I noticed a mention somewhere around the forum that Tryablade stocks the Personna Pathology blades that fit the various Durham razors. I have several (Duplex, DuBarry, Dorset, 300) and have been disappointed in the Personna carpet blades that up until now were the only blade available to me - so I ordered a few pathology blades and gave one a spin this week in my aluminum-handled Dorset:
I've never been able to pull off the Durham Shuffle with this razor, it's easier for me to use it like a single edge razor, using the more aggressive side of the head each day and flipping the blade around between shaves. I used it for 6 days, three shaves per edge, and found it to be a wonderful razor.
The pathology blades are carbon steel, so it's very important to keep them dry between shaves. I was also careful to strop them after shaving, either palm stropping or with my Ingersoll dollar stropping outfit. I was careful to put a mark on one quadrant of the blade with a sharpie to keep the orientation straight so I wouldn't confuse myself when removing and replacing the blade.
Shaves one and two were great - ultra smooth, very intuitive blade angle (to the point that I didn't really need to pay much attention to it). One nice thing about the Durham heads is that they are so mild as to seem bladeless - you can even apply some pressure without causing irritation - yet are very aggressive at mowing down whiskers. These first shaves were super-bbs if there is such a thing; I caught myself feeling my face all day long.
Shaves three and four (second shave on each edge) were still smooth and comfortable. I performed a quick strop with the Ingersoll after drying the blade each day.
Shaves five and six were still quite good, but I could tell the edges were approaching the point where stropping wasn't going to revive them enough to ensure bbs - there are maybe 1 or 2 df shaves left in each edge. I have a Stag honing kit coming soon and I'll experiment with that to see if blade life can be extended. Still, 6+ quality shaves from one blade is pretty good.
I'm anxious to try these blades in the OC 300 and the Duplex as well as the black-handled Dorset; the DuBarry's angle with a perpendicular handle is hard for me to master for some reason.
If you have one of these great razors by all means try them with a pathology blade - you'll be pleasantly surprised.
I've never been able to pull off the Durham Shuffle with this razor, it's easier for me to use it like a single edge razor, using the more aggressive side of the head each day and flipping the blade around between shaves. I used it for 6 days, three shaves per edge, and found it to be a wonderful razor.
The pathology blades are carbon steel, so it's very important to keep them dry between shaves. I was also careful to strop them after shaving, either palm stropping or with my Ingersoll dollar stropping outfit. I was careful to put a mark on one quadrant of the blade with a sharpie to keep the orientation straight so I wouldn't confuse myself when removing and replacing the blade.
Shaves one and two were great - ultra smooth, very intuitive blade angle (to the point that I didn't really need to pay much attention to it). One nice thing about the Durham heads is that they are so mild as to seem bladeless - you can even apply some pressure without causing irritation - yet are very aggressive at mowing down whiskers. These first shaves were super-bbs if there is such a thing; I caught myself feeling my face all day long.
Shaves three and four (second shave on each edge) were still smooth and comfortable. I performed a quick strop with the Ingersoll after drying the blade each day.
Shaves five and six were still quite good, but I could tell the edges were approaching the point where stropping wasn't going to revive them enough to ensure bbs - there are maybe 1 or 2 df shaves left in each edge. I have a Stag honing kit coming soon and I'll experiment with that to see if blade life can be extended. Still, 6+ quality shaves from one blade is pretty good.
I'm anxious to try these blades in the OC 300 and the Duplex as well as the black-handled Dorset; the DuBarry's angle with a perpendicular handle is hard for me to master for some reason.
If you have one of these great razors by all means try them with a pathology blade - you'll be pleasantly surprised.
