RayClem's Blade Evaluations

I finally tried the Derby Premium blades and have been very happy so far. I tried it with my Overlander, Timeless SSSlim, and Karve CuBr OC-F. All 3 were excellent. Did get 2 minor nicks on my stache area with the OC-F, but that is a sensitive area for me and that was an aggressive plate. Otherwise, 3 great, close shaves with no feedback with alcohol based splashes. $8.99 per 100 from TRC is a very worthwhile buy as I see it. I'm not sure what's next and the blade PIF from RayClem has muddied those waters just a bit more.....

I tried a Rockwell blade years ago and chucked it after one shave. It just didn't feel good as I remember. Maybe I'll try another one someday, but I'm in no hurry.

Rockwell certainly has not had a great reputation for blades in the past. That is surprising considering the nice razors that have been so well received in the shaving community.
Many Chinese made blades seem to have improved in quality over the past few years, so I am hoping that Rockwell blades will be one of them otherwise, I might not get through the 1st pass.

I never had a gripe with the 6C razor. But hopefully improvements will come to the blades. I sold guitars for 16 years and it was the same thing. I started in 2003 and Chinese guitars had a reputation for poor quality. As time went on, they really started to manufacture some pretty good quality stuff compared to when I started. A lot of companies had sent their "budget" lines there. Gibson even bought their own factory for their Epiphone line of Chinese made guitars. I own 3 US made Gibson SG's and a Chinese Epiphone. The price difference new is currently $1,799 vs like $499-$599. There are some definite trade offs, but is it worth around $1,200 more? That's up to the individual.

I will have to pickup some Filoso blades.

Did you get takers on all your giveaway blades, Ray.

I little off topic but i found i can only get 3 shaves from the Voshog blade. A little disappointing.

I finally tried the Derby Premium blades and have been very happy so far. I tried it with my Overlander, Timeless SSSlim, and Karve CuBr OC-F. All 3 were excellent. Did get 2 minor nicks on my stache area with the OC-F, but that is a sensitive area for me and that was an aggressive plate. Otherwise, 3 great, close shaves with no feedback with alcohol based splashes. $8.99 per 100 from TRC is a very worthwhile buy as I see it. I'm not sure what's next and the blade PIF from RayClem has muddied those waters just a bit more.....

I was surprised by the performance of the Derby Premium blades. The only Derby blades I had tried were the Derby Extra green which I found to be too dull for my beard. When I purchased the Parker Semi-slant razor, it came with Parker blades which have the same coating as Derby and are made in Turkey. I found the Parker blades to be pretty good. When I tried the Derby Premium, they were even better. 

I rated the Derby Premium as 4.5/5 on sharpness. The Karve OC-F-plate might have been a little too aggressive for that blade. You might want to try a little less sharp blade in the Karve OC, but the Derby Premium is well suited for the Overlander and Timeless Slim.  Your post is an excellent example of how some blades work best in particular razors.

I tried a Rockwell blade years ago and chucked it after one shave. It just didn't feel good as I remember. Maybe I'll try another one someday, but I'm in no hurry.

Rockwell certainly has not had a great reputation for blades in the past. That is surprising considering the nice razors that have been so well received in the shaving community.
Many Chinese made blades seem to have improved in quality over the past few years, so I am hoping that Rockwell blades will be one of them otherwise, I might not get through the 1st pass.

I never had a gripe with the 6C razor. But hopefully improvements will come to the blades. I sold guitars for 16 years and it was the same thing. I started in 2003 and Chinese guitars had a reputation for poor quality. As time went on, they really started to manufacture some pretty good quality stuff compared to when I started. A lot of companies had sent their "budget" lines there. Gibson even bought their own factory for their Epiphone line of Chinese made guitars. I own  3 US made Gibson SG's and a Chinese Epiphone. The price difference new is currently $1,799 vs like $499-$599. There are some definite trade offs, but is it worth around $1,200 more? That's up to the individual.

I do not play guitar very often these days due to arthritic fingers. I have a couple of Truetone guitar pedals (formerly Visual Sound) that were made in China. Somecustomers asked why they moved production to China. The owner of Truetone indicated that the pedals were formerly produced in California, but the production costs were high and quality complaints were excessive. Production costs and quality both improved once production moved to China. 

If the razor blade machinery in China is high quality, the blades should be as well. The blade machines at the PPI plant in Russia were often older equipment moved there from other countries when Gillette bought out competitors such as Astra and Wizamet. Some of those competitors are rising from the ashes are are making quality products, perhaps on new equipment.

I will have to pickup some Filoso blades.

Did you get takers on all your giveaway blades, Ray.

I little off topic but i found i can only get 3 shaves from the Voshog blade. A little disappointing.

I was surprised that the Filoso Barber Blades were as good as they were. I expected them to be more like Derby Extra, which are frequently used by barbers due to their low price. The Filoso blades were far better.

