I now understand the majority feeling on Derby blades

[Groat]

I started DE shaving about three and a half months ago. I first started out with a Merkur HD and a blade sampler pack. I really liked the Derby blades, because they were smooth and cheap. After a while, I used Derby and Feather blades exclusively in the HD. I moved over to a Futur (which made a huge improvement) and started gravitating towards the Feathers more and more. Over the past week or two, I went through my blades again to see how I would like each in a new razor and after having a decent amount of experience. I found that I liked the Red IP's which I didn't like the first time around. Anyway, I came back to the end and tried a couple Derby blades again. I can understand why people think about them the way they do.

The Derby blades seek awfully smooth, but at the expense of sharpness. I'm sure that the reason I liked them so much when starting out is simply because they would cut my hair and give me little irritation. Now they just seem more like subpar blades to me. I get an ok shave from them, but said shave isn't nearly as close as my go-to Feathers are. After upgrading my razor and improving my technique, the irritation given by either is moot. I simply get the feeling that they'll stay under my sink for a long time to come.

 

[kap49]

The Futur loaded with a Feather is a potent combination that I find to be as good as I've ever used.

 

[Groat]

The Futur loaded with a Feather is a potent combination that I find to be as good as I've ever used.

Yeah, I've fallen in love. The Merkur HD was a great starter razor, but was quite eclipsed by the Futur. As a matter of fact, I haven't even used the HD since my first shave with the Futur.

 

[Voomie]

Derby is a good measuring standard but I dont think it is the blade for me. After I do a revisit in a few months Ill know for sure.

 

[dirtdog]

I feel the confusion with Derby blades is that they work so well and are so cheap.

Many equate high cost with quality and while it is true most of the time it isn't a factor here.

In the blade reviews Derby blades consistently are in the upper 80 percent range when reviewed by the majority of reviewers.

Blade choice is 100 percent a individual tastes differ thing. When I try a Merkur blade I feel I could accomplish a better shave with a machete and mud - others rate it high.

So when I read a poor review on a blade I still try it out to see if it works for me .

 

[Obi Wan]

The derby seems to prove YMMV. Seems the blade had a lot more fans in the older posts, some users saying that the newer packs with the writing vertically are not as good as the older blades in the 'horizontal' packs. The only difference with the green and orange packs being that one has 5 blades the other 10.

I like sharp blades like the Feather or Gillette 7 o'clock SharpEdge 'yellows' in mild razors like the Gillette Tech or SuperSpeed.

So I tried a couple of blades from a horizontal pack (supposed to be the good ones?) I didn't find them particularly sharp or smooth much like a dull german wilkinson, within minutes of finishing my shave,I wanted to scratch my face off afterwards. It felt like I had shaved with a month old dull cartridge. I shave daily and hadn't had any irritation from shaving in months and never had irritation on that scale before. Anyway I thought it must be a duff blade so next time loaded a fresh blade into the slim dialled it to 3 and got the same results, gave the last 3 blades from the pack away to my brother. He tried one but wasn't impressed either YMMV.

I'm no blade price snob, for the money I would recommend the SuperMax SuperStainless or the Treet Durasharp (yellow pack/white horizontal stripes carbon steel blades with PTFE coating).

 

[grungegoatee]

Interesting thread i used the Derby for the first time the other day and really liked the ease of use with it . New to safetys but have used the Feather Artist rg straight, i liked the proffesional blades but the pro guard blades cut my face to bits.
A little skeptical to try the feathers on the Jagger but will give them ago. Untill then will stick with the Derby .

 

[Mike Schutz]

gave the last 3 blades from the pack away to my brother. He tried one but wasn't impressed either YMMV.

I guess you really don't like your brother very much!

 

[WinstonSmith]

I noticed a variability with Derbys that I didn't find in IP Reds. Out of 100 Derbys, I probably hit 5-10 that were unusable, and everything from perfection to near disaster among the rest. Out of 100 IP Reds, I don't remember finding any duds at all, and overall quality was very uniform.

When I ran out recently, I stocked back up on Reds. They really work well for me.

 

[Lusitano]

I noticed a variability with Derbys that I didn't find in IP Reds. Out of 100 Derbys, I probably hit 5-10 that were unusable, and everything from perfection to near disaster among the rest. Out of 100 IP Reds, I don't remember finding any duds at all, and overall quality was very uniform.

When I ran out recently, I stocked back up on Reds. They really work well for me.

 

[El Judio Bravo]

... So when I read a poor review on a blade I still try it out to see if it works for me .

+1 and let us say, "Ramen!"

The one absolute truth in the realm of blades is "My gold may very well be your garbage".

I do read opinions/reviews in all the forums. They add up to an indicatorof what a particular shiv may be like. But Derby? The consensus is in the middle overall. They are saints and sinners, y'know?

If there's any general agreement at all about blades, it's that Feathers, Iridiums, and Russian Yellows are very sharp. After that, YMMV. Hugely.

If most people really pan a blade -Shogun, e.g.- it probably is crappy. But you pays your money and you takes your chances. As it is with everything ...

 

[media]

I have been trying blades recently on the search for "the one". I've found it's the Red personnas I have been using all along and I didnt really need to waste time searching.

IMHO, best blade out there. hands down.