Derby Premium Razor Blade Review

Derby Premium Razor Blade Review

This review is for the Derby Premium double edge razor blade. This post will also serve as somewhat of a comparison to the popular Derby Extra razor blade, both for the empirical sharpness data and my personal user experience.

The Derby Extra razor blade is a very popular razor blade, although it does have very mixed user reviews. Although it is not the sharpest blade and I personally wasn’t able to get more than one good shave out of it, it does have a reputation of being very mild in the way of not instigating any irritation for even very sensitive skin.

Derby Premium Single Blade 300 Blades
  • 300 individually wrapped barber-style single edge razor blades
  • All Derby Razor Production is granted with TS-EN-ISO 9001:2000 QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS.
  • From beginning to end, all Derby Razor Blades are subjected to severe Quality Control Inspection at every stage of manufacturing...
  • All Derby Razor Blades coated with a polymer for optimum SHAVING COMFORT.

The Derby Premium razor blade has the same Chromium-Ceramic, Platinum, Tungsten and Polymer coating as the Derby Extra, but also advertises Swedish Steel on the package.

Fresh out of the pack the sharpness measured 51. For information on what this means check out Razor Blade Sharpness Testing. This is only marginally sharper than the Derby Extra 53, and the concern arose that this might just be the same Derby Extra with different branding. You can click this link to see a Razor Blade Sharpness Comparison Chart with the other blades tested so far.

I find around the 50 mark is where I can notice the lack of sharpness in a razor blade, and the first few strokes it certainly did not feel sharp. It seemed to sharpen up quickly however, and I proceeded to have a great first shave with no nicks or irritation.

Note that I shave my head as well as my face and have a pretty thick growth – except for the top of my head. This means that one of my shaves might equal two of someone that just shaves their face, or even more if they have a thinner beard.

After the first shave, the sharpness increased to 46, which is very close to the Derby Extra value of 44 after the first Derby Extra shave. I also had a great first shave with the Derby Extra, so again I started to think these blades might just be basically the same.

The second shave is where there is a noticeable difference between the Derby Premium and the Derby Extra razor blades. While the Derby Extra second shave was noticeably dulling towards the end, the Derby Premium continued to perform. I had an excellent full head and face shave that was just as great as the first shave.

After the second shave the sharpness stayed the same at 46, compared to the Derby Extra dropping down to 51. This small difference was enough for me to noticeably have a much better shave on the second round with the Premium blade.

Initial Sharpness = 51
Average Sharpness = 48
Edge Retention = 0.90
Smoothness = 5/5

Overall Subjective Rating = 5/5

Stainless Steel, Chromium-Ceramic, Platinum, Tungsten, Polymer Coated Edges. Made in Turkey.

Derby Premium Razor Blade

Buy on Amazon

While writing this review I did a quick search for the pricing of the Derby Premium Razor Blades. I found a 100 pack for $8 USD/$10 CDN with free shipping on Amazon and I took a break to order a pack. At 5 cents a shave for 2 great full head and face shaves, that is a bargain and one of the reasons I like using a safety razor.

The fact that I got 2 great shaves with no nicks or irritation earned the Derby Premium 5 stars from me. I would have liked it to be slightly sharper to be considered a premium razor blade over all, but it certainly is a premium Derby blade, if that makes sense.

One note of caution is that I can see potential issues in a mild safety razor due to overall sharpness still being somewhat on the lower end.

That said, I definitely recommend giving the Derby Premium razor blade a try. It’s just that little bit sharper and holds its edge better than the Derby Extra.

Check out more Razor Blade Reviews or look into how the Razor Blade Sharpness Testing works.

Have you tried Derby Premium Razor Blades? Be sure to leave your overall rating, the community appreciates your vote!

User Review