Corey's blade reviews, nostalgia style

The setup:

I started DE shaving in 2009 with a Parker 22R that I bought on Amazon after reading a random post on Fark about using DE razors. I knew absolutely nothing about it and bought the Parker because it came with blades. Along with a Tweezerman brush and Col. Conk soap, I was ready to dive head first into DE shaving. The blades were 7am blades, and they were terrible, so I bought a blade sampler and went from there. Eventually, I I bought 100 Derbys, 100 Astras, and 200 Feathers. When I hit the Feathers, I stopped using anything else and PIF'd away most of the Derbys and Astras.

The plan:

It's been a few years and my technique and equipment have gotten better. Until very recently, I've been using nothing but Feathers. It's time to see how time changes my impressions of blades. To do that, I've purchased another 22R to replace the original that was PIF'd to another new shaver. I'm going to hit some of the firsts again.

First Razor: Parker 22R
First vintage razor: Gillette Tech
First open comb: Gillette Old
First adjustable: Merkur Vision

As for blades (In order):
Derby Extra
Astra SP
Feather

Each blade will get three shaves, then on to the next blade. When the first razor has gone through all the blades, it'll be on to the next razor to do again. I'm curious to see if Derbys work better for me now that technique and gear has improved. So let's begin.

Shave 1:

Parker 22R
Derby Extra
Razorock Zi' Peppino Shave Soap
Parker Synthetic brush
Pinaud Clubman

I stopped using Derbys when I got Astras. The Astras were just better. This time around, the Derbys seem smoother than I remember. I remember getting a lot of irritation and razor burn, which I'm sure was from poor technique at the time. I cold have sworn the Parker was more aggressive. I did a two pass shave, WTG and XTG. There's no irritation, but there are some spots that could probably use another pass. There was no irritation or burning upon applying Pinaud Clubman. This combination worked out far better than I could have expected. I feared a raw neck and tons of irritation. The Derby isn't the sharpest blade I've used, but it was much better than I remember them being. Technique wins out on this one. We'll see how things go tomorrow.

I'm excited to see how this turns out. I find that when I go back to the original gear I started with, nothing is as I remember it. I'm no saint, so I know most of it was me (and I admitted it at the time), but it's funny how things change.

Best of luck!

Day 2

Parker 22R
Derby Extra
Razorock Nervous Wreck

Second day with the Parker/Derby combo, and another nice shave. There are still a few areas that just don't want to be shaved down smooth. I'm not sure if it's just the blade or blade and razor combo. My memory of the Parker being an aggressive razor has been completely shattered. It's fairly mild, maybe a touch more aggressive than a Super Speed, but hardly the face shredder that I had originally remembered this to be. I went without an aftershave today to see how smooth the shave actually was. I showered after the shave, and, two hours later, there's no trace of irritation going on. It's quite surprising. I expected to come out of this convinced nice and early that the Derby blades were crap, but they've proven to be quite nice so far.

Tomorrow: The final day with the Parker/Derby combo. Then, on to Tech/Derby.

Day 3:

Parker 22R
Derby Extra
TOBS Eton College
Omega Pro boar brush
Pinaud Clubman AS

This is the final day of the Parker/Derby combo. There was a little more pulling than yesterday, and even if I wasn't on a 3 day and done plan, today would be a good day to dump the blade. As with the previous two shaves, there were some areas around the jaw line and on the neck that just refused to get beyond a socially acceptable shave. I also noticed that the tabs on the blade stick out much farther on the Parker than any other razor I've used. The tabs kept brushing up against my ear, and one of the tabs have a jagged edge on it. I thought for sure I somehow cut the hell out of my ear, but that little edge happened to catch. No blood, thankfully, but it made me very aware of shaving by my ear.

The Derby performed fairly well in the Parker, and was a much different feel than when I began shaving. There were areas that just wouldn't shave down. I could have tried a few more passes, but I have a feeling that adding any more passes would risk irritation. So, the Derby has proven to be more functional than I remember, which is a nice surprise.

Tomorrow: My beloved Gillette Tech gets a go with the Derby blade. I'm looking forward to that one. I haven't used my any of my Techs in a while. I'm actually really looking forward to cycling a Feather through it. That's always been one of my absolute favorite Razor/Blade combinations. That will come later though.

Day 4:

Gillette Tech
Derby Extra
Razorock Fine American Blend
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Snake Bite AS

My expectations of this shave were that it would be fantastic and I would be very pleased. How could it not be? I love the Tech, and it's never let me down. Razorock soaps are excellent and lather great. All of the ingredients were there for an excellent shave.

