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Blackland Blackbird: long-lasting BBS shaving machine

I read these Blackbird threads with some interest since I have never gotten along all that well with my polished SS SB version. I search for ways to improve my experience--so I am going to try the suggested steeper angle next time I pull the Blackbird out for use. I would never try to use my Blackbird as a daily driver--it is just way too aggressive a razor for day-after-day use. YMMV.
 
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I read these Blackbird threads with some interest since I have never gotten along all that well with my polished SS SB version. I search for ways to improve my experience--so I am going to try the suggested steeper angle next time I pull the Blackbird out for use. I would never try to use my Blackbird as a daily driver--it is just way too aggressive a razor for day-after-day use. YMMV.

I appreciate your input. May I ask what razor(s) you use or would use as a daily driver?
 
I appreciate your input. May I ask what razor(s) you use or would use as a daily driver?
Probably my Charcoal Goods Gen 3 Everyday or my Paradigm 2020 Diamondback. Admittedly, I most often skip a day between shaves. The Everyday has neutral or zero blade exposure. Both the razors mentioned are smooth, really smooth.

What I am trying to do with these choices is to minimize the chance of irritation when shaving every day and to enhance the possibility of a smooth stroke against-the-grain near the Adam's Apple. Those are my touchstones. My Blackbird polished SS SB fails both tests. It is hard to avoid irritation and it does not glide smoothly on the above-described stroke.

Other possibilities include my Yates 921-M and my Timeless Ti .68 SB.
 
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I would be buying (new) from a store, I would suppose the 30-day return policy is offered only when buying direct from Blackland. It's not ebay, I imagine the store I have in mind is an authorized dealer but I don't know about the 30 day policy buying from a dealer.

Just a heads up, we’ve paused our wholesale activity for the foreseeable future to focus on direct sales. We may bring it back, but that timeline is TBD.
 
I've read many, many pages of posts about the Blackbird. I'd love to get one but I'm still not sure if I could/would be able to use it every day.

I can't/don't use my R41 every day. And I don't really use my Lupo .95 every day either (I have ordered a .72 plate). I used a Merkur 37C slant every day for several years, I think some consider it aggressive. I think my Game Changer .84P is probably the most aggressive razor I could/would use every day.

So am I crazy for even considering a Blackbird? I can't see spending $250 for a razor to use once in a while. I don't mind spending over $200 for a razor but at this point, I really would like a nice (very nice) daily driver. Do you (the B&B family) think the Blackbird could be a daily driver for me? I would be getting the stainless steel version.
I shave daily and when home almost exclusively use my Blackbird SB. What I find with the BB is the longest lasting shave of all of my razors. I’d be hard pressed to shave twice in one day because it would be unnecessary. While I do a three pass shave, the BB after 2 passes is generally better than most after 3. After the first wtg pass, I would have a more than acceptable shave.

For me there is no irritation and daily use is a luxury and not an issue.
 
I want to apologize to @FeatherBBS for basically hijacking this thread.

But to update, Blackland is currently sold out and I only could find a couple of SS Blackbirds for sale in stores and they were all open comb. Having decided that I wanted an SB Blackbird I found a nice one here in the BST and made a deal.

For those that may be looking for an open comb bird check with Maggards and Pasteurs.

I plan to have a few shaves with it before posting about if I made a good or bad decision, and I'm still trying to stay in Vintage April so it may be a few weeks.

I appreciate everyone's input! And thanks @FeatherBBS
 
My Rockwell 6C is one of my favorite daily drivers. I usually use plate 5 or 6. What plate do you normally use with your 6S?
I start out with a higher plate number and switch to a lower numbered plate (less aggressive) before the next pass. Thus, on my normal 3 pass shave I might start with a 5 with-the-grain, then switch to a 3 on the second, across-the -grain pass and use a 2 on the last, against-the-grain pass. I love this razor--easy and mindless. In contrast, when I use my Blackbird I have to really concentrate to avoid problems. I do wonder whether this would be lessened were I to use a Ti Blackbird.
 
I want to apologize to @FeatherBBS for basically hijacking this thread.

