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Wow! Technique really does....oh. Never mind.

So when I first started DE shaving, being naive I read up on DE shaving and purchased a 100-pack of Derby Extra blades. To that point, I hadn't understood the need to try a sampler pack and just thought that one blade was as good as another for every face. So I started shaving with my new Feather Popular, Nivea cream, and a Derby Extra, and it was (in a word) awful. Well, it's been a year, I've learned a lot, and my favorite razor is now a Henson AL13 and my favorite cream is Proraso Green. I have learned that I really like Wizamets, KCGs (although, too expensive), Sharks, Gillette 7 o'clock (greens) and Tatras. But on a whim, I decided to pull out a Derby Extra that I had tucked away and try it in combination with my favorite razor and cream as well as my vastly improved technique. Part way through the shave, I thought, "While this isn't the most smooth or sharp blade out there, it's not as bad as I remember so it must have been my technique and my choice of razor and cream back then." And then....I realized that I had spoken too soon. I ended up with several weepers that I never have anymore with my preferred blades. Now all of that being said, I am going to shave with this Derby Extra again to see if it sharpens up and how another shave goes with it, but I'm not very hopeful. And, end of the day, there are too many good blades out there to continue to suffer with sub-par shaves from a blade that I don't like. So if it doesn't get better, I'll likely ship the Derbys to someone who wants them.

The moral of the story really is YMMV. Sometimes, a bad match with a blade might be overcome with good technique and equipment, but sometimes it's just a bad match and you're better off moving on from that blade.
 
Once upon a time, Derbys were the darlings of the DE world. And yes, it begins and ends with technique. I can shave with any blades in one of my razors that I'm so familiar with and get a great shave. I have more Feathers than any other blade but I can barely tell a difference between them.
 

Phoenixkh

I shaved a fortune
I’ve been having great shaves with my Claymore Evolution for the last 5+ months, but recently I’ve been using a British Flat Bottom Tech. Quite a different experience. Things were going swimmingly until I put in Kai blade. My lack of technique reared its ugly head. I felt like a complete newbie all over again.

We are in the process of flying to Bali so I shipped out my FBTs and a Raised Flat Bottom 2 piece in trade for a 3 piece to Back Roads Gold for replacing. before we departed. As a result, I had to put off another effort.

Back to my Claymore Evolution for another month. 39 total trip hours, officially starting at 3PM.
 
I’ve been having great shaves with my Claymore Evolution for the last 5+ months, but recently I’ve been using a British Flat Bottom Tech. Quite a different experience. Things were going swimmingly until I put in Kai blade. My lack of technique reared its ugly head. I felt like a complete newbie all over again.

We are in the process of flying to Bali so I shipped out my FBTs and a Raised Flat Bottom 2 piece in trade for a 3 piece to Back Roads Gold for replacing. before we departed. As a result, I had to put off another effort.

Back to my Claymore Evolution for another month. 39 total trip hours, officially starting at 3PM.
Safe traveling
 
I've only thrown away one brand of razor blades in the relatively short time I've been using DE razors and the blades weren't Derby Extra. The blades were truly terrible and didn't deserve a second chance.

I have several blades I use on a regular basis and the Derby Extra is one of them. If i were to have someone load a razor for me without telling me which blade was chosen, I'm not sure I would know the Derby from any of the others. In fact, that's an experiment I may try some day...
 
I've only thrown away one brand of razor blades in the relatively short time I've been using DE razors and the blades weren't Derby Extra. The blades were truly terrible and didn't deserve a second chance.

I have several blades I use on a regular basis and the Derby Extra is one of them. If i were to have someone load a razor for me without telling me which blade was chosen, I'm not sure I would know the Derby from any of the others. In fact, that's an experiment I may try some day...
I don't disagree with you which is why I am going to shave with the Derby Extra again. My n=1 experience today was that it felt fine, but I ended up with a couple of unusual weepers. Again, that could have been an anomaly hence the decision to use it for at least one more shave.

We'll see.
 
Great post!

Bottom line (for me):
#1. Technique is paramount.
#2. Sometimes it is not technique, but the hardware and/or software!

