BigD's Derby Premium Review

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by BigD, Mar 29, 2019.

  1. BigD

    BigD Well-Known Member

    Derby Premium;

    This blade is advertised to be a coated Swedish Steel blade by Derby. I bought it in a box of 100 with 20 tucks of 5 blades. The blade tuck is your typical blade dispenser with a blade bank on the back of the dispenser. While the Derby Extra’s and the Derby Usta’s tucks are white, the Derby Premium’s tuck is black. The tabs of this blade seem to have a bit more care given to them compared to the Derby Usta’s tabs, which are rough and sharp. Derby has branded the blade to let you know it is their Premium. Overall, this is a nice blade with nice presentation. As of this writing it is about the same price as the Ustas.

    I am going to fill this out as the shaves happen.

    First Shave;

    I performed a typical three pass shave using Tabac shave soap. The first pass with the grain, as usual was superb and cut down a lot of the whiskers. The second pass across the grain was smooth and felt good. I stopped here to check closeness due to my first use of the Usta was only a two pass shave. It was just as nice as the Usta. However, this is meaningless. Except for a very few blades I get this kind of shave on a blades first use. I continued on to my third and final pass. This pass is not against the grain, but caddie corner. I shave from my chin to upper ear. This doesn’t cut as close as a true against the grain pass, but it does get close enough for a BBS shave that will last most of my working day/night depending my shift.

    Overall it was a great shave. I didn’t have any nicks, cuts, abrasions, or razor burn. So far compared to the Usta it is the same level of shave. Again, I must make it clear that at this point in the blade’s life comparisons are worthless. I always get a great shave on the first use of a blade unless it is a true loser of a blade, like a Derby Extra.

    Second Shave;

    Another typical three pass shave with Williams Mug Soap. What a superb shave. The razor just glided over my face cutting whiskers like a champ. My second pass I had issues. Not because of the equipment, but Operator Head Space (OHS). The facility was testing the emergency broadcast system with all their various alarms. Instead of just waiting for the testing to be over I decided to just keep going. I gave myself three very small nicks while flinching. Other than that, some alum and styptic after the shave cured that issue. All in all the razor blade held up great.

    This is still neck and neck with the Usta. However, this is still typical for me with better blades such as the Kai, Polsilver, Dorco Prime, Nacet, and other top quality blades.

    Third Shave;

    A wonderful Three Pass shave with Stirling Spice. Great shave. The first pass, the second pass, and the third pass just glided over my face like a champ. No nicks, no cuts, no irritation, and alarms making me flinch. Again, at the level of this blade this is typical for my shaving experience. It will be the fourth shave that will separate this from the rest of the pack.

    Fourth Shave (Ender Shave);

    An okay Three Pass shave with Stirling British Leather. Over all a great shave. The first pass was smooth, and so was the second. The third pass left more stubble than I would have liked. Some touch ups were needed. I was able to get a BBS to my liking on my face. I used the blade on a lower setting to hit other parts of my body. No nicks, no cuts, no abrasions, and no irritation.

    Looking at the blades side by side I could see the Usta’s edge is thinner, thus steeper compared to the Derby Premium. All in all after my fourth shave with the Usta I was able to tell it had more quality shaves in it. The Premium did as well, but not as quality as the Usta. Are these the same blade? I can tell without a doubt they are not. They are both quality blades and are worth the money, but the Usta edges out the Premium just barely.
     
    AGHisBBS, RyX and brit like this.

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