Durham duplex blades?

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Bondage007, Sep 9, 2015.

  1. Bondage007

    Bondage007 Active Member

    Thanks again!
    I got a couple Durham straights to go with duplex so I would have more than one use for blades.

    Cheers
    John
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  2. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    Thanks, I definitely will try these out in the future...
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2015
    GDCarrington likes this.
  3. DonMac

    DonMac Active Member

    Unfortunately, or fortunately for us who buy and use them, the Durham Duplex straight and DE's are under-appreciated razors. Paired with a good blade, they provide an outstanding shave, and the wide cutting swath is appreciated when finishing the shave in substantially less time.
     
  4. Sabre

    Sabre Well-Known Member

    I have only used mine out of curiosity, apart from my Weck's they probably have had the least use. I have a 4 S razor that I have never used at all...
     
  5. Bondage007

    Bondage007 Active Member

    I'm a head/face shaver so cutting down on time/passes is a good thing.

    Cheers
    John
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2015
  6. DonMac

    DonMac Active Member

    The Durham Duplex is an unusual razor in many respects. With the deluxe kit, it combines the various razor types in one kit. It will serve as a standard straight razor (shavette) with a bare blade, straight razor with a shaving guard, DE razor, SE and Hair trimmer razor. It also comes in several models with different handles and configurations. The Dorset model with the black Bakelite handle is my personal favorite, with the straight with the blade guard as my second.
    The deluxe kits came with all the accessories including a blade holder to strop the blade at the correct angle.
    With all the accessories, the Durham Duplex is actually a complete shaving system.
    I think what appears to be its complexity and somewhat aggressive open comb appearance may scare some away from trying it. In reality it's actually a very simple design that is highly versatile and effective.
    Another down side, is those who try it for the first time discover that the technique is somewhat different than a regular DE razor. The angle must be maintained very shallow, almost flat, and to obtain the best cutting effectiveness pressure is used. Because the blade is rigid, it is similar in cutting characteristics to a straight, so anything in its way gets removed.
    A little patience in learning its quirks and characteristics with a few learning curve shaves, will reward the shaver with some exceptional shaves.
     
  7. cwilkins

    cwilkins New Member

    Hello All,
    New here ! I have been wet shaving for just about a year. All of my google searches ended up here and all of the responses I saw were positive. So I decided to join and post my experiences. Thanks for the original link that pointed to tryablade@com I was at the site and looked around and never thought to look under misc. There I found the blades I was looking for.

    I picked up a Durham Duplex for a low price and figured I would give it a try once I saw that the blades were available. The Durham has not arrived but here is what it looks like.

    I like the idea of trying a straight razor type blade without the cost and steep learning curve. The blade strop holder has my interests piqued. Can a stainless blade like those used for Pathology be stropped ? Mind you if the blades do fine out of the wrapper I see you can buy them in bulk so I wouldn't mind using a blade two or three times and just putting in a fresh one. But, the idea of stropping definitely lends itself to something that would be enjoyable on a Saturday morning.

    Chuck

    PS Let me know if there is a specified image size for uploading. Not sure if this one is above the set rules.

    Durham_Duplex.jpg
     
  8. Ian Rivlin

    Ian Rivlin New Member

    Did you ever find a suitable replacement blade?
    I've tried the Personna blades but there are a bit as sharp as a dece but box cutter blade ie fine for their job as a carpet or box cutter but poor as a razor. If there were some contraption I could use to accurately hone the blades, it would be fine. The big problem with the Personna blades is that they are stainless steel. This is a difficult material to hone or strop. Ordinary low carbon steel would be much easier to sharpen.
    Any suggestions?
    Ian
     
  9. Weasel640

    Weasel640 Well-Known Member

    The Personna Pathology (White wrapper, blue text) blades are the ones that everybody uses. As discussed on the previous page the Personna carpet blades and Dog trimming blades are no good.

    Welcome to the forum.
     

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