Well, almost all of the ingredients. Shave one with a fresh Derby blade left me disappointed. From the onset, the blade was tugging similar to the last shave with the Derby in the Parker. It wasn't completely uncomfortable, just very noticeable. There was no smooth glide to it, just mild tugging. To be fair, the end result was a very smooth face without the small patchy areas left by the Parker 22R. I'll give credit where it's due here, the finish was nice, but the journey there, not so much. Where I feared a dreaded burn from the Snake Bite AS, none was found. The only thing felt was the very soothing and chilling feel that comes with the Snake Bite AS. I really love this stuff. I only have a sampler at the moment, but it's starting to look like a must buy, especially for summer.

Tomorrow, more of the same, though I think I'll be going with Synergy soap instead. Maybe a different soap will agree with this blade.

Day 5:

Gillette Tech
Derby Extra
Razorock Nervous Wreck
Omega Pro Boar Brush
Fine Snake Bite AS

This shave pulled a little more than yesterday. The Derby/Tech combo just isn't meant to be. I've binned the blade and will be jumping to the Gillette Old Type starting tomorrow. Today's save was one pass WTG and a little bit of buffing. By the time I finished my first pass, I decided that one was enough. There was no point in raking this thing over my face for a second pass. I'm not quite sure how much I would gain from doing more, apart from getting irritation. It's a shame, really. I was looking forward to this one, just because I've missed shaving with the Tech, but it's just not meant to be. I don't really recall how often I used the Derby in the Tech the first time. I think by the time I had gotten my hands on the Tech, I was transitioning into using mostly Astra blades and eventually Feathers. I may have used it two or three times, but when I think of shaving with a Tech, I don't connect it to Derby in any way. I think I've figured out why. If I'm having this much of an issue with the blade while shaving now, I can't imagine it being very fun back then with sloppier technique.

Tomorrow, Gillette Old Type and definitely Synergy. I know I said I might on this shave, but tomorrow is a definite. It's feeling like a Beach day.

Day 6:

Gillette Old Type
Derby Extra
HTGAM The Beach
Parker Synthetic Brush
Lucky Tiger Face Tonic

I'm starting to really understand why I don't have Derby blades in my rotation. Today's first shave with the Old/Derby combination was filled with the same light to moderate tugging that's been experienced in almost every other shave. I'm getting smooth results, and quite honestly, this was probably the best shave I've had with a Derby blade so far. Yet, it's not enjoyable. It's becoming annoying to use this blade. I end up rushing the shave to just get it over with. I'm hoping it smooths out a little for tomorrows shave. If not, it's getting binned. I'll be quite happy when the Derby test is over. This has me really looking forward to trying the Astras, and absolutely amped to get to Feathers.

Day 7:

Gillette Old Type
Derby Extra
HTGAM The Beach
Omega Pro Boar Brush
Clubman Pinaud

That's it for this blade. Today's shave was a lot of annoying tugging and a really crap shave. I'll be generous and call it SAS, but that's being very generous. Maybe it's a dud blade, or maybe the blade and razor just don't get along. I don't know. I just know it's done. There will be no third shave. I've lost any fondness I may have found earlier and the nostalgia factor. One more razor to go and I can ditch the Derby blades and move on to Astra SP.

Tomorrow: Merkur Vision. Holding this thing for the first time in a while, I forget how obscenely ridiculous and large it is. I'm looking forward to the next few shaves.

Day 8:

Merkur Vision
Derby Extra
Tiki Bar Soap Salty Air
Omega Pro Boar Brush

I took a day off of shaving yesterday due to work commitments and just needing a nice break before going at it again. Today's shave was with the mighty Merkur Vision. I always forget how big this razor is. It's huge. Look at this thing!


This is the lineup for my whole nostalgia shave. The Vision dwarfs everything easily. It's also a heavy, heavy razor. A bit of disclosure before we move on, though. I haven't used the Vision in over two years. I forget I have it sometimes. It's sat in a tackle box that I use to store my razors for quite a while. I'm more of a Futur person. Maybe.

On with the shave. I want to say that there was hints of pulling on this first round, and it may be true. There was the very slightest bit of tugging going on. I think the shear weight of the razor just powered through it. I have the Vision set on "S", which I'm assuming is somewhere near the middle, yet slightly on the mild side of its full adjustment. It mowed through the hairs without mercy. Maybe that's why I gave up on it. I can imagine I had a brutal time trying to shave with it while using a Feather and just decided to table it for a while. It's an absolute monster that gave more aggression to a blade that has shown itself to be mediocre to poor on the last few shaves. I'm tempted to run it wide open tomorrow to see how the Derby responds, but I don't necessarily feel the need to butcher myself. We shall see.

No aftershave, as of yet. I wanted to see how my face would feel after a decent amount of time had passed. It's starting to get itchy and I may throw on some Snake Bite to cool things down.

