I bought myself a sample pack of Blades from Connaught. I have tried about 4 of them so far. The Derby Extra I tried last was really quite strange. It gave me a great shave in the Muhle R106 but the feel is a little scratchy. Day one was ok, didn't seem like it was working but shave was good, second day was just right and third day the feel was like shaving with sandpaper, although once again a great shave, mostly, although not so good in the tricky areas. That could be s=down to technique though. I'm not really a fan of the Derby Extra, it was a little like going back to the Cartridge razor feel.
Derby Extra
- Thread starter Kluson
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Not many people like them, I think you're with the majority on this 
personally I don't mind them, nothing spectacular but I get decent shaves with them.
personally I don't mind them, nothing spectacular but I get decent shaves with them.
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Different blades for different razor's, not a blade I would normally use but I found it worked a treat in my Muhle R41GS.
It's a little like finding the right tyres for your car be it a mini or a Bentley continental!
Paul.
I keep my Bentley on bricks - it has helped reduce the cost of ownership.Different blades for different razor's, not a blade I would normally use but I found it worked a treat in my Muhle R41GS.
It's a little like finding the right tyres for your car be it a mini or a Bentley continental!
Paul.
- Thread Starter
- #5
Your view is exactly the same as mine. Not overseen but I did get a good shaveNot many people like them, I think you're with the majority on this
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I think part of the issue with these blades is that many people (me included) get them with beginners kits and are proud we don't maim ourselves. Then a couple of months down the line we've tried numerous other blades and realise the Derbys are safe but we can now handle sharper gear. And thus they get tainted as crap rather than having their place in the overall blade suitability chart. Damn, I'm going to have to run one through my go-to razor now to compare against my lovely Voskhod when I retire that after tomorrow's shave.
- Thread Starter
- #7
sorry "not over keen"Your view is exactly the same as mine. Not overseen but I did get a good shave
You are probably right, although I don't like the scratchy feel.I think part of the issue with these blades is that many people (me included) get them with beginners kits and are proud we don't maim ourselves. Then a couple of months down the line we've tried numerous other blades and realise the Derbys are safe but we can now handle sharper gear. And thus they get tainted as crap rather than having their place in the overall blade suitability chart. Damn, I'm going to have to run one through my go-to razor now to compare against my lovely Voskhod when I retire that after tomorrow's shave.
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This is exactly right.I think part of the issue with these blades is that many people (me included) get them with beginners kits and are proud we don't maim ourselves. Then a couple of months down the line we've tried numerous other blades and realise the Derbys are safe but we can now handle sharper gear. And thus they get tainted as crap rather than having their place in the overall blade suitability chart. Damn, I'm going to have to run one through my go-to razor now to compare against my lovely Voskhod when I retire that after tomorrow's shave.
They are great for starting out and there is actually nothing much wrong with them, apart from they struggle a little with tough suff. I still load one up from time to time, to use them up.
II think this is why many people, like myself, like Astra SP so much, they are as safe and smooth as Derby's, but noticeably sharper and more capable.
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I think this is correct. I started with them, tried Astras and others, but never returned. I still have quite a few, and will likely load up my razor with one in the next week or two, to see if I'm missing anything.
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I'll use one tonight!!
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- Manchester
Likewise !! - you inspired me to dig through my stock box and i loaded up a Derby Extra (old style, circa 2016, the ones with vertical labels) last night.
Put into my Merkur 20c and it went well - it did drag very slightly on the tougher stuff, but ended I up with a very acceptable close shave and it was generally a smooth ride.
So it confirmed my long held belief that the Derby's are actually perfectly usable blades.
i still have about 60 Derby's to get thru, but will use them eventually. Am slightly intrigued by the newer Derbys, as i understand they are better, but i already have several years worth of blades to get thru.
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- In the North East, by a sheep field
I tried one again in today's shave. As a "first blade," I think we tend to ignore them, and move on to something else we've found, and soon forget about them. It was a good shave this morning, I'll be using the blade this week, and adding further reports in the SOTD thread. I'll do what I can to avoid cross-posting.
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- Haywards Heath
I'll tell you mine on Derby. In the past (about a decade ago when I started this beautiful journey) there was lot less choice as there is today in terms of instruments (both hardware and software). The Edwin Jagger DE89 (or the Muhle R89) was one of the "obliged" first step into a getting a "first decent razor" (the Wilky Classic is a decent razor alike, but it was generally accepted as no more than a starting razor due to be mild and cheap). At the time, the DE89 was issued with Derby blades (the green pack). Today, I believe it is issued with Feather blades (which for me are the best match for that razor), but I may be wrong. This generated the view amongst many newbies that these blades were somewhat dull and ineffective. For some, this is true (as a matter of fact, YMMV). For some others, it's not, but regardless of the Derby itself, when you begin, you inevitable lack the skills necessary to handle the razor properly, as well as your skin has not adjusted to a more effective way of shaving yourself (again, this is my personal opinion). I've too considered these blades to be crap for long time. I gave them another try last year in the same EJ which I still own. I got a good, smooth and irritation-free shave. The green derby in particular, are probably amongst the smoothest blades around given the number of treatment they receive (PTFE, platinum etc). Yes, they are not super sharp. With my EJ I can get one good shave and, at best, a mediocre 2nd. But where these blades excel for me is in more aggressive razors. With my Fatip OC, I can get 4 good shaves which, considering the price per blade, is a pretty good result for me. Sorry for the lengthy post.
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@Danielsan87 I've always wet-shaved, but was cartridge until the end of last year. The Derby was a revelation with my first DE (Amazon kit which included these blades) and is still a good blade. But as always YMMV and and so will perception of a blade based on hardware, experience and general feeling on the day. I've passed a lot of mine on as starter tucks, and I firmly believe they have their place. If every blade was a Feather, there'd be a lot of people reverting to a Mach 3 after one DE trial
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The batch of Derby's that I have are from 2016, which is when I got back into DE shaving after most of my life on carts and electric (tho I used DE briefly back in the early 80`s.
I have found the QC a bit variable on this batch of Derby's (genuine tho, via connaught) and have probobly binned 4 or 5 out of the 40 or so i have used, after just a few strokes when they just felt a bit blunt and rough.
My subsequent interweb research suggests that the newer Derby's are both Sharper and more consistent, so i might buy some to try - as it stands tho, i have no hesitation in occasionally using one of the ones that i have left
I have found the QC a bit variable on this batch of Derby's (genuine tho, via connaught) and have probobly binned 4 or 5 out of the 40 or so i have used, after just a few strokes when they just felt a bit blunt and rough.
My subsequent interweb research suggests that the newer Derby's are both Sharper and more consistent, so i might buy some to try - as it stands tho, i have no hesitation in occasionally using one of the ones that i have left
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- 829
- Location
- In the North East, by a sheep field
This week’s “Derby Challenge” is now over. I’ve been documenting this in another thread. The blade was fine for the first five days, sharp and smooth—comparable to my benchmark Astra. Then it soon became rough. My verdict is that Derbys are usable, and certainly not crap; but they don’t have the longevity of an Astra. I’ll keep them around and take them when I have to go out of town overnight or for a couple of days (when those days return)—and then discard the blade. But, as with everything shave related, these results are “tester specific,” and (to use that well-worn phrase: “your results might vary.”
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