Blades/Razors

Hello,
First post so please go easy as I'm going to ask for advice that's probably already somewhere to be found here.
After a recent return to DE shaving I find an EJ89 with Feather blades to be really easy to use and very forgiving and extraordinarily kind on the face and can give two shaves in less than 20 hours with no burn or discomfort but after 6 weeks of using a Baxter with both Derby and Silver Blue blades I get some discomfort. Have I read here that the Baxter and EJ heads are the same?
Thoughts on Derby in EJ89 and Feather in Baxter please?
Any help that might shortcut further painful trial through error will be appreciated.
Thanks, Phil

Welcome to the club, Phil. Glad to have you aboard. I'm sorry, but I have no knowledge of a Baxter razor, so cannot help you there. I do know that Derby blades are not very highly thought of by most of our gents here.

Welcome aboard. I've never used a Derby blade, but there is some who like them. They have 69% 5-star reviews on Amazon. But the USA made Personna blade that I have and used to hate (but now like lol) have the same 69% 5-star review rate. They seem to work well for some, not so well for others.

FWIW...

I'll take a Feather over a Derby anytime.. even if I have to hold it barehanded.. my shaves with Derby blades have all been painful..

But Lots and Lots of guys like them... YMMV

How do the razors differ? handle length, weight, balance? that may have something to do with it.

Derby blades are quite blunt. Secondly the coating is uneven both in quality and in application. So you get very poor shaves. Feather make good blades - very sharp and in my experience very smooth. If you've found a good razor for a feather (which in this case means engineered to very fine tolerances) stick with it.

Razors differ by length, weight, balance etc. And the differences between them are measured in grammes and millimetres - sometimes in fractions of millimetres. Blades are manufactured to very fine tolerances also - none more so than Feathers. With apologies to all those of you who've heard me bang this drum before the reason why Feather blades and razors are so good is because they're a (very profitable) sideline to Feather's main business which is the design and manufature of surgical implements. Their engineers are used to working to very fine (and unforgiving) tolerances. The same applies to the Jagger razors - they're a still viable and vibrant part of an industry that employed some very good engineers and designers and have paid to keep that expertise. To cut a long story short you get what you pay for.

Good information from all

Welcome, Phil! By any chance is your razor from Baxter Of California? If so it is a rebranded Muhle R89 which is a quality razor made in Germany and has the same head as the EJ89. As to blades, the Derbys are not very sharp. I found them okay to learn DE shaving with, but never got a great shave out of them. I eventually moved on to Feathers and they are pretty much all I use now.

Welcome
I see your preferred combination is mild razor aggressive blade.
Derby is a mild blade so I would suggest you try other blades that are more aggressive, or just use feather.

I read on croatian forum statements that DE89 and r89 are not the same head, proof was apparently that protective cap for r89 fits perfectly on that same razor but it's not perfect on de89 (it's loose i think they've said). If anyone know what is the main consensus here on b&b?

Bookie said:

Welcome
I see your preferred combination is mild razor aggressive blade.
Derby is a mild blade so I would suggest you try other blades that are more aggressive, or just use feather.

I read on croatian forum statements that DE89 and r89 are not the same head, proof was apparently that protective cap for r89 fits perfectly on that same razor but it's not perfect on de89 (it's loose i think they've said). If anyone know what is the main consensus here on b&b?

Click to expand...

I agree with these comment on blades. And welcome to B&B.

Welcome! IMO the EJ89 (mild/moderate razor) Feather (sharp blade) combination is a great way to go! I do not get good results with Derbys as these are not that sharp IME. I have no experience with the Baxter, so cannot comment on a good blade choice for that one.