A Blackbird, Wolf and Bishop Walk Into A Bar...

[Rhody]

Great story about your journey. Congrats on getting back the blackbird.

 

[BigJ]

Great story!! The point IMO is that life is short. So best enjoy what makes you happy!

 

[BradWorld]

I gave the Brassbird a shot for the first time with the OC plate. Excellent shave. Super close. Not nearly as smooth as a Wolfman. But a great shave regardless.

SOTD Sunday
Brassbird OC
Vintage British London Bridge
Paladin Lotus Tigris
Gothique
Leviathan balm

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

All Wolfman razors, Brad?

 

[BradWorld]

All Wolfman razors, Brad?

I am not sure what you are asking me. I have quite a few razors from all different makers. I just like the Wolfman the best so far. Charcoal Goods is a close second. And this Blackbird may prove to join them.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

I am not sure what you are asking me. I have quite a few razors from all different makers. I just like the Wolfman the best so far. Charcoal Goods is a close second. And this Blackbird may prove to join them.

I gave the Brassbird a shot for the first time with the OC plate. Excellent shave. Super close. Not nearly as smooth as a Wolfman.

I must have been thinking you'd tried several Wolfman razors, and was wondering if the Brassbird OC was as smooth as or less smooth than each of them as individual razors.

My mistake. Pardon.

Which Wolfman were you comparing the Blackland to?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[sm29]

@BradWorld Great thread about the journey and what you and hopefully many more of us have learned.

I have admired the Blackbird from afar for many years but was always afraid of it. Between your tale, the Black Friday sale and my conversation with Shane a nicely discounted Blackbird ended up in my shopping cart and now is in transit to me.

After reading many threads and finding steep angle shaving suits me plus my growth and improved technique it was time to give this iconic razor a shot.

Hopefully I will like the Blackbird as much as so many of its fans and if for some reason I don’t like it and based on Shane’s advice I will return it.

Waiting until my technique and style evolved gives me the best opportunity for success. No matter what the outcome, I will have scratched the itch. Thank you for your tale.

 

[BradWorld]

I must have been thinking you'd tried several Wolfman razors, and was wondering if the Brassbird OC was as smooth as or less smooth than each of them as individual razors.

My mistake. Pardon.

Which Wolfman were you comparing the Blackland to?

Happy shaves,

Jim

No mistake my friend. I have 4 Wolfman razors. I just didn’t understand your question. I have the WR2 in 1.15, 1.25, and 1.55. I have the WR1 OC in .80. All of the Wolfmans are smoother than the Blackbird, even the 1.55. The Wolf is a miraculous razor in its ability to provide a smooth shave. The Blackbird is most comparable to the WR2 1.25.

 

[BradWorld]

Between your tale, the Black Friday sale and my conversation with Shane a nicely discounted Blackbird ended up in my shopping cart and now is in transit to me.

Good luck with your new bird. Even with my new Brassbird, it was all I could do to not buy another stainless one during the Black Friday sale. This was one rare occasion where my RAD didn’t take me into the shopping cart. . That was the best deal on a Blackbird ever.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

No mistake my friend. I have 4 Wolfman razors. I just didn’t understand your question. I have the WR2 in 1.15, 1.25, and 1.55. I have the WR1 OC in .80. All of the Wolfmans are smoother than the Blackbird, even the 1.55. The Wolf is a miraculous razor in its ability to provide a smooth shave. The Blackbird is most comparable to the WR2 1.25.

Thank you.

I thought you had that Wolfman group, but sometimes I confuse one person's collection with someone else's. Nice collection!

All of your Wolfman razors including the WR1 and the 1.55 are smoother than the Blackbird! Wow!

So, you're not saying the Blackbird is as smooth as the 1.25. Can you say how the Blackbird is comparable to the 1.25? In closeness of the shave? In blade feel? What?

I have the Blackbird SB and OC and also have the WR2 1.15 and 1.35. They're all good, but how they compare is beyond me.

Sometimes I think the WR2 razors to buy if you're going to have just two are the 0.95 and the 1.55, but of course I have neither of those. I like the ones I have just fine of course.

I'm not saying the 1.25 and the 'Bird don't compare, but just trying to figure it out better.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[BradWorld]

Can you say how the Blackbird is comparable to the 1.25? In closeness of the shave? In blade feel? What?

Out of all the Wolfs, the 1.25 shaves closest results-wise to the Bird. The shave of the Wolf is a much smoother ride despite the similar results. I am going to shave with the 1.25 in a minute just to confirm, and will use a fresh blade same as I last used in the bird, and the same soap, to be sure.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

Thank you.