But to update, Blackland is currently sold out and I only could find a couple of SS Blackbirds for sale in stores and they were all open comb. Having decided that I wanted an SB Blackbird I found a nice one here in the BST and made a deal.

For those that may be looking for an open comb bird check with Maggards and Pasteurs.

I plan to have a few shaves with it before posting about if I made a good or bad decision, and I'm still trying to stay in Vintage April so it may be a few weeks.

I appreciate everyone's input! And thanks @FeatherBBS

Hey, no problem Big_T. I've been looking for a stainless version as well and just purchased the last open comb polished one from West Coast Shaving on sale for a great price.

I'm interested in trying the open comb option for longer beard days. My second shave with the BB Titanium SB plate and Gillette Platinum blades (1) took 5 passes to get to BBS. My beard is rather thick. I'll try the Feather blades on it next but I'm also interested is seeing what the open comb gets me when I go 3 or more days without shaving.

I'll post my progress here. This forum is a great resource for information!
 

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Hey, no problem Big_T. I've been looking for a stainless version as well and just purchased the last open comb polished one from West Coast Shaving on sale for a great price.

I'm interested in trying the open comb option for longer beard days. My second shave with the BB Titanium SB plate and Gillette Platinum blades (1) took 5 passes to get to BBS. My beard is rather thick. I'll try the Feather blades on it next but I'm also interested is seeing what the open comb gets me when I go 3 or more days without shaving.

I'll post my progress here. This forum is a great resource for information!
Ti Blackbird + Feather Blade = :001_wub:

Perma-Sharp blades work great too. :)
 
I found the BB/BIC combo similar to BB/Feather...but the BIC is smoother VS feather.
YMMV and all still amazes me how different we all are as the BIC blade is a 1 and done blade for me and I've been through 2 different tucks and it just pulls and tugs on the 2nd shave and I have to stop and change the blade out!! Not a big deal as any other blade is usually only 3-4 shaves on average before I get any discomfort at all...
 
YMMV and all still amazes me how different we all are as the BIC blade is a 1 and done blade for me and I've been through 2 different tucks and it just pulls and tugs on the 2nd shave and I have to stop and change the blade out!! Not a big deal as any other blade is usually only 3-4 shaves on average before I get any discomfort at all...

I found the same thing when I used the BIC in bigger gap razors or razors that don't bend the blade much.

In the blackbird, progress, rocca, Yates...it works so incredibly, that it became my favorite blade!
 
Today I had my first shave with my new polished stainless open comb version of the Blackbird.

The razor performed wonderfully with the Gillette Silver Blue blade (1). The OC plate is slightly more aggressive than the SB plate, and that works really well on my thick beard, as I suspected. The polished finish makes the razor head glide more smoothly on my face. The polished handle, however, is a tad more slippery with wet hand than the machine finish version.

It is tough for me to select a favorite between the titanium Blackland SB and the stainless Blackland OC. Too bad that the titanium version doesn't come in open comb. Now these are both my favorite razors. The titanium SB is light, more maneuverable and effective, and the polished stainless OC is smoother and even more effective.

I also purchased a polished stainless SB plate and long handle directly from Blackland. I don't think I'll be using either since I prefer the OC and having handled both the short and long handles, I think the razor loses maneuverability with the long handle. I'll be testing Blackland's 30-day return policy on those items.

With these 2 in my den it will be hard for me to go back to my other razors!
 
I’ve been looking at Blackland Blackbirds hard for a hot minute.

Last week, the only thing that stopped me from ordering one was they were out of stock (stainless).

They’re back in stock and I almost pulled the trigger on a stainless as machined finish. What stopped me? The Feather AC SR waiting at home for me to try.

If I don’t like it, I’ll let it go to make room for the BBird.
 
I’ve been looking at Blackland Blackbirds hard for a hot minute.

Last week, the only thing that stopped me from ordering one was they were out of stock (stainless).

They’re back in stock and I almost pulled the trigger on a stainless as machined finish. What stopped me? The Feather AC SR waiting at home for me to try.

If I don’t like it, I’ll let it go to make room for the BBird.

But the Bird will probably be sold out again by then....
 
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