Derby Extra

On a whim for Father's Day over here I broke out a Derby blade from some I bought at least 7 years ago and loaded it up in a Canadian post-war FH Tech. I didn't even shower (yet), but merely sink washed and used Chiseled Face Santa Paula soap which I bought used in 2019 and am lucky to use three times a year. The shave was superb!

I honestly think nowadays that prep is really the key. Use a good face wash beforehand and after face lathering let the soap sit for three or four minutes as you do some "touch up painting" with the brush to get a nice even lather. This seems to aid damn near every DE blade used to where I can tell little if any difference. Just my 2 cents.
 
On a whim for Father's Day over here I broke out a Derby blade from some I bought at least 7 years ago and loaded it up in a Canadian post-war FH Tech. I didn't even shower (yet), but merely sink washed and used Chiseled Face Santa Paula soap which I bought used in 2019 and am lucky to use three times a year. The shave was superb!

I honestly think nowadays that prep is really the key. Use a good face wash beforehand and after face lathering let the soap sit for three or four minutes as you do some "touch up painting" with the brush to get a nice even lather. This seems to aid damn near every DE blade used to where I can tell little if any difference. Just my 2 cents.

Many seem to believe Techs can only be used with really sharp blades, but I think with a good lather and the right angle they can be used with a wide variety of blades.
 
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.
Make you complete right, I only just discoverd the Derby blade thanks to @Boycie83 and have run it through my Lupo 72, Merkur 500 Progress (4,4,2), FaTip Lo Stoto and my daily RR GC .84 SB and find it particularly useful in the RR GC. I just bought myself 100 from Amazon for £5.99, lmao.
 
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