It certainly is true that if your technique is poor, it really won't matter what you use, your shaves will be below par.
But all else being equal, a good blade and lather will definitely make a difference. :thumbsup:
 
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Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
So when I first started DE shaving, being naive I read up on DE shaving and purchased a 100-pack of Derby Extra blades. To that point, I hadn't understood the need to try a sampler pack and just thought that one blade was as good as another for every face. So I started shaving with my new Feather Popular, Nivea cream, and a Derby Extra, and it was (in a word) awful. Well, it's been a year, I've learned a lot, and my favorite razor is now a Henson AL13 and my favorite cream is Proraso Green. I have learned that I really like Wizamets, KCGs (although, too expensive), Sharks, Gillette 7 o'clock (greens) and Tatras. But on a whim, I decided to pull out a Derby Extra that I had tucked away and try it in combination with my favorite razor and cream as well as my vastly improved technique. Part way through the shave, I thought, "While this isn't the most smooth or sharp blade out there, it's not as bad as I remember so it must have been my technique and my choice of razor and cream back then." And then....I realized that I had spoken too soon. I ended up with several weepers that I never have anymore with my preferred blades. Now all of that being said, I am going to shave with this Derby Extra again to see if it sharpens up and how another shave goes with it, but I'm not very hopeful. And, end of the day, there are too many good blades out there to continue to suffer with sub-par shaves from a blade that I don't like. So if it doesn't get better, I'll likely ship the Derbys to someone who wants them.

The moral of the story really is YMMV. Sometimes, a bad match with a blade might be overcome with good technique and equipment, but sometimes it's just a bad match and you're better off moving on from that blade.
Try Derby Premium, they are a much better blade IMO.
 
Like others here, at one time Derby were all I used. They were sharper and smoother than the other cheap brand around, Dorco. They definitely beat out anything I could buy at Dollar General locally. I think a 100 pack cost about 6 bucks back then. I probably have 2 or 3 packs left under the sink. I keep them in my travel bag for when I go out of town once or twice a year. I use them as long as the little vacation lasts- maybe 3 days- and toss them.

In this hobby, I look at things as being good, terrible and serviceable. Thankfully, not many things are terrible. Most are serviceable. I put Derby in that camp. I use Astra greens almost all the time now, though. I'm not big on trying a bunch of blades and these work well and fit the budget.

Good luck on your search for the perfect blade and making the Derbys work for you! I'm sure someone would love a PIF if you still hate them.
 
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Once upon a time, Derbys were the darlings of the DE world. And yes, it begins and ends with technique. I can shave with any blades in one of my razors that I'm so familiar with and get a great shave. I have more Feathers than any other blade but I can barely tell a difference between them.

That may have been the time when I switched to safety razors.
At one time I too bought about 100 of these blades because the consensus in those days was that these were good, reasonably priced blades.
A lot of things have happened since then and now only the “reasonably priced” seems to remain and Derby blades are rarely talked about.

I don’t know, maybe they didn’t maintain their equipment, went for a different steel (they used to tout their “Swedish” steel), or maybe the caravan of public opinion just moved on.
Because this is another thing I learnt over the years: just because some people sing their praises in the highest tones it does not necessarily make something good.
One can try to guard against it by searching what the overwhelming majority agrees upon, but even that is not a 100 percent guarantee.

With time, one gets the feel for what works and what doesn’t, does settle on some items that one has found work really well, and (hopefully) adopts a certain immunity against the hype, learns to sit on the fence, and waits a while to see whether the latest discovery is here to stay or just fades away like so many others before…

Like you, I found that Feather blades work very well for me (and have a sizeable stash), but so do BiCs and Astra SS and SP blades.

Some people don’t like ‘em for this or for that and that’s o.k. - as long as I do know what works for me.
And that is an attitude one tends to pick up along the long journey of trial and error.


B.
 
That may have been the time when I switched to safety razors.
At one time I too bought about 100 of these blades because the consensus in those days was that these were good, reasonably priced blades.
A lot of things have happened since then and now only the “reasonably priced” seems to remain and Derby blades are rarely talked about.

I don’t know, maybe they didn’t maintain their equipment, went for a different steel (they used to tout their “Swedish” steel), or maybe the caravan of public opinion just moved on.
Because this is another thing I learnt over the years: just because some people sing their praises in the highest tones it does not necessarily make something good.
One can try to guard against it by searching what the overwhelming majority agrees upon, but even that is not a 100 percent guarantee.

With time, one gets the feel for what works and what doesn’t, does settle on some items that one has found work really well, and (hopefully) adopts a certain immunity against the hype, learns to sit on the fence, and waits a while to see whether the latest discovery is here to stay or just fades away like so many before…

Like you, I found that Feather blades work very well for me (and have a sizeable stash), but so do BiCs and Astra SS and SP blades.

Some people don’t like ‘em for this or for that and that’s o.k. - as long as I do know what works for me.
And that is an attitude one tends to pick up along the long journey of trial and or.


B.
My Derbys are probably upwards of 15 years old so have no idea if they've changed. I have good success with Astra, Bics, GP, SI, GSB, P-S, Voskhod, Personna Labs, Kai, Nacet, Wilkinson (German) and a couple others. Feathers are still the best blades for me in my milder razors.
 
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