Derby It isn't always the blade
I think I just learned the lesson of proper face prep. This was my experience with Derby.
1. I just used the Merkur blade that came with the razor. Day 2 I went to Derby. My technique and maybe lack of prep had me still at razor burn. I found it was better than Merkur but irritating. I now realize part of it was the severe irritation I was still having from bad technique and improper prep from Merkur.
2. Try 2 was after I went through my sampler rotation and some I added. I found it even worse. It hardly cut the hair and my face was more cut up than I ever had with a straight. Maybe not. More numerous cuts but not as big the longer blade can do. Where I wasn't cut I had stratches. I hated the blade.
I missed the tell tale sign. On taking out the blade my cream was caked on the blade. There was a large build up of cream behind the guard that did not wash off. The lesson my AOS cream is tricky sometimes. It can go on very thick and somehwat dry. In that stage it gives no protection. It might have been worse than no prep at all.
3. Nice lather to the AOS cream it went on smooth and thin. The Derby blade wasn't bad. Nick free fairly close shave. Not my favorite but decent. I still had some irritation on my neck but the AS didn't burn like Hades and it didn't last for hours like the Merkur with very little prep.
I think the lesson to me is soaking your brush, making sure you don't get too much cream, and making sure you have a good layer of protection of lather as oppossed to a gob of goop on your face is more important than the blade you use. Sometimes it isn't the blade and it isn't your technique. It is how you prepped your face. A bad face prep leads to a bad shave.
That being said I have other blades that performed better under a bad face prep. Derby still isn't my favorite but it is not in the avoid it like the plague category it once was either.