Day 9:

Merkur Vision
Derby Extra
TOBS St James
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Platinum AS

I cranked the adjustment up one click on the Vision and went at the hairs again. It was another nice, if slightly aggressive shave. The blade feels like it's getting slightly more tugging than yesterday's shave, but again, the weight of the Merkur seems to compensate somewhat and have the blade cut through the hairs. To me, this is really making me consider throwing the Vision back into a more permanent rotation, rather than being tucked away. There was a little bit more skin irritation than I'm normally used to, possibly due to a slightly more aggressive setting on the razor, and possibly from me rushing the shav somewhat to get it over with. I think I'm just over using the Derby. It's served a purpose and I no longer wish to use it.

Derby Extra Wrap-up

I've made it through my first blade in the throwback tour. At one point I was in love with these blades, but probably because my only comparison was the god awful 7am garbage blades that came with the Parker 22R. Incidentally, when I purchased this Parker to replace the one I PIF'd away, it came with Feather blades. I don't know if Feathers would have made the first DE shave experience better or worse than the 7am blades with zero experience. My guess is that it would have been ugly.

The quality of shave that I received from the Derby blades in each razor was acceptable, though the feel of the blade seemed to fade quickly. The Derby did not agree with either of the Gillettes. The shave in the Tech and the Old Type were some of the roughest feeling shaves I've had in a long time. They did better in the Parker 22R, and much better in the Vision, though neither razor produced a memorable shave as a result of using the Derby.

I'm finally coming to nearly the end of my original 100 blade supply that was purchased many years ago. I will not be reordering these blades. I'll end up doing what I've done with the majority of my Derby supply and PIF them away to people looking to try something new. Hopefully others will have a fondness for them that I had before trying other blades. To me, they're just mediocre.

Next blade: Astra SP

Astra SP run, Day 1:

Parker 22R
Astra SP
Razorock Zi' Peppino
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Snake Bite AS

Right off the bat, there were annoying problems. Blade one had a ding in the shaving edge. After looking at it and briefly trying to decide if I wanted to work around it, I binned it. I'm not butchering my face over a dinged up blade to save a few pennies. Blade two was covered in wax/glue across an entire side and covering the cutting edge. Binned. The third blade had the wax/glue dots that stretched almost to the cutting edge, but thankfully stopped short.

The difference between the Astra SP and Derby is night and day. Where the Derby started off with a minor tug fresh out of the gate, the Astra was smooth. After going through the Derbys, I almost forgot that shaving wasn't supposed to involve the blade tugging on the hairs. Oddly enough, after briefly using the Vision, the Parker now feels incredibly mild by comparison. Almost too mild. I don't know if it's a blade/razor combo or just jumping from a more aggressive razor with a mediocre blade to a milder razor with a smoother blade that made the difference, but it was immediately noticeable. Today's shave was a two pass affair using a crosshatch type of pattern both times. The result is the absolutely smoothest shave that I've had in this endeavor, hands down. No spots have been missed, there doesn't appear to be any uneven areas, and everything is nice and smooth. I'm coming down to the end of my Snake Bite sample, and it's fantastic. My face is still ice cold and freezing after 20 minutes. I really love this stuff the more I use it.

So, despite a frustrating start, today's shave was very nice. I hope it continues to hold up. Astras are very affordable, and if all the shaves turn out like today's, it may be worth it to pick up a spare hundred to throw into the rotation.

Astra SP run, Day 2:

Parker 22R
Astra SP
Tiki Bar Soap Salty Air
Parker Synthetic
Fine American Blend AS

Today's shave was a very nice continuation of yesterday's shave. The blade continues to be quite smooth with minimal pulling. There were a few areas that took an extra pass to trim down, but no irritation or burn has been felt from the shave. There were two slight nicks which I'm just marking off to 1) a pimple below the surface that I mowed over and 2) carelessness around the jawline. Both nicks could be easily avoidable with a little more careful shaving, but, to the credit of the Astra, I feel comfortable doing a typical quick and dirty shave of two passes with the grain and done. It takes less effort and concentration with the Astra than the previous Derby.

Tomorrow is the last shave for the Parker/Astra combination. We'll see how day 3 treats this blade.

Astra SP run, Day 3:

Parker 22R
Astra SP
WSP Classic Shave Soap sample
Parker Synthetic
Pinaud Clubman

I've been having a hell of a time falling asleep, so instead of tossing and turning, I decided to get a shave in. This final shave with the Parker/Astra combo was nearly as smooth as the previous two. There's definitely a little bit of wear setting in on the blade and a slight increase in the amount of tugging and pulling that could be felt. Still, the Astra on shave three is still a better shave than a fresh Derby. This morning's shave consisted of two passes with the grain and a little touch up around the jaw line and adam's apple. There's a slight bit of irritation in those areas and the skin doesn't feel as smooth as elsewhere. The Clubman helped to address the irritation, and the results are easily DFS.

