Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Mike, awesome report, my friend!So as most here know I have been a 1 razor guy for the past 3+ yrs now with my Ti95DC and have been very happy with its performance and steady 16-20hr BBS every shave out but things have changed now and have officially, Jul 2021, became a 2 razor guy and can't be happier with how things have unfolded and owe a big thanks to @Hannah's Dad for selling me his Ti Blackbird as his loss was my gain!! I can't believe its been 4 months now since I received this razor but I finally feel I have put it well through the paces and am finally ready to share some thoughts...
I think I kinda knew from shave #1 but needed some extra time to experiment and fully put it up against the Ti95DC since that was the razor it would ultimately replace or become part of a rotation, although if I'm being honest the TiBB has had the majority of shaves since July and its really hard "not" to pick it up for every shave!! I think the only worries I had thought of prior to picking it up were the handle and how it clamped the blade down.
The handle had me worried in that it is thinner than the handle of my Ti95DC and the ribs go N-S so of course I thought it would be exceptionally slipper during the shave but it didn't take long to realize I had nothing to fear as it is very grippy and in fact the thing I like most about it is the ball at the end of the handle has become my favorite feature as it really helped tune in the steep angle shave it seems to require and I've found by holding it right above the ball I can maintain the angle much better and really don't have to think about it like I did with the Ti95... In fact it has changed the way I grip the Ti95 now as I hold that handle down towards the end of the handle and maintain the steep angle better than I've done in the past with it. The way the top cap clamps down the blade I had always envisioned since it doesn't clamp near the edge of the blade like the Ti95 I feared it must have major chattering but was relieved upon 1st use that it was all in my head and nothing more than a theory I had read about in a few threads in the forums. I'd say the blade is clamped down very well and in fact is solid.
I have tested every blade I have in my cabinet;
Shark SS & SC - These work best in the Ti95.
Silver Star - My go to blade for the Ti95 but works as well in the TiBB.
Nacet - Seems to be a rough blade overall in both razors
Bic Platinum - Basically a 1 and done regardless of razor!!
Perma Sharp Super - Worked well but I found the feather was much better.
Feather - Against my better judgement this is the one that works best, IMO, and will always be used in the TiBB!!
I guess with all that said the only other thing I can really think of that I found to be in line with some other reviews was that the razor at times feels like it has very acute edges on it and almost feels sharp during the shave but to be honest I really don't feel anything like that after a few months of using it... The biggest difference between the TiBB and the Ti95 is to me the Ti95 has much less blade feel but yet is the same in efficiency when compared to the TiBB and that's ok in my book!! Other than that I'm sure I will enjoy both razors very much but have a feeling I know already which razor and blade combo will see the majority of the time....
Dan was very right in his suggestion to me in that the Feather / TiBB, or as he put it, the Feather and any BB will be the winning combination and I couldn't agree more!!
View attachment 1353185