I figured you had enough blades in your stash, especially since you ordered quite a few samples. All my PIF blades are distributed, but I might have some more when I finish the next group. I will keep you in mind. 

I find Voskhod blades to be mid-sharp. I doubt I would get more than 3 good shaves as well. I can use them, but there are much better blades for my beard.

I finally tried the Derby Premium blades and have been very happy so far. I tried it with my Overlander, Timeless SSSlim, and Karve CuBr OC-F. All 3 were excellent. Did get 2 minor nicks on my stache area with the OC-F, but that is a sensitive area for me and that was an aggressive plate. Otherwise, 3 great, close shaves with no feedback with alcohol based splashes. $8.99 per 100 from TRC is a very worthwhile buy as I see it. I'm not sure what's next and the blade PIF from RayClem has muddied those waters just a bit more.....

I was surprised by the performance of the Derby Premium blades. The only Derby blades I had tried were the Derby Extra green which I found to be too dull for my beard. When I purchased the Parker Semi-slant razor, it came with Parker blades which have the same coating as Derby and are made in Turkey. I found the Parker blades to be pretty good. When I tried the Derby Premium, they were even better. 

I rated the Derby Premium as 4.5/5 on sharpness. The Karve OC-F-plate might have been a little too aggressive for that blade. You might want to try a little less sharp blade in the Karve OC, but the Derby Premium is well suited for the Overlander and Timeless Slim.  Your post is an excellent example of how some blades work best in particular razors.

I was definitely pleasantly surprised as well. It is sharp and it was definitely a smooth shaver for me, especially in the Timeless. The timeless is advertised to be quite an aggressive shaver, but I don't really find it that way. Efficient, yes. But it is quite smooth as is their TI 0.95 OC that I have. I always have great results with the Karve, but again this plane may have been just a tad too much. I feel even their aggressive plates don't necessarily feel threatening, but this combination may have been just a bit much. I picked up a pack of the Parker blades and was pleasantly surprised with those as well and I got excellent results.

Rockwell certainly has not had a great reputation for blades in the past. That is surprising considering the nice razors that have been so well received in the shaving community.
Many Chinese made blades seem to have improved in quality over the past few years, so I am hoping that Rockwell blades will be one of them otherwise, I might not get through the 1st pass.

I never had a gripe with the 6C razor. But hopefully improvements will come to the blades. I sold guitars for 16 years and it was the same thing. I started in 2003 and Chinese guitars had a reputation for poor quality. As time went on, they really started to manufacture some pretty good quality stuff compared to when I started. A lot of companies had sent their "budget" lines there. Gibson even bought their own factory for their Epiphone line of Chinese made guitars. I own  3 US made Gibson SG's and a Chinese Epiphone. The price difference new is currently $1,799 vs like $499-$599. There are some definite trade offs, but is it worth around $1,200 more? That's up to the individual.

I do not play guitar very often these days due to arthritic fingers. I have a couple of Truetone guitar pedals (formerly Visual Sound) that were made in China. Somecustomers asked why they moved production to China. The owner of Truetone indicated that the pedals were formerly produced in California, but the production costs were high and quality complaints were excessive. Production costs and quality both improved once production moved to China. 

If the razor blade machinery in China is high quality, the blades should be as well. The blade machines at the PPI plant in Russia were often older equipment moved there from other countries when Gillette bought out competitors such as Astra and Wizamet. Some of those competitors are rising from the ashes are are making quality products, perhaps on new equipment.

I am kind of in the same boat with arthritis. I have arthritic fingers in my left hand and my wrist is also fused and no longer bands. Are used to sell Visual Sound pedals, they were excellent. I currently have the Visual Sound Open Road overdrive that I use as a clean boost on my high gain Orange amp. It is a killer pedal. We used to sell a ton of those and the Route 808 OD's. The one I picked up is the V2 which supposedly has their original chip in it. I actually used it as a clean boost on my bass rig as well and it worked beautifully.

Wasnt looking for free blades Ray. Just wondered if folks grabbed them up or if you were still sitting on them. Ouch. Lol.

Keep up the good work here. I have a couple slots left in my blade holders so i will wait for a couple more reviews from you and order a few more options.

Wasnt looking for free blades Ray. Just wondered if folks grabbed them up or if you were still sitting on them. Ouch. Lol.

Keep up the good work here. I have a couple slots left in my blade holders so i will wait for a couple more reviews from you and order a few more options.

I divided the blades among three shavers. The interesting thing is that no two requested the same blades and between the three, all blades were claimed. What are the chances of that happening?  

They just received the PIF blades this weekend. I am hoping we will see some feedback in the coming weeks. These blades were those that are not my favorites, but I know they will work better for many shavers than they do for me. For example, many shavers rave about Gillette Silver Blue blades, but I never found them to be more than OK for me. 


Later this morning I will attempt to shave with a Rockwell blade. Wish me luck.