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.

I did not hate Derby, nor did I dislike the blade. I do not think I will get them again since Merkur(surprise) has become my fav so far. I do have some astra blades to check out.

Prep is key, but I also found the derby blades kinda dull; they just pulled alot on my stiff stubble. I got much better shaves with no irritation when I switched to feathers and personna blue lab. YMMV as the saying goes. :shrug:

Prep is by far the most important part I find. I didn't dislike the Derbys, they were actually my first DE brand and I used them a lot. Since then I've become a big fan of Feathers and even a bigger fan of Astra SP and Gillette Silver Blues. Technique will always play a part, but face prep and beard softening is key.

Getting the water ratio right when lathering a soap/cream is one of the keys to a close irritation free shave. Too thick might even be worse than too runny.

Bob

I've always felt this face prep thing is made more than it is. if you have some lube on your face you get a good shave. if you don't have that no other quality will matter. That's why you can shave using just water and get a good shave. Once you have a basic prep regimen which to me is a clean face and a soap with good lube properties you have the essentials. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Now I'm not recommending you should shave with water and I certainly appreciate a quality soap or cream but I'm just saying....

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I've always felt this face prep thing is made more than it is. if you have some lube on your face you get a good shave. if you don't have that no other quality will matter. That's why you can shave using just water and get a good shave. Once you have a basic prep regimen which to me is a clean face and a soap with good lube properties you have the essentials. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Now I'm not recommending you should shave with water and I certainly appreciate a quality soap or cream but I'm just saying....

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This certainly depends on your beard. If I prep well, it feels like I'm wiping the whiskers off my face as long as my blade is sharp. With poor or no prep I can't get a blade to cut no matter how sharp it is. For me, good prep is probably the most important part of getting a good shave.

It could be that you're using to much pressure? That would set my face on fire when I first started using a DE. Going over the same area over and over will do it too.

Yea, with a DE use a light hand just as you would when using a straight.

Bob

Derby is not a "bad" blade but compared to others does not shave so deep and does not last enough before start "pinching"
I don't want a blade for 2 shaving only
Mainly i use Open Comb so there is no room for such risk.

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Originally Posted by thebigspendur

I've always felt this face prep thing is made more than it is. if you have some lube on your face you get a good shave. if you don't have that no other quality will matter. That's why you can shave using just water and get a good shave. Once you have a basic prep regimen which to me is a clean face and a soap with good lube properties you have the essentials. Everything else is just icing on the cake.

Now I'm not recommending you should shave with water and I certainly appreciate a quality soap or cream but I'm just saying....

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I've proven that to mysefl for months now. Using the prep described in the 1906 booklet that I got the cold water shave out of. Lather on your dry face, rub the lather in vigorously, re-lather and shave. I've done this for what seems like forever now and the shaves are as good as when I used to wash my face twice vigorously, with hot water, in the shower. No difference.

On to the Derby blades ....... I hated them. I wrote rants against them on another shaving forum before I came to SRP. I could not fathom other people liking them. So I stuck with my Gillette Swedes and Feathers. Merkur and Wilkinson were also good as well as the red Israeli Personnas. Months later I returned to the Derby blades. I found them to be gentle and forgiving but effective.

I re-posted to that effect. I was getting good shaves out of them. To the point where I bought a large quantity of them on ebay. So what was the difference ? I think it was my technique. I had gotten better at shaving, manipulating the razor. There is no question that one man's favorite blade may be another man's worst, but sometimes returning to a blade that appeared to be useless 6 months ago may offer a surprise. YMMV. :)

Jimmy

When you say "rub it in" do you mean massage it in with your hands?

Bob

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Originally Posted by BobH

Jimmy

When you say "rub it in" do you mean massage it in with your hands?

Bob

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Yes Bob, with my fingertips to be precise. Seems to work well. When I did the hot water and more traditional prep I did the same in the shower when washing my face twice.

Thanks Jimmy, I thought that is what you mean, just wanted to make sure. Been using cold water and no prep for quite a while now so we just might give that a go and see what happens.

Bob

Some good points above. For myself, the Astra blades always worked the best in my DE razors.

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Originally Posted by jjw509

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.

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You may have already, but have you tried using Sharks in your DE? I haven't really had any issues with them at all. Then again, I haven't tested the waters with other blades. Why continue when you've found a keeper? LOL. Thoughts?

Gentlemen:

The problem with Derby blades is inconsistency in the quality. At least that is my experience with these Turkish blades — 10 good blades and then a bomb. Overall, though, they are good blades. I use them in my Edwin Jagger razors. My preferred and regular blades are: Super Iridium and PermaSharp Super (Feather SS D-2 razor), Gillette 7 O'Clock yellows, Astra and Derby (Edwin Jagger and Muhle razors) and Israeli Personna reds (Weber razor).

The Feather blades have been retired for good, because they irritate my skin. I have used different techniques with them, including corking the bloody things, but they still irritate my face. And a Hollywood face that it is.

Regarding Jimmy's lather preparation, yes, it works quite well. I have done it for years and love it: lather, massage the lather in with the fingertips and then re-lather. Voila! It's a good method.