Derby Premium -- Are you kidding me??

[mozartman]

Glad Derbys work for you! YMMV, especially with blades!

I tried a tuck or two of Derbys some years ago and put them in my lowest tier! Simply too many others for me to try before I would give them another try.

Actually, the Derbys don't work for me, at least not in an aggressive razor. The slightest mistake seems to result in irritation. Shaving under my nose is like walking a tightrope with no net. They seem fine in a milder razor, though.

 

[SGWB]

Well, I feel I got 100 Feather clones for under $9 shipped. Not necessarily what I was looking for, but I'll use them.

Feather clones? I've never heard of them. Are they counterfits?

 

[psfred]

I believe he's saying the Derby Premium's feel like Feathers to him.....

 

[Esox]

Actually, the Derbys don't work for me, at least not in an aggressive razor. The slightest mistake seems to result in irritation. Shaving under my nose is like walking a tightrope with no net. They seem fine in a milder razor, though.

I'm curious about your definitions of aggressive and mild razors in that post. Which razors are you referring too?

 

[AZBronco]

Derby's inspire funny reactions here lately--more than any other blade, it seems. Back several years ago when I was lurking on B&B, Derby was generally viewed pretty favorably on the forums. I bought 200, and they've been really good for me. They are my favorite blade in slants and more aggressive razors, but give me irritation in more mild razors like the EJ89. I haven't tried the Derby Premium, yet, since I still have about 150 combined Derby's and Personna Blues in my stock but I find myself shaving more with SE and straight razors nowadays.

As they say, YMMV--it's great that we still have choices and can happily move on to something else if we find a blade that doesn't agree with us.

 

[Moody]

Derby is bad, bad stuff. It ruins everything it touches.

I have hated the derby blades I have used. But the soap is pretty good.

 

[mozartman]

I'm curious about your definitions of aggressive and mild razors in that post. Which razors are you referring too?

The mj-90 I'm using now seems reasonably mild even with the A plate. No irritation or blood with this or any other blade so far.

 

[cwsnc]

I love the Derby Premiums, they work great in my Gillette adjustable's, very smooth and deliver a drama free 2 pass shave all the time. I have a large stash of the Derby Green blades (Extra) while not as sharp, they deliver a great smooth shave in my razors.

 

[meanpr]

Tried the Derby Premium today, in my EJ DE89. Sharp blade, comfortable shave! Curious to see how it holds up for multiple shaves. I'm in the minority, in that I like Derby Extras, except for me they are only good for three shaves. I get more than six shaves from my got to blades, let's see if the Premiums can reach six shaves.

 

[MacDaDad]

Yes, and I now have "98" Derby Premium blades left. This evening I popped a new "Derby Premium" into one of my Gillette 1948'-1950' Aristocrats and proceeded 1st pass WTG. I rinsed, re-lathered, replaced the "Derby Premium" blade with a Treet Platinum SS (4) and finished out a wonderful shave.

Your mileage may vary but mine has not. My opinion of the Derby Premium blades purchased in January of this year and my opinion hasn't changed.
Derby Premiums are being sent to pasture.

 

[mozartman]

I believe he's saying the Derby Premium's feel like Feathers to him.....

Right. And this is obviously a YMMV thing. Many of you use aggressive safety razors and / or straights (!) that I wouldn't dare try. Many of you have heavy beards, I don't. Many of you don't shave for days at a time, I shave daily. And my skin is very easily irritated, resulting in acne, rashes, burning, itching, etc. Even soap fragrance can have a bad effect.
So given all that, I'm not necessarily looking for the sharpest blade or most aggressive razor. This shaving hobby and the b&b forums have been a godsend, my skin is doing much better thanks in no small part to the advice given here. But the Derby's blade rep as a not very sharp blade didn't seem to apply for me, or maybe as several here have said, Derby blades are much sharper as of 2017.

 

[Raven Koenes]

I know this isn't about the Premiums but Derby blades non-the-less. When I first got on this forum I'd been using Astra SP that a guy from work started me on. It was a great blade to start with, and it still is. I searched the forum when BAD started taking over. I tried many different blades, and finally landed on Gillette Platinum as my #1 go to in my rotation. I avoided Derby blades due to comments on them while searching threads. A couple years later my friend Esox talked about Derby Extra favorably, and that convinced me to give them a go. I ordered some a couple of weeks ago. They arrived last and taken me until now to give them a try. I do not change out blades midweek.

It was a total pleasant surprise using them. I expected them to tug and pull with visions of facial hair left behind, leaving me looking like I had mange, with razor burn and bumps everywhere. Instead, I found them to be among my most comfortable blades. They did not tug at all. To me it would seem that tugging would be the result of lack of sharpness in a blade. My Personna labs definitely tug and have taken a back seat. The Derby Extras I bought do not. I did a three pass shave with touch ups as normal using my Fatip Piccolo. The result was a smooth shave that was as close as the Gillette Yellows I used last week but more comfortable. They are not as sharp as the Yellows, but they are no slouch either. I find that some of the blades I like there is a good balance between sharpness and comfort like my go to Gillette Platinums. The Platinums are not quite as sharp as my Nacets the trade off is a more easily comfortable blade. I found the same can be said of Derby Extras for me. They offer a lot of comfort, and Derbys have immediately earned a place in my rotation. I'm glad I overcame my fear of what the consensus seems to be, and I'm very pleased to have tried them.

