This again shows how shaving is YMMV. Derby (the old green) blades are having trouble to slice my beard, so the razor really begins to make small "leaps" when it fails to slice and glides above the hair and then suddenly it is catching some whiskers to pull out by root. This all means less precision. If I combine this behavior with an aggressive razor, I will surely have some weepers. I never nick myself with sharp blades like Feather as I can keep good precision in my movements. One of my favorite compination is Feather + R41.
I love Derby blades. Not sure if this would be an improvement for me or not, but I would love to give them a try.
The Derby Premium Blades have been out for awhile and I was an early user of these blades and I’m still— VERY pleased with their performance in fact! YRMV— I find the Derby Premium DE blade (characteristically speaking) to have a similar sharpness level and smoothness comparable to Astra Superior Platinum, Voskhod, Treet Platinum SS, Gillette 7’Oclock Yellow Russian... maybe a slight-tick bias toward mild and smooth but in the mid-range of sharpness. (nicely balanced) I have a course (barb-wire beard) that is fast growing but my skin is sensitive to certain soaps and prone to irritation. I shave nearly everyday of the year and have been a wet-shaver for well over 20 years. As one who sharpens straight razors routinely, I utilize a professional Ziess magnifying optic to examine blade edges and determine the smoothness of my edge and bevel refinement. In my opinion, the Derby Premium Blade clearly shows a very impressive and uniform refinement. My most negative (superficial observation) is that the ink stamp on the blade is only fair in appearance. This has always bothered me particulrly with the Personna USA Blades but the Personna Red Israeli Blades have such a nice stamped finish— a huge marketing and branding perception of quality. (Going the extra step— visual appeal) At the end of the day you may have a very different impression of the Derby Premium Blade than mine, but from my standpoint, I am impressed and these blades— they are in my top-tier favored blades rotation. Mark Seattle, WA USA
The new parker blades that came out a few months ago are rebranded derby premium, and supposedly the latest batches of derby extra are better the previous blade so i assume they have finally tuned up the machine lol, i was really surprised with how well the premiums shave.
derby regular is pretty much my standard blade.I just got a pack of the premium blades in a sampler and will give them a shot in the next week or two.
I just finished using a parker aka rebranded premium. It's a middle of the road blade to me and it gave me some slight irritation. It still got the job done quite efficiently but it's neither as sharp nor smooth like Astra and Gillette.
Premium is much more better than Derby Extra blades, IMO. It is an over average blade but there are much more better options in the market. USA made Personna Blue Lab blades are great. I think you ,people live in USA are very lucky. What a wonderful blade.