thanks for the info.
Worst shave I've had in years, courtesy of a Derby.
- Thread starter Casey
- Start date
No one cares what a newbie thinks, but my face has violently disliked "vertical" Derby blades since my first try.
Tried a Derby for the first time this morning (came part of a WS sampler pack) & got a decent shave from it. The blade that I had use previous to it was a Gillette 7am Yellow. The Gillette was sharper on the first shave, but other than that the Derby has preformed fine so far in comparison.
DD
DD
I cork my Derbys now with hard styrofoam. I haven't notice any longevity issues at all. I'm still getting 4 wonderful shaves per blade which is more than enough for me. The vertical Derbys MUST be corked otherwise they are garbage for alot of people. But, I just noticed something else by reading replies to this post. It seems as if everyone who uses a 38c likes Derbys, myself included. They must function better in this razor?
What I found was that you hit good ones and bad ones. I got tired of fooling with them. None were as good as my Kai's. Trying a Gillette Green Russian lately and there is a strange one for you. It is a chore to shave with, but when I am done it seems like a pretty close shave. Blue Birds next with yellows and iridiums to follow.
The winner so far is Kai, even over feathers for me.
best,
mrscottishman
The winner so far is Kai, even over feathers for me.
best,
mrscottishman
I have also found, until now, that Derbys worked best for me in my 38c. I say until now because like many others I have found the quality of Derbys in the package with vertical writing to be highly variable.
This is frustrating because I found the horizontal Derbys to be consistently the best blade for my face. This was after trying Feathers, Red IPs, Astra, Treet, Merkur, and Dorcos. I'm now on the search for a new blade - currently favoring Astras and Red IPs.
When I tried Derbys I didn't get a very good shave and thought it was something I was doing wrong (still fairly new to DE), but then I tried Yellow 7 O'clocks and Red IP. That was the end of my Derby use. The Derbys were the vertical pack.
Same sentiment here: To tell you the truth...I had some Derby blades that totally sucked in all the Razors I tried shaving with. Whether they be Vintage Gillette or Merkur/Hoffritz razors these Derby blades just did not cut it for me.
Then I read a post about Derby blades in the "Vertical" package as opposed to the "Horizontal" package having some major quality control issues. Glad I used up the sample of 10 Derby Vertical blades but I only got about 1 or 2 mediocre shaves out of the 6 "shave-able" blades with plenty of irritation and nicks. I've been wet shaving since I was a young lad of 15 and that was 40 years ago. I'm happy to say that I will not be ordering these anytime in the future.
Most likely there are a lot of "bad" blades on the market and in storage facilities so who knows how long it takes to clear out the bad stock through attrition. They were the worst blades that I tried....even though some people swear by them. To each their own and it's just my personal opinion. Cheers
Then I read a post about Derby blades in the "Vertical" package as opposed to the "Horizontal" package having some major quality control issues. Glad I used up the sample of 10 Derby Vertical blades but I only got about 1 or 2 mediocre shaves out of the 6 "shave-able" blades with plenty of irritation and nicks. I've been wet shaving since I was a young lad of 15 and that was 40 years ago. I'm happy to say that I will not be ordering these anytime in the future.
Most likely there are a lot of "bad" blades on the market and in storage facilities so who knows how long it takes to clear out the bad stock through attrition. They were the worst blades that I tried....even though some people swear by them. To each their own and it's just my personal opinion. Cheers
I have to admit, I'm a little perplexed at this thread. Not that I don't think people can get a bad shave from a Derby but that there is such a startling difference between "vertical" and "horizontal" Derby blades. I guess I'm fortunate as I have stocked up on the "horizontal" Derby's and have yet to get a bade shave from them. Maybe I should trade a few of my blades and compare them with the "vertical" brand. I'm have tempted to believe they're counterfeit but considering their low price what would be the point?
I can echo the bad experience with Derby in an EJ DE89L (which is a fine razor). A lot of pulling. I tossed it after one shave, and that's because I was too lazy to change the blade mid-shave. I had the same experience with Bluebird blades which I hear are just Derby under a different wrapper. Based on my experience, I tend to agree with the rumor. Night and day compared to Feather, Iridium, Astra Platinum or Shark Super Chrome which are my top choices for sharpness and most important to me, smoothness.
I recently had the same problem with the verticals. Instant weeping throughout. Glad it was just 1 out of 5 I used...
Sooo...ok, the packaging is different, but what is the physical difference in the god and bad blades? Anybody know?
Sooo...ok, the packaging is different, but what is the physical difference in the god and bad blades? Anybody know?
Derbys have been my go to blade for 3 years running, Ive tried others but keep going back. YMMV I guess.
Derbys eat my face too. I wont use them anymore.
The plot thickens. I've been getting rather good shaves from the vertical Derby's, and, like you, I'm using them in a Gillette open comb (I'm using a 1920's Old Style, to be specific) and shaving daily.
I wonder if the vertical Derby's behave similarly for others with Gillette open comb razors? Or are these shaves just an strange glitch in the fabric of reality?
I don't know, Derbys have been hit-or-miss for me. Some are great and some are lousy. I wish they were more consistent because the good ones are really good.
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