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Blackbird Quality Control

I'll be curious of what the response is. I wonder if it could be hkw they do the satin finish and a piece of wire or fishing line to hold up the baseplate.

Great you have a wonderful shaver.
 
I’m no expert and I don’t even have a blackbird yet, but that doesn’t seem normal to me judging by the photo. The machine marks should be faint, especially with the satin finish, and they should be even across the entire surface. Just like the rest of the razor. The line across the safety bar looks like a deep groove that shouldn’t be there. To my eye it looks like a defect, and I definitely wouldn’t be happy if I purchased a razor of this caliber and this price point and it arrived like that.

My Tatara Masamune has a flawless finish. My Blackland Era, even with its 3D printing, doesn’t have any deep grooves like that. If this is considered normal then I will definitely opt for a polished version.
 
Yes we intentionally keep that area lightly blasted to allow some of the machining marks to come through. That finish is normal and what we are targeting. We did make this clear a lot in our original email and social media copy about the finish, but I now see that we failed to make that as clear on the product page. So it’s entirely our fault for not making the standard well known. It’s also a failure of our customer experience team for replacing the original part rather than explaining the finish. I’m sorry for both of those issues. We’ll solve them.
 
Yes we intentionally keep that area lightly blasted to allow some of the machining marks to come through. That finish is normal and what we are targeting. We did make this clear a lot in our original email and social media copy about the finish, but I now see that we failed to make that as clear on the product page. So it’s entirely our fault for not making the standard well known. It’s also a failure of our customer experience team for replacing the original part rather than explaining the finish. I’m sorry for both of those issues. We’ll solve them.


Thank you for the explanation, Shane. I guess the old saying is true in this case - beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I’m not sure if everybody agrees that spotty statin finish or machining marks on a non-machine finish (this is satin finish) is considered as “normal” and should be expected. To me, that’s not a work I’d call complete. But again, this is subjective depends on how nit-picking one person gets. Does this affect performance of the razor? Absolutely not. At least from my experience using it. I like the razor’s efficiency & smoothness, and for the generous price you offered it for Black Friday, which not many vendors can match, it’s no brainer this is a steal. I’m going to keep it and ignore this minor thing. Thank you for coming in & offer the explanation.
 
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JCarr

More Deep Thoughts than Jack Handy
We love pics 📸

Here it is! Going to take it out for a spin tomorrow morning with a fresh Wilkinson Sword.

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Star_Wahl_Clipper_Treker

Likes a fat handle in his hand
I've been following this thread in the shadows, I was horrified when I saw the original photo's in this thread, and I too considered it a defect. While I super appreciate that Shane managed to get on this thread and explain the situation, after learning about his standard on what he considers to be OK with their Satin razors, all I can say is, I am glad I went with my Timeless TI95 razor instead.

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When I bought my razor, this is what I expected, and this is what I got! Apparently my standards are higher, much like @tranathi which personally, I don't see that as a bad thing. Pay a lot of money for a razor, you naturally expect high quality.
 

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
I've been following this thread in the shadows, I was horrified when I saw the original photo's in this thread, and I too considered it a defect. While I super appreciate that Shane managed to get on this thread and explain the situation, after learning about his standard on what he considers to be OK with their Satin razors, all I can say is, I am glad I went with my Timeless TI95 razor instead.

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When I bought my razor, this is what I expected, and this is what I got! Apparently my standards are higher, much like @tranathi which personally, I don't see that as a bad thing. Pay a lot of money for a razor, you naturally expect high quality.
Have you ever shaved with a Blackbird? Especially a Ti Blackbird?
 
I've been following this thread in the shadows, I was horrified when I saw the original photo's in this thread, and I too considered it a defect. While I super appreciate that Shane managed to get on this thread and explain the situation, after learning about his standard on what he considers to be OK with their Satin razors, all I can say is, I am glad I went with my Timeless TI95 razor instead.

Cool. Glad to hear you found something you enjoy.
 
$320 razor that is not perfect in every way? Totally unacceptable. My $5 and $10 vintage Gillettes are flawless. My Schicks are perfect. My Lords are perfect. My Yuma is rough but it’s supposed to be.
Take a pass on Blackland.
 
Take a pass on Blackland.
I wouldn’t go that far. Blackland know how to make a beautiful and great shaving razor. Plenty of people will attest to that, and my own experience with my newly acquired Era has been very positive. Having said that, I will take a pass on the Ti Blackbird with the current satin finish. I’m interested to see if titanium will be offered in other finishes in the future.
 
I've been following this issue, too, and am wondering if it's been made crystal clear that the OP is concerned specifically about the line that is running along the base plate/safety bar? At least I think that's the concern?
I understand machining marks on the razor in general, but to my eyes that line looks like a deep flaw outside the standard and expected machining marks. I have no dog in this race personally, but hope the OP can clarify, especially if there's still a concern on their part.
 
Take a pass on Blackland.

We shipped over 1,000 orders last month. If only every happy customer created a thread detailing how satisfied they are.

I've been following this issue, too, and am wondering if it's been made crystal clear that the OP is concerned specifically about the line that is running along the base plate/safety bar? At least I think that's the concern?
I understand machining marks on the razor in general, but to my eyes that line looks like a deep flaw outside the standard and expected machining marks. I have no dog in this race personally, but hope the OP can clarify, especially if there's still a concern on their part.

Finish flaws are always really difficult to diagnose in photos. The right(wrong?) lighting and angle makes even a perfect finish look flawed so it's hard to distinguish exactly what's going on and how severe a flaw is. It's a judgment call for us and we sometimes get it wrong, but we're always willing to ship the part back to us for inspection.
 
I can think of very few business owners, in any industry, who engage so directly and regularly with their customer base like Shane does here. And always ready to make things right. I think that’s worth something. Can’t wait to see what new projects you have in the works.
 
We shipped over 1,000 orders last month. If only every happy customer created a thread detailing how satisfied they are.
Agreed! Internet forums are for complaints only!!!
Finish flaws are always really difficult to diagnose in photos. The right(wrong?) lighting and angle makes even a perfect finish look flawed so it's hard to distinguish exactly what's going on and how severe a flaw is. It's a judgment call for us and we sometimes get it wrong, but we're always willing to ship the part back to us for inspection.
Also agree! just wanted to make sure the OP didn't feel coerced (not by you, Shane) into dropping the (possible) issue.
 
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