This is a thread for polling experienced users about sharpness, smoothness, and shave number of the Derby Extra double-edge (DE) razor blade. Experienced user ratings are needed for the B&B ShaveWiki DE Razor Blade Table, which will be the most comprehensive and useful database on DE razor blades available to the wet-shaving community. Usernames and ratings will be collected in a table with a link to this thread. Overall user ratings will then be calculated and added to the B&B ShaveWiki DE Razor Blade Table. If you are an experienced user with DE razor blades and safety razors and have used this thread's blade enough to form a fair opinion, then please consider replying and providing an evaluation. In particular, we need the following:
DE Razor Blade: Derby Extra
Minimum Sharpness (010):
Maximum Sharpness (010):
Minimum Smoothness (010):
Maximum Smoothness (010):
Minimum Shave Number (≥0):
Maximum Shave Number (≥0):
Please copy and paste the text above and add your ratings in your reply, keeping the following in mind:
Minimum and maximum ratings capture how sharpness, smoothness, and shave number vary across many samples of the same blade, ignoring the rare or occasional dud or bad sample. If you feel that a property does not vary across samples, then enter the same rating for the minimum and maximum values.
Ratings do not have to be in whole numbers. Decimal numbers are allowed for all ratings.
It is perfectly fine to provide ratings for some parameters while leaving others blank for which you are not comfortable assessing. Remember, only experienced opinions are desired.
Sharpness is a measure of how efficiently the blade cuts hair compared to other blades. More sharpness correlates with (a) less drag, resistance, and tugging due to easier cutting of hair, (b) closer shaves, and (c) less needed strokes and/or passes. Sharpness is rated on a scale from 0 to 10 such that a rating of 0 is for the dullest blades and a rating of 10 is for sharpest blades, in your opinion, of course.
Smoothness is a measure of how well the blade provides comfortable and bloodless shaves compared to other blades. More smoothness means less irritation and redness and less nicks, weepers, and cuts. As with sharpness, smoothness is measured on a scale from 0 to 10, so a smoothness rating of 0 is reserved for blades that you feel are the least smooth and a smoothness rating of 10 is for the smoothest blades in your opinion.
Shave number is the number of shaves that you get with a blade up to when you feel that the blade has significantly dropped in performance. This event can occur during a shave, yielding a shave number that is a decimal number, or at the end of a shave, giving a whole shave number. As with sharpness and smoothness, there is a lot of subjectivity with shave number, which is expected and okay. Guys who don't use the blade long enough to evaluate shave number should leave shave number ratings blank. On the other end of the spectrum, guys who keep using the blade well beyond the noticed drop in blade performance could provide shave number ratings that don't correspond with actual blade usage. Shave number can be rated as 0 if you find a typical sample of the blade so intolerable at the start of its first use that you don't shave any further with it.
Thank you for your consideration, and special thanks to those experienced users who participate. This is part of a long-term project, so keep an eye out for the next poll!
P.S. Replies posted after one week following this thread's posting time may be neglected.
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Polls for Feather and GSB will come around later, so I hope that you catch those polls, too.
