I wanted to love Derby blades when I first heard about them. Derbys were touted as mild, but effective, widely available, and low priced. The issue seems to be that, lately, their QC has gone down the tubes and a once legendary blade is now seen as a shadow of its former self. I received a pack from a friendly member here on this forum (bittermormon). I was so disappointed by the performance of the Derbys that after a single blade I gave up on them. They tore my face apart and did little to the hair. I hate giving up on a blade, I usually give it at least two blades before deciding I dislike a particular brand, but I just couldn't do it with the Derbys. Luckily my wife liked them, so they did not go to waste. Recently I have been going back over some of the products that I dismissed early on, with some mixed results. I didn't hate Voskhods as much as I did the first time around, I still don't like TTO razors in spite of thinking that the idea is brilliant, etc. I decided to give Derby blades a second chance, just out of fairness. To get ready for the impending second chance I did everything very carefully. I soaked my brush and took a hot shower and then got out my workhorse soap. I lathered up some Vitos Extra Super and added in a dash of Kiss My Face Key Lime. I made AMAZING lather. I made such lather that all of the clean shaven gods from all of the pantheons looked down and smiled with appreciation. I wet my face, slapped on my GodLather, and began to shave with a fresh Derby. Now, with this lather I could have shaved with a rusty tin can and come out ok, and to give it a fair shake the Derby did OK. The problem is that it did JUST OK. I ended up with some irritation and a small nick, but the Derby didn't kill me like the previous Derby blades had. The problem is that with lather as amazing as this any blade I used should have been like rubbing silk across my skin. It wasn't. I still don't like Derbys and I still think they are not worth the time or effort, but at least I have found a way to make them usable. I know that for some folks Derbys are the best and work great for them, but for me Derbys are the lowest form of razor blade. It's always good to give products a second chance, but once you return to something and still can't abide it then it's time to move on. It's time for me to move on from Derby and to be happy with the blades that work well for me.
Please don't call me friendly. With so many good blades I don't see why it's worth bothering with stuff that's just OK. Have you tried Astra Platinums yet?
I haven't tried either Astra Platinums or Astra Stainless yet, but both are on my list. For now I am finding that in spite of all of the choices available I keep coming back to the Dorcos and Lord Platinums.
I got my Derbies in a sample pack and my "HOPES" for them were just like yours and my "EXPERIENCE" with them was also just like yours!! I have to give you "EXTRA" credit jabberwock for trying them a second time. After I used the first blade for one shave I gave the rest of the opened pack away! I still have two unopened packs left and because I'm just too cheap to throw them away, I'm keeping them in my stash, maybe one day in the far far future they will be worth something to a collector as an unopened pack of NOS blades.. They sure aren't worth anything for shaving I.M.O. of course to whoever reads this post "YMMV"....
Derby was the first blade I tried and I didn't like them either. I also very much liked Lords but then I tried Personna and I can't imagine getting better shaves than I do with the Personnas. I'm wondering how true it is that different blades work better or worse in different razors, maybe that can account for some of the disparity in opinions.
It's too bad that Derby blades have turned out to be so poor. I still need to try Astras, Personna Reds and Labs, Wilkinsons, and Feathers before ending my experimentation. As of right now I am happy with my standards--Dorco 301s and Lord Platinums. If I never find another blade that I like as much as these two then I will still be happy.
I've used Personna Reds,Labs,Wilkinsons and Astra SP's and I.M.O. all are good blades with my preference between the four,being the Astra SP's. I find the Feathers too harsh and irritating for my face and so I don't use them. You also might want to consider trying PolSilver Super Iridiums, Really Great blades sharp,smooth,close shaving and irritation free for me. The only problem I've had with them is the "PRICE", that unfortunately lives in the Feather neighborhood... [Edit] After hearing good thing about Astra Blue's I have some on order along with some Super Max Stainless...
I must say this thread makes me feel a little better. Admittedly I'm still new to DE shaving, and my technique is better on one day than the next, but after one shave with a Derby I thought Edward Scissorhands had come at me after a 3 day meth binge. I had more cuts and irritation than I thought possible. Still I tried it a 2nd day just to make sure it wasn't my technique, lather, prep etc. and still the same thing. Now I know the motto around here is YMMV, but if that had been the first blade I tried I think I would have trashed the whole kit and grown a beard. Astra Platinums though, there is a blade I think I can get some mileage out of.
WOW Derby's getting thrown under the bus here lol. Now myself, I had a decent shave with them but not as good as the Asta SP. but better than the Sharks I only have done one run through with the Derby and Lords so maybe second time around will be different but I doubt I will swicth from the Astras they are the best for me and a great price
Speaking on my own experience, Derbies do BEST in razors that WORK BEST with milder blades. ie; an Edwin Jagger DL89. It has been my experience that Astras, Feathers, Treet Black Beauties, ie; sharper blades / less mild ~ work best in razors that WORK BEST with sharper blades. ie; Merkur. It has ALSO been my experience that a Gillette Superspeed will work AWESOME with EITHER mild / sharp blades. (except those crap CVS drugstore generic blades) I've had nothing but good experiences w. Derby. I use those blades in the razor that uses them the best. It took a bit of experimentation using a blade in one razor, noting the performance, then using another in another razor, noting the performance.....derby's sucked in my Merkur 34C. They're AWESOME in my EJ DL89. Just the way it works I guess. I'm 1/4 of the way thru a 100 blade pack....no problems, I get about 6-7 shaves per blade. I'm sorry you guys are having crummy experiences with them. If you want to offload your gosh darned derbys (lol) I can um....dispose of them properly for ya LOL!!! Truly sorry you're having a bad experience w. them. They've been nothing but enjoyable for me.
I tried them and they were just OK for me, as well as my husband. But YMMV, so a person just has to try a blade & see for him/herself.
I started DE shaving with a Merkur Long Classic (which I still use today), and everyone I talked to recommended that I try Derbys. I found Derby was too dull for my beard and there was too much pulling and irritation. I switched to Dorco ST-300's (not platinum coated) and was much happier. I just recently (as in a couple weeks ago) started using Astra SP greens; they're fantastic in my Merkur LC. Israeli (IIRC red box/wrapper) Personna's were also decent in the Merkur.
I've been using the Derby since my first day of wetshaving, just two weeks ago. I thought I was having a problem with them but I soon realized I was using the blade past it's prime. As soon as I started putting a new blade on every 6 passes, my shaves have been DFSs. Still, can't wait to try my sampler pack when it arrives.
I just tried my first Derby today. It left me dualminded. For starters, it is very dull on my beard - not smooth WTG, XTG and rough ATG. But unlike other blades doing the same I got no burn nor irritation after my 3-pass. So I don't know what to think of it besides that I probably wont return to Derby.
