Derby VS. Dorco

[Scentronic]

I just made my way through my first pack of Derbys (lasted forever!) and was quite satisfied.

Now I've got a few Dorcos I'm trying and as far as I can tell, they don't seem to be quite as sharp as the Derbys. Can anyone verify this? Where do these two brands stand on the hierarchy of sharpness?

I'm also looking to try some new blades as well, as I've only got one Dorco left. I'd like to try something on the sharper end of the spectrum. If anyone has any recommendations as to what I should try, please let me know. I'm looking to purchase a few packs.

I use a blue tip, and from what I've heard, this pairs well with very sharp blades like Feathers. (so I'd love to try those!) If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it!

[rainman]

I recommend some Astras. Bullgoose sells them for a good price.

[Dubbya]

For the sharp end of the spectrum, I'd say Astra, Kai, Feather, or Swedish Gillette(if you can find them).

Derbys are in the middle of the sharpness scale. Depending on which ones you have, the Dorcos are wither in the middle or the lower end of the sharpness scale. 301's seem a bit sharper that 300's.

[strat1117]

I just made my way through my first pack of Derbys (lasted forever!) and was quite satisfied.

Now I've got a few Dorcos I'm trying and as far as I can tell, they don't seem to be quite as sharp as the Derbys. Can anyone verify this? Where do these two brands stand on the hierarchy of sharpness?

I'm also looking to try some new blades as well, as I've only got one Dorco left. I'd like to try something on the sharper end of the spectrum. If anyone has any recommendations as to what I should try, please let me know. I'm looking to purchase a few packs.

I use a blue tip, and from what I've heard, this pairs well with very sharp blades like Feathers. (so I'd love to try those!) If anyone can help me out, I'd appreciate it!

I don't think there is a fixed hierarchy of sharpness. I, and many others, like the Derbys as the best all around blade, very sharp, very smooth, work in almost any razor in any situation. Others hate them and will tell you that we Derby fans are crazy, and that the Dorco is the one true way. Who should you listen to?

Dr. Seuss, of course. Forget about whether or not the blade are star bellied Sneetches or whether they have none upon theirs. Just worry about whether or not you enjoyed your shave with a particular set up and then, voila, that is the set up for you! No one else can tell you that you are wrong unless and until they are shaving your face with your hands and your razor (and you would never lend them your razor, would you?)

For every opinion there is an equal and opposite contra opinion. So while you may be able to narrow the field to a few good choices by polling everyone around for opinions, you will never know for sure until you just go ahead and pick a few samples to try and then work the rest out for yourself.

Just remember to relax and enjoy it. It's fun!!! It's shaving, for goodness sake, not brain science!

I alsays try to enjoy myself while shaving. You should too. It's been my number one rule since I started posting on this site (other than YMMV). Have fun and enjoy myself!!

:kyle1:

[fidjit]

Dr. Seuss, of course.

Should I buy Dorco or Derby?
Billiard Ball or Hairy Furby?
Buy some, try some
Give them a go
If you don't you'll never know !

:tongue_sm

[Tommy C]

Gillette 7 o'clock yellow pack. I have tried a few different blades and so far they are the sharpest and smoothest I have had. I haven't tried Feathers though.

[Todd G]

I also found Derbys to be sharper than Dorcos. I finally settled on Feathers for my choice of blade.

[sergio]

+1 on gillete 7 o'clock yellow

[thunderball]

If it were down to just Derbys and Dorcos, I'd go with the Derbys.

[rm71]

if it were down to just derbys and dorcos, i'd go with the derbys.

+1.

[Brodirt]

I have found the Derby to be a significantly better blade than either of the Dorco choices. I haven't shaved with either recently, but I look longingly at the Derbys when I go for a new blade.

[Scentronic]

Oh, I will develop my own preferences indeed! Just need some references to investigate! Being new to the DE world, and now having tied 3 different DE razors and two types of blades, I just wanted to confirm my experience. And after doing a forum search for Dorco, I see that they are not a highly regarded blade. I do like the Derbys more - but I need to try some others!

So my list starts with Astra, Kai, Feather, Swedish Gillette, Gillette 7 O'Clock Yellow... Any more?

Which of these are more easily attainable? When I find one I really like, I'll probably want to buy a larger quantity of them.

Can anyone set me up with a sampler pack of any of the above?

[Synack]

I also find Derby to be much better than Dorco. If you are looking for something sharper I'd definitely recommend either Astra or Gillette Yellow Packs. (They are close in my mind but I'd give the Yellows the nod.)

[revrosso]

Only the 301s though. For the money, i find them better than the Derby. They tend to dull a tad faster though. I get 3-4 from the Dorco and 4-5 from the Derby.

[akuri]

i have enough derbys to last several years and don't have a need for anything else they are fairly cheap and last me quite a while though i havn't tried dorco's i like the derbys and have ended my search for any different type blades there..

[jakespoppy]

Since you're wanting to explore to get some ideas about sharper blades, I'd suggest you get a sampler that includes some of the sharper blades that have been mentioned above, and I'll add a plug to include some of the Red (Israeli) Personnas in that sampler.

[blantyre]

Derbys are OK, Dorcos suck IMO (I may have had a bad pack but they seemed blunt - really blunt not just "relatively" blunt, I could hardly get one shave out of them!). BIC and Feathers are very good. BICs are half the price of Feathers, last longer and are almost as good.