Derby Blades, A Review

Let's talk about single and double edged razors and the blades that they use.
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stephen732
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same blade different location?

Post by stephen732 »

are all English, German, Japanese, and Turkish Derby blades the same? i'm curious about Derby's due to the 7.0 rating
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Squire
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Post by Squire »

They were all the same, made in Turkey, when I did the review.
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Squire
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jojo
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Post by jojo »

So, I'm totally confused. I have Derby's and I love them, but purchased them a couple years ago. I believe they're made in Turkey. Where can I purchase more of the "good" Derby's?
bernards66
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Post by bernards66 »

jojo, As far as I know, there is still only one kind....which are made in Turkey. That plant is now owned by P&G though, or so we've heard.
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Gordon
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Post by gsgo »

bernards66 wrote:jojo, As far as I know, there is still only one kind....which are made in Turkey. That plant is now owned by P&G though, or so we've heard.
Regards,
Gordon
Gordon,

I think Derby is still Derby - have not seen any verification of P&G taking it over - P&G is already established in Turkey with a variety of product lines including Gillette shaving goods. P&G was making moves to go upmarket in their shaving business hence their purchase of AOS. We will have to keep watching this one as P&G has never been one to telegraph their moves.
Good shaving,

Gary
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melyus
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Post by melyus »

gsgo wrote:
bernards66 wrote:jojo, As far as I know, there is still only one kind....which are made in Turkey. That plant is now owned by P&G though, or so we've heard.
Regards,
Gordon
Gordon,

I think Derby is still Derby - have not seen any verification of P&G taking it over - P&G is already established in Turkey with a variety of product lines including Gillette shaving goods. P&G was making moves to go upmarket in their shaving business hence their purchase of AOS. We will have to keep watching this one as P&G has never been one to telegraph their moves.
+1 to Gary
i talked with Derby Company(Azmüsebat) about one month ago and ask this question . Their reply is this : Derby is still Derby and nothing change.
As you know that a couple of years ago Turkish Perma-Sharp Blade company owned by P&G . But who knows what the future bring to us.
Regards.
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stephen732
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Post by stephen732 »

in case anyone wants a good deal on derby blades, hurry!
http://cgi.ebay.com/100-DERBY-EXTRA-STA ... 29ff839aa2
1907 Gillette model 102
Merkur long handle open comb
Wars cream (Poland)
alcx77
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Post by alcx77 »

Derby blade BBS in Futur shave number 14 and no irritation...wow-



Alan
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stephen732
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Post by stephen732 »

just got my new derby's and my first shave was great. looking forward to what the 2nd & 3rd shaves will be like with the initial blade. thanks Squire for the review!
1907 Gillette model 102
Merkur long handle open comb
Wars cream (Poland)
alcx77
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Post by alcx77 »

The Derby is an outstanding value.

Alan
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CK
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Post by CK »

How many shaves do most get out of these blades? I had my 4th today and it didnt come out as smooth as the rest.
Charlie
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Araner
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Re: same blade different location?

Post by Araner »

stephen732 wrote:are all English, German, Japanese, and Turkish Derby blades the same? i'm curious about Derby's due to the 7.0 rating
From what I've read, the blades are manufactured in Turkey from stainless steel stock that they get from England, Germany and Japan; maybe Sweden too. Perhaps this is the source of the confusion.
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Araner
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Post by Araner »

CK wrote:How many shaves do most get out of these blades? I had my 4th today and it didnt come out as smooth as the rest.
I exclusively use Derby blades and I go for 5 shaves per blade, max. Sometime I change blades after 4 shaves; primarily because I’ve loss count of how many shaves I’ve used the blade for. I suffer from CRS on occasion.
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Squire
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Post by Squire »

That's interesting Araner, can you give us some sources for the information about the different steels.
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Squire
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Araner
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Post by Araner »

Squire wrote:That's interesting Araner, can you give us some sources for the information about the different steels.
I found that info here.
http://www.derbyrazors.com/

“All Derby Razor Blades are Manufactured from stainless razor blade strip from Sweden, England or Japan.”

No mention of Germany, but I was just going on my memory when I made the post.
Last edited by Araner on Thu Nov 19, 2009 7:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
vtmax
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Post by vtmax »

Mike,

I agree with you on the Derby blades. Charles Robert's I remember prefers them in dry climates and as I am heading into a New England snowy winter I tend to agree. I can use the Feathers while visiting the family in Bermuda in the warm moist months but I have come to the conclusion (having tried most of Squires reviews) a Derby in a Super Speed from the late 40's to the early 50's is heaven for me.

Max
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KAV
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Post by KAV »

I have a feeling razorblade steel is procured much like knifemaking steel.
The swedish knife industry, famous for it's 'MORA' region of simple but very sharp knives uses the famed Sandvik stainless which is 12c27modified.
It's nice to imagine some viking blacksmith hammering out iron ore by a birch fire forge. The reality is 12c27 is also made and used in Germany and France and several other european knife industries.
If a batch of steel meets basic metallurgical parameters and can deliver on quantity,time and price point the factories will use it.
I imagine it's possible subtle metallurgy differences might contribute to 'felt' differences in performance.
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m3m0ryleak
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Post by m3m0ryleak »

For what's it worth from yet another new guy, I found the Derby to be less effective in my '52 SS compared to use in Merkur HD or EJ DE89L.
Of the blades I have used to date, Derby rates as a top contender. Enough so that I've acquired about 150 blades :P . In "another" forum there's a recent thread, "Has Derby Changed" based on the fact that there's Turkish writing on the box. :?:
vtmax
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Post by vtmax »

I have a DE89L as well which is also a great razor/Derby combination. It is a milder shave in the SS than the EJ's I will admit but I tend to prefer more passes in a milder super speed. I have different packaging in some of the Derby boxes but I am confident all are made in the Turkish plant pictured in Mike's link above.

Max
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Pauldog
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Other Derby Blades

Post by Pauldog »

Now I'm also seeing two other Derby blades - ones in a blue pack, and ones in a black pack ("Premium"). Any word on what these are like?
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