The DE89 is about 'normal'. The 'EL' on the Weishi refers to extended length, even if that's not what they meant. *boggle* - a DE company advertising Gillette disposables? I wonder how much Gillette paid them? They must have needed cash flow, badly.
Normal is good. As long as i can shave without leaving my blood behind, it's good enough for me! Yes, this has never happened to me before! Unbelievable but true! I guess it could have been worse! They could say: "Congratulations on your EJ purchase. We make amazing razors. However, if you want to have a trully awesome, smooth as butter, self-lubricating and risk-free shave, you should look at Gilette! Have you tried the Pro Fusion? No? What are you waiting for! DE razors aren't the only ones out there!"
4th shave today and this time it was EJ DE89 + Derby blade on its 2nd use. Now, i am a newby, so i reserve better judgement in the future, however, this is what i think right now. 1) My DE89, has i think, a small blade misalignment. I think that blade exposure is a liiitle bit uneven on 2 sides and on the same side. But, i used it without a problem and won't bother to send it back to Amazon. 2) The shaving result, is i think, pretty much the same as with the Weishi, although, i didn't do exactly the same passes. I did WTG, XTG for face and ATG for under the jawline and WTG again. There is no BBS and just like the Weishi, i found it VERY difficult to cut myself. No nicks, no irritation. I *think* that with the DE89, i used a bit less passes in each pass. I mean, when i shave with the Weishi, i shave a bit like this guy (although slower), who says that he is doing 1 pass, but in reality, he repasses more times from the same area: I *think* that with the DE89 i did less "work". But the final result, is the same. I think that it might be that the Weishi FL, having longer handle, puts more weight on the skin when shaving than the short handle Weishi, making it more aggressive overall. But, overall, i can't say that i saw much of a difference. It might be, that with DE89, i was simply finding easier a cutting angle than the Weishi. I think this must be actually the biggest difference. With the DE89 i didn't have one occasion where i tried to cut on a non cutting angle. With the Weishi, a few times it occured. 3) The DE89, being shorter, was more agile and cosy to handle, especially in backhand grip (shaving on the left side with my right hand). 4) The TTO loading mechanism of the Weishi, is so much cosier in blade handling and actually has perfect blade alignment. The DE89 might be the 1st and last 3 piece i buy. It's so much easier to handle the TTO. 5) The Derby blade, proves to be, the "razor equalizer". I would NEVER imagine, before starting DE shaving, that there could be a blade, that allows you so much margin of error. The shave is uneventful, bordering to boring. But on the other hand, it's never "sharp" enough to cut everything in one pass. I don't know what to think of Derby. I will have to try other brands, but it sure is a blade that should be reccommended to ANY newbie, because very quickly you go over the fear of cutting yourself. Will i ever get a DFS or a BBS with a Derby? Frankly, at this point, with the 2 razors i have, i start to doubt... Is that a problem? No. But for those people who want to do really 3 passes and be left with DFS or BBS, i can see why they can hate Derby. 6) The Weishi FL costed me 16 EUR and the DE89 knurled handle 24. At 16 EUR, there is also the DE89 with straight handle. The DE89 is the better shaver, by a hair, i think. But, quality for money, the Weishi wins. No misalignment, drop resistant, copper alloy vs zamak, TTO mechanism working flawlessly. 7) For DFS or BBS, i think both razors need sharper blade than the Derby, at least for the way i do passes. For those who do the canonical WTG, XTG, ATG, it might be better. However, given how many times i tried to re-pass and the result just wouldn't shine, i think the Derby is a very limiting factor on how deeply you can shave with these razors. 8) The Weishi, might be a hair behind in efficiency, but it's also a hair ahead of the DE89 in safety. It's really hard to cut yourself with such little blade exposure. 9) I don't think, at least as long as i am not proficient with shaving, that it's worth to go beyond 2 shaves on the Derby. I haven't tried a 3rd shave at the end, because i don't think it's worth the hassle. 10) Shaving time: 14 minutes from the moment i put lather on, to rinsing the face after the shave. With the Weishi, i that i know better, it's less time. I had to be more cautious with the DE89, because i didn't know it. With the Weishi it's probably more towards 12. This is all merit of Derby really, because i know i can't cut. So, even if it's not sharp, it allows for quick moves. Overall: Both razors promoted, in the long run, i think i will like short handled better. Although the DE89 knurled is at the edge of what i can tolerate as handle lenght. Half centimetere less and i would have sent it back. At some point i will buy a 2nd DE89 of the "straight" edition, just to have a spare head, since i 've read all about the zamak disasterous tolerance of drops. I mean, it's 15 EUR. BUT, if i buy another razor model , i think it will be TTO short handle. I think it's the best combination.
