Derby in a Slant

[rainman]

Funny thing, I shaved with a slant and a new Derby blade. The blade was sharp but very rough. The second shave was excellent! I guess I have to have a bad shave first before I can get a good one. I could I guess make the first derby shave in in a mild razor like a red tip to take the edge off then proceed to the slant or progress.

 

[mblakele]

Have you ever tried palm-stropping the blade before the first shave? I started doing this specifically because of rough first shaves from Derbys (but with a 34c, not a slant).

 

[rainman]

I could try it. Hmm, I do it with SE blades between shaves but never before the first shave. I'll give it a try and report back.

 

[unmodern]

You can also run the blade briefly and gently across cork or polythyrene (such as comes in electronics packaging). This is what I do with Derbys, and the first shave is always great.

 

[SRock]

I haven't found any advantage to corking or hand stropping blades. While I have experienced the rare/occasional bad Derby blade for the most part I've found if your technique is spot on you can shave with darn near anything and get good results.