Destroyed neck, Derby!

[Azza]

Loaded up my open comb with a Derby. Had a really bad shave. On my neck, had 4 or 5 nicks! Not happy. Switched over to Merkur to finish the shave. Wasn't as bad as the Derby. I have been using these same Derby blades and have never had a problem with them. I thought they were my go to blades. Maybe it was a bad one.

- Aaron

 

[TMH478]

Loaded up my open comb with a Derby. Had a really bad shave. On my neck, had 4 or 5 nicks! Not happy. Switched over to Merkur to finish the shave. Wasn't as bad as the Derby. I have been using these same Derby blades and have never had a problem with them. I thought they were my go to blades. Maybe it was a bad one.

- Aaron

I have heard of some inconsistencies with Derby. Let's hope it was just a bad single blade and not a pack.

 

[Sledgehammer39]

In the beginning I found that Derby was a decent blade... However, within the last year I have noticed a decline in there blade quality. I am not using them anymore.

 

[TMH478]

My new "go to" is looking like the Astra SPs.

 

[americanarmsdealer]

I haven't had the greatest luck with Derbys, either. Never tried the older ones, though, so I can't comment as to whether there was ever actually a change in quality. It's just one of those blades that doesn't work for me for whatever reason. YMMV, of course!

 

[squirrel_nut_zipper]

In the beginning I found that Derby was a decent blade... However, within the last year I have noticed a decline in there blade quality. I am not using them anymore.

My new "go to" is looking like the Astra SPs.

+1 on both of these comments. I was a huge fan of Derby blades, but then I was getting a lot rough shaves so I switched to Astra and have never looked back.

 

[Speedwell68]

Never had a rough shave with a Derby. Well not one that wasn't because of something I have done.

IMHO these sort of threads should be in the shave clinic.

 

[samuelson]

I use to use derbys all the time and thought they were fine. Then I tried a few other blades like Astra and Feather and I can't seem to get a good shave out of them anymore.

 

[Lusitano]

With Derby blades I had nicks on my neck, every time. I prefer Red IP's or Feather. I'm currently testing Gillette Bleue with great results.

 

[man00ver]

I've got to say, Derby was my biggest disappointment so far in wet shaving. Before I got started, I researched opinions here and on SMF for some time, and had all but concluded that they would be my blade. Fortunately, I went with a sample pack. Merkur was up first, and I didn't expect much from it. I cued up Derby next, and it was even worse to my great surprise. Next up was Astra SP and a very good time indeed.

White-pack German Wilks were good, Feather was very good, Medical Personnas were excellent. 2nd round with Merkur was good. 2nd round with Derby was still disappointing. Moved on to Gillette Bleue Extra (excellent), Lord Platinum (good), Shark SC (good), Shark SS (current trial is very good verging on excellent). I'll be doing Nacet, 7 O'Clock Black, 7 O'Clock Yellow before Derby comes up in rotation again. But so far, the best thing I can say about them is that they're better than the Walmart Wilks; that's pretty faint praise.

 

[dirtdog]

Derby's may be sharper than they use to be. Many people can not handle the new better improved product IMO

 

[Obi Wan]

I rate Derbys a generous 3 out of 10, I used the horizontal green ones. Didn't find them sharp or smooth. But the biggest problem was irritation afterwards. Awful blades really wouldn't use them again. They can't compete with SuperMax SuperStainless or even Durasharp Carbon (yellows)

 

[vegaskid74]

Derby has been the biggest disappointment in my young "traditional" wetshaving career. Based on all of the favorable reviews I was expecting shaving nirvana, and all I got was nicks and irritation.

 

[grogals]

Anything else different this time? Maybe it's more than just the blade itself.

 

[dirtdog]

One thing I always note about "Derby ain't no good" thread posts are that for the most part the poster is a newer registrant to B&B . I really think that the Derby Blades are too sharp for them and it would be better for them to pick a milder blade till they improve their shaving techniques .

 

[vegaskid74]

One thing I always note about "Derby ain't no good" thread posts are that for the most part the poster is a newer registrant to B&B . I really think that the Derby Blades are too sharp for them and it would be better for them to pick a milder blade till they improve their shaving techniques .

No, don't think so. I get great results with Feather and Super Iridium, and I'm sure Derby isn't sharper than those two blades. One thing I always note about "Newbies aren't qualified to judge Derby blades" thread posts are that for the most part the poster is a newer registrant to B&B than most of the "newbies" he is offering advice to (sorry, I couldn't help it).

 

[Sledgehammer39]

One thing I always note about "Derby ain't no good" thread posts are that for the most part the poster is a newer registrant to B&B . I really think that the Derby Blades are too sharp for them and it would be better for them to pick a milder blade till they improve their shaving techniques .

I guess everybody is different and this is truly a case of YMMV being applied here. Myself I am not afraid of a sharp blade I do rotate a feather blade and obtain great results from it, but I find that it is a bit more money than some other blades.

 

[Azza]

This searching for blades that work is very frustrating! The Derby seems sharper than the Merkur certainly. I'm back to experimenting again! The thing I noticed was that with my regular blade angle the Merkur worked well, but the Derby didn't. I'm going to keep trying with the Derby just in case it's a user error thing.

- Aaron

 

[cernel_joson]

I've been using the dreaded vertical Derbies lately and they're not bad. They're not as good as Feathers, but instead of expecting them to be trash, I've tried to focus on my technique.

The neck is a tricky area. Sharper blades like Feather don't require any pressure so my neck tends to get off easy. A middling blade like Derby requires a little more finesse. Next time make sure you clean your neck and jaw nicely, and try stretching your neck skin a little by pulling down on your throat. I've noticed a flat, taut surface gets less nicks.

I hear Shark Super Chromes are a good alternative to Derbies in terms of price and availability.

 

[ninjaboy]

I've had ZERO luck with the Derby 10 pack which came with my Edwin jagger DE89 , and i promised myself i'd never use the final 3 after the first 7 left me looking like id lost a fight with a playful kitten...

However - I was recently starting to noticing a VAST improvement in my shaving smoothness with my other blades after changing my razor angle slightly, so i decided to give the derby's a go again - and i nevously unwrapped blade number 8...

results?

Baby Smooth and the stubble wasnt really noticable until about 40 hours - i did have 3 nicks on my throat but it's all in the name of discovery!

In my book, it's gotta be down to 'user error' for the first 7 , as the blade angle i've been learning gives the best results for this razor is a really 'high elbow'... something i wasnt consciously doing when i was using the derby's before.

I'll be looking forward to seeing what blade 9 brings though, to see if blade 8 just happened to be the good one in a bad bunch.

Will it be enough to pull me away from the Dorco 301's though? watch this space!