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The rigidity of the blade(DE)

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
Welcome.

I know it's hard to visualize even when I attempted to explain in detail that it truly is fully clamped, with the least amount of blade reveal, that's why I recommended to look at photos.

I took some new pics because I think the blade reveal appear larger than it really is in the first pic, and the second came out a bit blurry.

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That is a very rigid clamp on the blade for sure, great photo's of that feature. It would even be better if some small lather grooves on the safety bar would be great for so many Steep angle(riding the bar) shavers out there IMO. Nice razor for a 3D stainless steel printed state of the art Razor. I have never seen that in any other photo's, learned something new today!
 
If blade clamping is the goal here, there is nothing better than the Era. Of course, there are a lot of other things that factor into a razor's performance, but the Era clamps literally as close to the blade edge as possible. The Blackbird uses a strong curve and the top cap's support from above to deliver great rigidity despite the limited clamping from below. Similar results with vastly different approaches.
I think the Lambda Athena must clamp the blade about as close to the edge as the Era, if not a touch closer, though there are slots in the safety bar and the blade is not clamped continuously. According to the manufacturer’s specs it is 1.80mm clamping distance. My photo below is with a Personna blade.

I’m sure there is a point at which even something as flimsy as a DE blade becomes fully rigid for the purpose of shaving. I tend to favour single edge SE razors with Artist Club blades, but when a DE blade is clamped like this it must surely be as good as an AC blade in this respect.

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I get my best shaves from the razors that rigidly clamp the blade to the edge (New SC, Nodachi, Timeless) and personally believe that this style is the best. I have used/sold many fine razors that don’t clamp the blade to the edge.
 
I think the Lambda Athena must clamp the blade about as close to the edge as the Era, if not a touch closer, though there are slots in the safety bar and the blade is not clamped continuously. According to the manufacturer’s specs it is 1.80mm clamping distance. My photo below is with a Personna blade.

I’m sure there is a point at which even something as flimsy as a DE blade becomes fully rigid for the purpose of shaving. I tend to favour single edge SE razors with Artist Club blades, but when a DE blade is clamped like this it must surely be as good as an AC blade in this respect.

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Those are just on the sides. While I’ve never owned a Lamba and they look quite nice, examination of photos of the base plate suggest that the Era clamps much closer to the edge at all points along the blade.

I should also mention again that I don’t necessarily believe that blade clamping is a chief factor in whether a razor is good or not. The Blackbird is held in very high regard and does not clamp from the bottom of the blade anywhere near the edge. But if we’re just trying to find blade clamping champion, the Era is currently the clear winner.
 
First time shaving with blackbird
What can I say Shane, once I get my hands on this razor, I won't need any other razor!

Using the persona supplied with the safety bar
Two passes and a touch up after two days of growing out my beard and I have a perfect BBS.
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I was surprised that there was no irritation or stinging after shaving!
The after shave splash does not blot at all
I wonder if the bending of this blade is the key to its smoothness.

I honestly didn't like the shape very much and didn't get it for a long time, but I should have bought it sooner!

Thank you my loving family for the best Father's Day gift ever!

Thanks for all the different opinions everyone.
Have a good shaving life.
 
First time shaving with blackbird
What can I say Shane, once I get my hands on this razor, I won't need any other razor!

Using the persona supplied with the safety bar
Two passes and a touch up after two days of growing out my beard and I have a perfect BBS.View attachment 1474531View attachment 1474532
I was surprised that there was no irritation or stinging after shaving!
The after shave splash does not blot at all
I wonder if the bending of this blade is the key to its smoothness.

I honestly didn't like the shape very much and didn't get it for a long time, but I should have bought it sooner!

Thank you my loving family for the best Father's Day gift ever!

Thanks for all the different opinions everyone.
Have a good shaving life.
Welcome to the Bird club. Glad to hear your first shave went well. Love mine and will never part with it....even have a backup stashed away just in case. Happy Father's Day!!
 
I had my first shave with the Blackbird a few days ago, but I'm a bit lazy to make a full review and so far I can say this - visually, the razor looks better than anything I've ever owned, but that's normal, since this is my first premium modern DE razor and I don't have anything else to compare with it.

The shave left me with a mixed feelings though. The blade clamping isn't the best and I can feel the blade vibrating/moving or whatever, I can't really explain it, but all I know is that there's something. The other thing is that the razor feels a bit unrefined and the guard feels a little rough on the skin, but nothing serious. The efficiency is decent, but nothing crazy.

Despite all of that I was able to get a very good BBS without any discomfort, cuts, nicks, irritation or whatever and the razor seems to work very well on some parts on my neck, where not many razors work very good, but it takes me a bit more time than usual the clean my chin and under my nose. The other thing that I've noticed is that the razor works very good ATG and XTG and it removes almost everything with an absolute ease, but not so much when shaving WTG.

With the Blackbird, the end results are great, but the way of getting there isn't the most enjoyable and I think if the design gets slightly upgraded in order to make it more rigged as well as having a much smoother and more rounded safety bar instead of feeling a bit rough, I think this razor would perform much better.

Of course, that's just my take on this and for what I've paid for my Blackbird, I can't really complain and I'm definitely going to keep it, at least for the foreseeable future.
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
Maybe at some point I will try it as well, but it seems that most favor the sb version and find the oc a bit rough.
Yes, I like the SB more, too. You can make it smooth, but the angle it wants goes against my mental grain. I just like it steep.
The new Lupo (I think I have already gushed enough about it, right) will get a Crown handle and my Slim will get a 100mm Barber Pole that can serve as sabot round for anti tank warfare. Someone has to oppose this light handle trend, here I stand, I can do no other! :c10:
 
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SOTD
Blackbird 2nd day in OC.
Not as impressive as the SB plate, but
but it was still smooth, safe, and efficient.
I know it's machine finished, so it's normal, but the comb edges are a little sharp.
I think polished would be more comfortable here, I think I'll polish it up a bit.

