanks for the info and the tip. Usually US postal rates can be stupidly expensive but theirs seem pretty good so I've taken your advise and bought some Derby Extra's from derbyexclusive.