The Parker/Astra combo has performed quite well. The shaves have been far better than those received on any of the previous razors with the Derby. There was just a touch of irritation on that last shave, but it worked out well. If this was the only shaving setup that I had for the rest of my life, I could deal with that. The quality of shave was very even and consistent, with an acceptable amount of blade degradation over the span of three days. The cost and ease of obtaining the blade is also a nice bonus. I'm now curious how these compare to the Astra SS blades. I don't think I've ever tried those. It might be something to look into.

Anyway, tomorrow (or later tonight if my face feels alright) will start the Gillette Tech/Astra SP run.

Astra SP run, Day 4:

Gillette Tech
Astra SP
Tiki Bar Soap Surfs Up
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Italian Citrus

First shave with the Tech/Astra combo. The first few strokes feel more aggressive than the Parker, which is strange with the Tech being such a mild razor. I'm not sure if I just went overly aggressive on my shave angle, or just expected the Tech to be milder, but it wasn't what I expected. The shave went fairly well, though nothing about it really stands out. Two nicks on the jaw line from beneath the surface pimples that got shaved on. This shave consisted of two passes, both with the grain. There doesn't seem to be any rough patches, and it feels like I managed to hit the spots that the Derby blades seemed to have trouble shaving down. Honestly, I expected better. I've always had a fondness for the Tech, but maybe it's only in its sweet spot with sharp blades, like the feather. On this first shave with the Astra, it was just alright. My face is very presentable, and there are not spots of irritation. Still, something feels like it was missing.

Astra SP run, Day 5

Gillette Tech
Astra SP
Razorock Mudder Focker
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Fresh Vetiver

Today's shave was excellent. The blade was nice and smooth today, and a two pass shave gave me remarkably smooth skin. I think a lot of things added up to really smooth out this shave. For one, I received a scuttle in the mail today. I've never used one before. I also received the Mudder Focker soap (as well as Tight Buns and Tiki Bar Soap Spice Islands). Between the phenomenal lather from the Mudder Focker and the excellent scuttle, I got a fantastic lather that was warm, slick, and copious. Perhaps the scuttle/soap was the "something" missing from yesterday's shave. This is what shaving is about.

Man, I wish I had your dedication and attention to detail. Love your posts.

Corey said:

Astra SP run, Day 5

Gillette Tech
Astra SP
Razorock Mudder Focker
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Fresh Vetiver

Today's shave was excellent. The blade was nice and smooth today, and a two pass shave gave me remarkably smooth skin. I think a lot of things added up to really smooth out this shave. For one, I received a scuttle in the mail today. I've never used one before. I also received the Mudder Focker soap (as well as Tight Buns and Tiki Bar Soap Spice Islands). Between the phenomenal lather from the Mudder Focker and the excellent scuttle, I got a fantastic lather that was warm, slick, and copious. Perhaps the scuttle/soap was the "something" missing from yesterday's shave. This is what shaving is about.

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The Mud in the Mudder Focker is magical. The MF not only produces a great lather but there seems to be no blade drag. Like I said, magic. The MF makes every razor and blade better.

Shellbriar said:

Man, I wish I had your dedication and attention to detail. Love your posts.

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Thank you. It's been interesting to go over all of this stuff to see if anything has changed since I started a while ago. That's made it easy to do this.

rodmonster said:

The Mud in the Mudder Focker is magical. The MF not only produces a great lather but there seems to be no blade drag. Like I said, magic. The MF makes every razor and blade better.

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I agree. The stuff is amazing. I think I'm going to pick up some extras just to have in case it happens to disappear.

Astra SP run, Day 6:

Gillette Tech
Astra SP
Razorock Tight Buns
Parker Synthetic Brush
Fine Platinum

Today was the final shave with the Tech/Astra. The lather, while not as nice as the Mudder Focker of yesterday, was more than adequate. The blade had a more noticeable bit of drag to it, and pulled in a few areas, such as under the jaw line and on the upper lip. Not surprisingly, the Fine AS had a little burn in those areas. I may have used too much pressure in trying to get the areas cut down. It would be at this point where I would bin the blade anyway, so it's nice to be done with it before it causes any serious damage.

So, the Tech worked pretty well with the Astra, with very minimal hints of pulling until the end. I can see how this would have made for a very nice natural progression from using the Derbys. After six shaves and two razors, I don't think I'l be purchasing any more Astras. I already know there are better blades for me, including the Feathers due up some time next week. Perhaps the Old Type and the Vision will change things.