 

[Esox]

I know this isn't about the Premiums but Derby blades non-the-less. When I first got on this forum I'd been using Astra SP that a guy from work started me on. It was a great blade to start with, and it still is. I searched the forum when BAD started taking over. I tried many different blades, and finally landed on Gillette Platinum as my #1 go to in my rotation. I avoided Derby blades due to comments on them while searching threads. A couple years later my friend Esox talked about Derby Extra favorably, and that convinced me to give them a go. I ordered some a couple of weeks ago. They arrived last and taken me until now to give them a try. I do not change out blades midweek.

It was a total pleasant surprise using them. I expected them to tug and pull with visions of facial hair left behind, leaving me looking like I had mange, with razor burn and bumps everywhere. Instead, I found them to be among my most comfortable blades. They did not tug at all. To me it would seem that tugging would be the result of lack of sharpness in a blade. My Personna labs definitely tug and have taken a back seat. The Derby Extras I bought do not. I did a three pass shave with touch ups as normal using my Fatip Piccolo. The result was a smooth shave that was as close as the Gillette Yellows I used last week but more comfortable. They are not as sharp as the Yellows, but they are no slouch either. I find that some of the blades I like there is a good balance between sharpness and comfort like my go to Gillette Platinums. The Platinums are not quite as sharp as my Nacets the trade off is a more easily comfortable blade. I found the same can be said of Derby Extras for me. They offer a lot of comfort, and have immediatly earned a place in my rotation. I'm glad I overcame my fear of what the consensus seems to be, and very pleased to have tried them.
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I'm relieved to hear you enjoy them LOL. They really are good blades, exceeding the performance of many blades twice their price. They do work, and very well, in razors that hold the blade in a rigid state.

I just hope the newer ones didnt spoil an already excellent blade.

Mange haha. BOSC! lol

 

[Capisco Capisce]

1] I've got two tufts of the old Derby Extra "green horizontal pack".

2] Looking at the online inventory of a local brick and mortar apothecary, they seem to have the new Derby Extra "green vertical pack" for sale by the tuft.

3] Looking further through their online database, I see they also have the new Derby Premium "black vertical pack" - BUT - online they appear to only sell the Premium by the 100ct carton!

So essentially, it seems I have all three coated variations available to me. (and blue vertical stainless, too!)

I'm on pretty good terms with these guys, so next time I drop by I'm going to see if they'll break out a coupla' tufts of the Premium for me. For all I know, they may sell the Premium by the tuft in-store, but it's not reflected online. Though I kinda' doubt it. We shall see.

If I have any success, I'll happily post my impressions of all 3, having never had the pleasure of shaving with any Derby blade up 'till now.

 

[MacDaDad]

I now have 97 Derby Premium Blades. This afternoon I loaded #98 in my Feather AS D2 and completed an adequate 3 pass shave. Noxema prep, hot water rag for several minutes, I bowl lathered Stirling Executive Man with a Semogue Cherry BOC 2-band. The shave was neither smooth nor was is rough, it was adequate.

Now I suppose I'm bound to breaking out my sample pack / tuck of Derby Extras. Why am I even messing with this? Probably for the same reason I choose to shave with a DE rather than a cartridge. Oh, and I have several thousand blades, half of which I have yet to try.

 

[Esox]

I now have 97 Derby Premium Blades. This afternoon I loaded #98 in my Feather AS D2 and completed an adequate 3 pass shave. Noxema prep, hot water rag for several minutes, I bowl lathered Stirling Executive Man with a Semogue Cherry BOC 2-band. The shave was neither smooth nor was is rough, it was adequate.

Now I suppose I'm bound to breaking out my sample pack / tuck of Derby Extras. Why am I even messing with this? Probably for the same reason I choose to shave with a DE rather than a cartridge. Oh, and I have several thousand blades, half of which I have yet to try.

Your membership in BOSC is becoming more noticeable hahaha.

 

[MacDaDad]

Your membership in BOSC is becoming more noticeable hahaha.

I hear from time to time B & B requires validation on being a BOSC reject participant.

 

[Esox]

I hear from time to time B & B requires validation on being a BOSC reject participant.

I think my journal will qualify me as a life member then lol.

 

[MacDaDad]

I think my journal will qualify me as A Life Member then lol.

Congratulations!

 

[dpm802]

I got a 100-sleeve of the Derby Premiums in from Amazon today.

I was glad to see they still have the 5-way coating that Derby is famous for.
And I was glad to see that they came in a plastic tuck, instead of cardboard.
Black? sure, why not.

I loaded it in a Merkur 34G and lathered up with Arko.
The first pass was a little rough, but the second and third were very smooth and comfortable.
Overall, I'd give this shave a DFS+ grade.

I'm not passing final judgement on these until I've used at least a whole tuck,
and I'll need to experiment with a few different razors.
But so far, so good.