I thought you had that Wolfman group, but sometimes I confuse one person's collection with someone else's. Nice collection!

All of your Wolfman razors including the WR1 and the 1.55 are smoother than the Blackbird! Wow!

So, you're not saying the Blackbird is as smooth as the 1.25. Can you say how the Blackbird is comparable to the 1.25? In closeness of the shave? In blade feel? What?

I have the Blackbird SB and OC and also have the WR2 1.15 and 1.35. They're all good, but how they compare is beyond me.

Sometimes I think the WR2 razors to buy if you're going to have just two are the 0.95 and the 1.55, but of course I have neither of those. I like the ones I have just fine of course.

I'm not saying the 1.25 and the 'Bird don't compare, but just trying to figure it out better.

Happy shaves,

Jim

I won’t speak for Brad; however, I did a shave-off between a WR2 1.25 SB and a Bird SB, and I found efficiency to be the same. The difference was blade feel — the Bird just has more exposure.

 

[Leverspro]

Good luck with your new bird. Even with my new Brassbird, it was all I could do to not buy another stainless one during the Black Friday sale. This was one rare occasion where my RAD didn’t take me into the shopping cart. . That was the best deal on a Blackbird ever.

Yeah, I was close to picking up a SS 'Bird last week, but I'm trying to keep redundantcy to a minimum and I already have the Brass'Bird, which I really like.

 

[sm29]

@BradWorld Great thread about the journey and what you and hopefully many more of us have learned.

I have admired the Blackbird from afar for many years but was always afraid of it. Between your tale, the Black Friday sale and my conversation with Shane a nicely discounted Blackbird ended up in my shopping cart and now is in transit to me.

After reading many threads and finding steep angle shaving suits me plus my growth and improved technique it was time to give this iconic razor a shot.

Hopefully I will like the Blackbird as much as so many of its fans and if for some reason I don’t like it and based on Shane’s advice I will return it.

Waiting until my technique and style evolved gives me the best opportunity for success. No matter what the outcome, I will have scratched the itch. Thank you for your tale.

My Blackbird purchased in last week‘s big sale arrived yesterday and begged to be used today. This was a purchase made with some trepidation because of the aggressive reputation of the razor. Had the satisfaction guarantee not been made by Shane I would never have made the purchase.

Before beginning the shave, I dug out the styptic pencil. There was no need. I shaved steep and experienced no more blade feel than with my favorite razor to date a Blackland Tradere SB. The razor was nimble, smooth and extremely effective for me with no learning curve.

I hope this wasn’t beginners luck and the next shaves will be just as good. I’m looking forward to a fresh Nacet blade in it on Sunday.

 

[Suddenlythisoverview]

According to this chart of WR2 blade exposure that I came across, the 1.25 is actually very close the the Blackbird. There’s a lot more to how a razor performs though than exposure and blade gap. How the blade is curved, the design of the guard etc. All of this has a big effect. These aspects come together in a unique way with the Blackbird. It’s clearly very different than most other razors, but it’s hard to put exactly how into words. I think the relationship between the angled top cap and safety bar is where a lot of the uniqueness come from. It’s so different from the Wolfman that it’s hard to compare, except that both designs allow for a very a wide range of shaving angles to be used.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

According to this chart of WR2 blade exposure that I came across, the 1.25 is actually very close the the Blackbird. There’s a lot more to how a razor performs though than exposure and blade gap. How the blade is curved, the design of the guard etc. All of this has a big effect. These aspects come together in a unique way with the Blackbird. It’s clearly very different than most other razors, but it’s hard to put exactly how into words. I think the relationship between the angled top cap and safety bar is where a lot of the uniqueness come from. It’s so different from the Wolfman that it’s hard to compare, except that both designs allow for a very a wide range of shaving angles to be used.

View attachment 1372159

Really good post. I'm interested in "more."

Your table has very interesting and helpful information. Thanks.

Even though blade gaps and blade exposure aren't the whole story, they are part of the story, and worth knowing more about.

I find the Blackbird to have blade feel - and more of it than some razors - but, curiously, it's not objectionable blade feel.

Other than ATG I don't experience much blade feel with my WR2 1.35 either. Not none of course. Not none with the 1.15 either.

My ideal in theory razor has no blade feel and yet is very efficient and smooth. Good luck on that, right.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[BradWorld]

My ideal in theory razor has no blade feel and yet is very efficient and smooth. Good luck on that, right.

Have you tried the H&S N075? That razor fits your requirement above. The N stands for neutral blade exposure. Smooth as silk. And efficient enough.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Have you tried the H&S N075? That razor fits your requirement above. The N stands for neutral blade exposure. Smooth as silk. And efficient enough.

