QC issues with Derby Extra blades

yeahbuddeh · Post by **yeahbuddeh** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:09 pm

Is it me or do the blades vary from pack to pack? This is really pissing me off. A good derby blade seems like it can't get any better. Then i use some from the same 100 pack and are not nearly as good and cut me. They just feel awful. Can anyone recommend a stable brand? I haven't tried other blades because one I tried a good derby, I bought 200 and called it a day. Now it seems that the good "packs" within the 100 pack are few and far between.

aircraft_electrician · Sat Jun 12, 2010 3:39 pm

I just gave one of these a go again this morning and I'm not at all happy with it. So far, I haven't had a good Derby blade yet, all of them I've tried have pulled and tugged and I've always nicked myself with them.

I won't be buying these again.

Tom

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:17 pm

Well, FWIW, I was never a fan of the Derby blades even though they seem quite popular here. I use entirely vintage blades today, but in the past I found the Israeli made Personnas ( white and blue wrappers ) to be decent and consistant.
Regards,
Gordon

kronos9 · Post by **kronos9** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 4:48 pm

I guess I'm just otherworldly lucky. After more than 90 blades, I've never had a Derby turn its fangs on me. Nothing unpredictable. The first day may require some extra focus but things are fine thereafter.
I do have a slight preference for the IPs as mentioned by Gordon.

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:37 pm

I'm lucky too, I guess... The large majority of my stash of Derby blades (which is all I use) seem to be in good order. Every once in a while I get one that 'bites', in which case I toss it out immediately and pop in another one. Derby blades work great for me and they are a good deal.

LookingGlass · Post by **LookingGlass** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:49 pm

I bought a 100 pack of Derby blades at the end of '09 when I returned to DE/wet shaving and they have been consistently good for me. I kinda of got in to the blade AD. I have Feathers, Bluebirds, Sharks, Astras, and Persona Reds. If I had it all to do over again, I would do just the Derbys and Personna Reds. For me, they are great and I always return to them after using one of the others. I like the Derby blade in my EJ89L and Muhle R89; I like the Persona Red blade in my '59 Fatboy.
Luckily, I purchased a small number of the Feathers, Bluebirds, Sharks, and Astras just to give then a try. Like I said, I'll use them occasionally but return to the Derby/Personna Red blades as they just work for me.

VR,
Ed

jww · Post by **jww** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 5:54 pm

While I am a fan of Derby Extra blades, I do find them to be a bit hit-and-miss. Sometimes I'll get a couple of shaves out of one blade, sometimes as many as 5 or even 6.

yeahbuddeh · Post by **yeahbuddeh** » Sat Jun 12, 2010 7:15 pm

So i just ordered a 5-pack of Iridiums, Sharks, Red IPs, Astras and 7 O'clocks yellow. I'm wanting something consistent. I still have like 20 packs of Derby's. When I get a good blade, I really love them. But they are too hit and miss for me. This is a problem because I can only shave my stache every 4-5 days and if I come across a bad blade, I will know it after I nick myself. Not before. Since that is where I start on my face. I'm hoping one of the 5 brands I chose from will be the ones I will stock up on. I'm not a huge fan of switching blade brands.

hookem11 · Post by **hookem11** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 3:56 am

Gillette 7 O'Clock Sharp Edge (Yellow). Used exclusively for past 2 years and haven't had a single bad blade. For me they last a week of daily shaves

drumana · Post by **drumana** » Sun Jun 13, 2010 6:12 pm

LookingGlass wrote: I like the Derby blade in my EJ89L and Muhle R89
Ed

Derby in a Muhle R89 is a great set up that is mild yet effective. Since I stumbled across this combo I haven't used anything else.

BeatlesFan · Post by **BeatlesFan** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 8:26 am

I use Derbys as my daily blade, and I don't recall ever getting a bad one. I like them better than Iridiums, Swedes, and various other highly regarded blades 'round here.

FWIW, I think blade preferences are one of the most personal things in shaving, and Derbys seem to be a "love 'em or hate 'em" deal. I don't know why, but they just seem very polarizing.

For me, nothing is as smooth, and they are plenty sharp to provide a close shave. Best I've found for my own face.

Obviously, many others feel the exact opposite. But Derbys work for me . . .

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Mon Jun 14, 2010 12:10 pm

I've not had any problems that I can recall, with Derbys. Mine are all horizontal ones. I got carried away and sold all of my Derbys, then had blade remorse and was able to locate a 100 pack from the guy in Turkey for a very good price with free shipping, and they turned out to be horizontal also. Supposedly that doesn't make any difference, but maybe the bad blades are some of the vertical Derbys???? Somebody suggested "corking" the Derbys. I don't cork any blades, just because it never occurs to me that maybe I should.