@Medivh
At least the OC that didn't feel rough doesn't suddenly become uncomfortable, and the efficiency is only marginally improved.
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
Hi, I have the Blackbird polished and also felt the teeth. It's not the machine finish.

You can get rid off this by shaving at a very shallow angle, you should also gain a lot more efficiency and a smoother shave. My first OC shave was rather harsh, I usually shave steep.
I know it's machine finished, so it's normal, but the comb edges are a little sharp.
Edit: I think I already said this in reply to Medivh and you read it already, so this might have been redundant, sorry.
 
Hi, I have the Blackbird polished and also felt the teeth. It's not the machine finish.

You can get rid off this by shaving at a very shallow angle, you should also gain a lot more efficiency and a smoother shave. My first OC shave was rather harsh, I usually shave steep.

Edit: I think I already said this in reply to Medivh and you read it already, so this might have been redundant, sorry.
Your posts are always helpful, thank you!
I see that a polished finish doesn't make much difference.
I didn't feel the OC was too tight, so maybe I'm shaving at the right angle, but I'll try again:)
 
Your posts are always helpful, thank you!
I see that a polished finish doesn't make much difference.
I didn't feel the OC was too tight, so maybe I'm shaving at the right angle, but I'll try again:)

I've got the polished version and I was also afraid that the machined version might drag a little bit. So far I have only one shave with the bird and I need to use it a few more times before I can make my final conclusions and so far I'm very pleased, but not blown away by its performance like I expected.
 
I had my first shave with the Blackbird a few days ago, but I'm a bit lazy to make a full review and so far I can say this - visually, the razor looks better than anything I've ever owned, but that's normal, since this is my first premium modern DE razor and I don't have anything else to compare with it.

The shave left me with a mixed feelings though. The blade clamping isn't the best and I can feel the blade vibrating/moving or whatever, I can't really explain it, but all I know is that there's something. The other thing is that the razor feels a bit unrefined and the guard feels a little rough on the skin, but nothing serious. The efficiency is decent, but nothing crazy.

Despite all of that I was able to get a very good BBS without any discomfort, cuts, nicks, irritation or whatever and the razor seems to work very well on some parts on my neck, where not many razors work very good, but it takes me a bit more time than usual the clean my chin and under my nose. The other thing that I've noticed is that the razor works very good ATG and XTG and it removes almost everything with an absolute ease, but not so much when shaving WTG.

With the Blackbird, the end results are great, but the way of getting there isn't the most enjoyable and I think if the design gets slightly upgraded in order to make it more rigged as well as having a much smoother and more rounded safety bar instead of feeling a bit rough, I think this razor would perform much better.

Of course, that's just my take on this and for what I've paid for my Blackbird, I can't really complain and I'm definitely going to keep it, at least for the foreseeable future.

Glad the results are good so far! I did notice a couple things that I think are suggestive of what could help. If the safety bar feels rough and the blade feels like it’s flexing, this probably means that the angle is a bit steep. The angled and pointy safety bar is meant to push you into a shallower approach so let that guide you. If it feels pointy, go shallower. In addition to making the sb more comfortable, this will also put your blade into an angle where the force applied to it is less tangential so it reduces the torque on the blade, minimizing or eliminating flex.

The Blackbird’s head is quite unique so it’s important to adjust your technique to the razor instead of the other way around. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for it to take 5-10+ shaves before it fully clicks for a new user. For some it clicks immediately and, of course, for others it never clicks and that’s perfectly fine.

As you mentioned, one shave is nothing so give it a handful more and let us know how it goes!
 
Glad the results are good so far! I did notice a couple things that I think are suggestive of what could help. If the safety bar feels rough and the blade feels like it’s flexing, this probably means that the angle is a bit steep. The angled and pointy safety bar is meant to push you into a shallower approach so let that guide you. If it feels pointy, go shallower. In addition to making the sb more comfortable, this will also put your blade into an angle where the force applied to it is less tangential so it reduces the torque on the blade, minimizing or eliminating flex.

The Blackbird’s head is quite unique so it’s important to adjust your technique to the razor instead of the other way around. For this reason, it’s not uncommon for it to take 5-10+ shaves before it fully clicks for a new user. For some it clicks immediately and, of course, for others it never clicks and that’s perfectly fine.

As you mentioned, one shave is nothing so give it a handful more and let us know how it goes!


I went indeed a bit more steep on my first shave and trying the razor on my face right now without a blade I can see what you mean by finding the optimal angle and I think my next shave will be much better. My first shave wasn't bad at all and the end results were great without cuts or irritation, it's just that I need at least one more shave to get things even better.
 
I wonder if the bending of this blade is the key to its smoothness.
I really like razors that bend the blade a lot. That’s why I love the Bird. 😍

The shave left me with a mixed feelings though. The blade clamping isn't the best and I can feel the blade vibrating/moving or whatever, I can't really explain it, but all I know is that there's something.
It’s interesting how shaving is so subjective. I like the Bird because the blade feel. I don’t like blade chatter but I like to feel where the blade is cutting. I also have a Wolfman WR2 1.25 and I like the Bird more. One feels like a luxury sedan and the other a beautiful sports car. 😎

People talk a lot about the Bird as a blade forwarder razor but this razor is very smooth. One of the best in the industry.


Yes, I like the SB more, too. You can make it smooth, but the angle it wants goes against my mental grain. I just like it steep.

Steep is THE way!!!
 
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