I have not, but I've certainly thought about it.

They have a Z which stands for zero blade exposure and an N which stands for neutral blade exposure (not negative according to what I read on their website). What's the difference? To me, neutral and zero are the same thing, but obviously that's not what they mean. Which has less blade exposure?

Thanks for the suggestion.

At the moment I have a whole bunch of razors. (That's from the Department of Understatement.) Not all razors of course. I also have two right expensive razors in the pipeline - the Rocnel Sailor Master Collection and the Rex Konsul - neither of which will arrive all that soon. Maybe January and supposedly February.

I'm kinda sorta holding off on buying more right now.

That said, SS or titanium?

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[Suddenlythisoverview]

Really good post. I'm interested in "more."

Thanks, I found this information in the massively long WR2 thread on the other form. I thought it was really interesting too.

What I was getting at with this idea of “more” is what I think makes DEs so compelling. Sometimes you’ll here people say that DEs are just a “blade holder,” but that’s not really true at all. The differences in how they bend the blade, how the guard is shaped, how the top cap is curved, makes for a wide variety of performances.

With the Blackbird and WR2 all of this comes together perfectly (in my opinion). My technique has developed different for them. With the WR2 I use a very very steep angle, but unlike a lot of the folks on here, for the Blackbird I’ve found that I prefer to use a neutral angle. They feel like very different razors to me, and I think they tend to get discussed together because they are both fantastic and shave extremely close without a lot of effort.

 

[BradWorld]

That said, SS or titanium?

Never met a titanium razor that I liked. Never. I like the weight of SS, copper, brass and bronze. But titanium and aluminum don’t suit me. Too light. Not the right face feel for me. I’ve have a few of each, and never could get on with them. So the thought of plunking down the big bucks for a titanium Wolfman, Timeless, H&S, etc, isn’t in my plans. I know I am in the vast minority on this one.

 

[Chan Eil Whiskers]

Never met a titanium razor that I liked. Never. I like the weight of SS, copper, brass and bronze. But titanium and aluminum don’t suit me. Too light. Not the right face feel for me. I’ve have a few of each, and never could get on with them. So the thought of plunking down the big bucks for a titanium Wolfman, Timeless, H&S, etc, isn’t in my plans. I know I am in the vast minority on this one.

I like the subjectively softer face feel of my all titanium Timeless with the two titanium baseplates I have for it. Whether its shave is better than that of SS is beyond me. I have shaved with a SS Timeless baseplate and cap, using a non-Timeless heavy SS handle. I've not shaved with an all SS Timeless razor. I've also used the titanium baseplates in my heavy Timeless bronze razor.

I like the light weight of and in general prefer titanium handles; that's for sure. I like fat handles, but prefer they not be heavy. I also love my ultra light hollow aluminum handle.

I've used few aluminum razors. Mostly the Timeless aluminum which I didn't like. I'm not at all sure that it was the aluminum I disliked as the razor has unique geometry as well as a unique for Timeless metal.

Not that the H&S is fixing to jump in a basket, but it's helpful to me to hear you like the SS better than the titanium (at least in theory). Thanks.

It's not been easy find exactly what the difference is between the various H&S razors. The company's website spends a huge amount of space telling me why I should buy American products and such, but almost no space telling me the specifics of their razors. I find that extremely curious.

For another forum I gathered that the Z is the mildest, but the N being more efficient, and the P even more efficient. Z means zero blade exposure. N means neutral blade exposure. P means positive blade exposure. But, what's the difference between Zero and Neutral? Perhaps Zero means negative exposure and N means neutral. I'd think P&S would talk about it. If they do, I can't find it.

I do not find a huge amount of information about the H&S razors but they pop up in conversation a good bit usually presented in a positive light. Of course, they also pop up on the BST as do all razors.

I've been reading up 'em, but not finding a whole lot to read other than a P076 pass around thread somewhere. Precious little about the razors and their distinctions. Almost nothing about the handles other than they tend to be longer than I like. Nothing about how fat or skinny they are.

Of course, I'm just curious. As I said, I'm awaiting my Sailor and my Konsul. I have a few razors. At least one nice SS razor is still brand new and never used, the R41. RAD isn't in a flareup.

Happy shaves,

Jim

 

[BradWorld]

Had a great shave with the Brassbird today. Solid bar plate. Perma Sharp. Three standard passes, zero touchups. Full BBS on the face. DFS on the neck. Good results. Going steep this razor is smooth. Still not quite as smooth as the Wolfman. Or the New Charcoal Goods Level 2 (Gen 3?). But smooth enough. I still get the slightest hint of irritation post shave, but certainly within acceptable limits.