Are Derby Extra and Premium Blades Discontinued - Replaced with Usta?

[Lane101]

Hi everyone. I just pulled a copy of Azmusebat's latest product catalog (link to corp. web site below) and found that the Derby Extra and Premium blades were no longer listed. In their place they only show the Derby Usta blades.

In the catalog they note that the Derby Usta blades are made with a new sharpening technology that includes double polishing. These blades are also shown in the product section of this web site where the Derby Extra product listings only show the Derby Usta blades.

In a separate blog from Global Shave Club it's claimed that the Usta blades are made on new equipment. This would fit with the claim above regarding new sharpening technology. Nothing here regarding the fate of the Extra and Premium blades though they note, as we have here at B&B, that there is a lot of old Derby inventory floating around.

Per many earlier posts there has been a lot of confusion between the Extra and Usta blades. Based on how these were posted by Azmusebat last year it appeared they were the same blade. If Usta is the replacement blade for Extra and Premium made on new equipment it would explain the many positive reviews that have been posted and clarify this confusion.

To add to the confusion a look at the Kanar (U.S. Importer of Derby products) website (second link below) only shows Derby Extra and Premium blades available for wholesale purchase. Unclear if this is due to Usta not being offered in the U.S. or if Kanar needs to sell through older inventory before offering Usta.

Please add any additional information you have on the Derby Usta blades including anything confirming what is implied by the catalog change out.

TIRAŞ BIÇAKLARI | ..:: AZMÜSEBAT ::..

www.azmusebat.com.tr

Link to U.S. Derby Importer (look at wholesale orders via menu on top of page)

Kanar

kanar.us

 

[nlife]

Hopefully they keep producing the Premium version. That's one of my two 'go-to' blades. The other being the Treet Platinum. Both give me a close, comfortable shave.

 

[Lane101]

Some additional information from Azmusebat's Derby Shaving Products site (links below) that is separate from its corporate site noted above. The English language version shows Derby Extra and Premium blades while the Turkish language version of the site only shows the Usta product. The .pdf product catalog available for download from this site is the same one from the above corporate site that only shows the Usta product.

See this as only adding to the confusion around Derby blades. Either Usta is a new blade that is replacing Extra and Premium per my first post above or it's the same blade (Extra or Premium) with a different name that resonates more in the home Turkish market. The third possibility is that Kanar, the authorized importer for the U.S., has lots of Extra and Premium blades in inventory that have to be sold through before it can make Usta available.

An additional piece of information is that on a different wet shaving site the similar questions were asked and a member reached out to Kanar for clarification on the Usta blades. The email response was that Derby Extra and Usta were the same blade just sold under a different name in domestic markets.

Bottom line is that we really don't know if Usta is a newer and better blade that replaces Extra or just a different name for the same blade. The new sharpening technology noted for the Usta blades could very well be the same as the new cathedral cutting edge that was touted for Derby blades in their catalogs of a few years ago.



Initial Derby Website landing page:
Derby I Ver Bi’ Derby! - https://www.derby.com.tr/anasayfa

English Language Version of Derby Blades Listing on this website - Shows Derby Extra and Premium blades

Profesyonel Tıraş Bıçakları

www.derby.com.tr

Turkish Language Version of Derby Blades Listing on this website - Only Shows Usta product

Profesyonel Tıraş Bıçakları

www.derby.com.tr

Edit: P.S. The links don't always seem to go to the correct language version. If this happens just change the language on the upper right hand part of the web site.

 

[Rekab Mit]

Still selling on Amazon UK. I bought 100, was not too impressed then my Astra turned up and now I realise the Derby Extras are pretty good. Astra superior platinum first shave is good but its downhill from there.
Astra Extra first shave OK but second is great.

 

[Shaveprentice]

USTA means Expert or Master in English. I would be be very surprised if they discontinued Derby Extra and Derby Premium blades given how long the Extra have been available and how widely they have been distributed. USTA blades on the other hand do not seem to be as widely available. Of course I never expected Tabac and MWF to drop the tallow either so hopefully it is just differences in the websites.

 

[ivan_101]

Why post a second thread which is basically about the same thing as the other?

 

[Lane101]

Why post a second thread which is basically about the same thing as the other?

Please read the initial posts in each thread, while related the subjects are different. Additionally, as the Derby brand information has become more confusing, this thread was posed as a question in the hope that a fellow B&Ber would have clarifying information.

On the last post on the other thread I combined everything in one place to make it easier for everyone to understand what we currently know without having to root through all the posts out there.

 

[filedog]

I tried Derby Premium for the first time recently, and was pleasantly surprised.
The second shave was even better than the first. Not the sharpest, but a nice, smooth blade.