Why so little love for Derby?

First I have to admit that I only used Derby in my very beginning of DEshaving and they may.have been misjudged. I just didn't try them again.

But I'm curios about why a cheap and obviously common brand almost never get good comments?
It's either under the radar or get bad reviews. At least from what I see.

So please let it out!
Why is Derby good? Or bad?

In my experience they are an extraordinarily smooth blade, but not very sharp. They seem to work best in an aggressive razor, like my Merkur 37c or Gillette open comb ABC. They don't seem to work as well in a mild razor like my Gillette flare tip.

I get good smooth shaves from them in my 34c but it takes more work and multiple passes for sure.

They cut, can be mostly smooth in the right razor, but not my 1st choice in a blade.

Blade choice is ultimately a very personal thing, and Derbys do have their fan club out there. For me, they performed poorly in my closed comb; somewhat better in my slant bar. They give me a bit more redness than many blades, but not long-lasting irritation.

I find them a bit nondescript: I'll use the current sample pack I'm on, but won't be buying any more.

YMMV, particularly as blade choice goes.

OP, I think your personal experience says it all.

I a forum of enthusiasts, something has to be the whipping boy.

Hah. I can't see Derby blades working well for me even in 39C, when Gillettes didn't even work. I've tried Derby on 38C and was left with a vicious mustache area after ATG...

For me, Derbys were not terrible, just not nearly as good as many other blades. I used Derbys in moderate/mild razors (EJ 89 and Wolfman SB) and found that they did not perform as well as any of the Russian, Israeli or US made Personnas. Clearly YMMV.

Derby Extras tore me up in my EJ, but worked pretty well in my ATT R1. Maybe it's because of how varied the results are between razors, even across different users?

So should we just establish that Derby is nothing special? Not really good but neither bad.

PhillyB said:

In my experience they are an extraordinarily smooth blade, but not very sharp. They seem to work best in an aggressive razor, like my Merkur 37c or Gillette open comb ABC. They don't seem to work as well in a mild razor like my Gillette flare tip.

Click to expand...

+1 Same thing for me. They cut hair but lack any real sharpness... therefore I do not use them.

I have better blades.

I just didn't get a great shave with them. They might work better with an aggressive razor. I tend to prefer a mild razor and sharp blade.

They tug my face in every razor I have tried them in, not a fan usually discard them after two or three shaves. Every now and again I forget and a thread on here makes me revisit them and I'm sorry! Even now I am thinking of trying them in my ATT H1 or my Shavecraft 104 because someone suggested that they are good in an aggressive razor, I hope I won't be sorry again.

I just used one today- a pack of 5 that has been in the drawer since God knows when. I decided to use the 34C HD which I seldom do so I thought why not? I agree with what several said above- its smooth but not nearly sharp enough. I could have stayed at the sink doing touch ups for another 10 minutes but couldn't stay. The result is that I felt like I could shave again by 7 or 8 this evening, and that never happens. I'll use the pack up over the next few weeks and then be done with them. I discovered a bunch of Sharks and Lords in the same drawer. I can't remember what my issue was with them. The inexpensive blades with which I have the best luck are the Gillette 7 oçlocks and the Russian Ladas and Rapira. I'll sometimes buy a couple hundred Ladas.

G'day,

When I had my first safety razor a EJ DE89 Extra Grip Knurled after 23 years of using the standard cartridge razors, disposable razors and foam creams and I had to used a Derby Extra when I had to learn my way up the ladder, suddenly giving myself a bloody great shave It was the best shave I've ever had in my life and I didn't cut myself thanks goodness first time than suddenly when I finish shaving and so on when I looked at my face it turn out to be smooth as a baby bare bum.

Any way I'm trying out the Gillette 7 O'clock Yellows and the Gillette Silver Blue so far okay still haven't decided which blade I'm sticking too but my gut tell me GSB, I don't had any issue with a Derby as long as I replace the blade every 3rd shave I went up too a maximum of 5 shave just doesn't feel right so I went back to replacing the blade every 3rd shave.

Cheers

IMHO I could get a closer shave with less blood loss if I stuck my head in a cage with a live rabid badger.

wolftiger said:

First I have to admit that I only used Derby in my very beginning of DEshaving and they may.have been misjudged. I just didn't try them again.

But I'm curios about why a cheap and obviously common brand almost never get good comments?
It's either under the radar or get bad reviews. At least from what I see.

So please let it out!
Why is Derby good? Or bad?

Click to expand...

I like Derby blades, I can use them in all of my razors (Old, New, Aristocrat, Superspeed, Tech etc.), and I get a good 4 days of shaving from each blade.

For me they are comfortable blades.

Just proves the ymmv axiom.

Derby are cheap, although I haven't used them, there must be a reason for them being so cheap. I bought a Shavette and 100 half Derby Blades for only 11.99

Derbies are great. I hate feathers, like voshkods and sputniks and really like Polsilvers (just as reference).