Blackland Era thoughts

[spacemonkey42]

I recently got a Blackland Era and am really enjoying the shaves! I bought it because of the blade rigidity, as I think my face/whiskers do better with a rigid blade. The Era is pretty remarkable in that way, it is clamped along the entire edge of the blade, from end to end, and also very close to the edge itself. I have the Level 3 Safety Bar baseplate, which is a mild/medium aggression. It gives a safe and comfortable shave. I am not chasing BBS, but easily get that on my cheeks. It is safe enough that I can go right to XTG if I want to.

I attach a picture here. It is hard to capture just how much of a sliver of the blade is exposed and how closely it is clamped all along that edge. This is pretty unique and makes this razor different.

Who else is shaving with the Era and what do you think?

 

[hduty]

The Era is at a shared #1 spot among my razors, I've been praising the shaves and its clamping for many months now:

The rigidity of the blade(DE)

On the Era razors, do they all clamp like on hduty’s photograph and have their gap and exposure set by the depth of the safety comb/bar relative to the their cap? Yes they all clamp like that. Performance is set by the distance between the safety bar/comb teeth and the blade edge. Each setting...

www.badgerandblade.com

 

[Eric_75]

I'm really enjoying my new Era OC/L4.

I'm going to try a KAI with it for tomorrow's shave.

 

[rudygu]

I have one with two plates - 2 sb and 3 oc. I use this razor pretty much every day. I prefer milder shaves with sharp blades and both have been excellent with every blade I’ve thrown in it. The 2 sb is literally more comfortable for me than not shaving and the 3 oc is incredibly efficient and comfortable. Both are smoother than my Gillette adjustables or muhle r89.

 

[AvocadoKing]

I still haven't gotten around o shaving with this guy yet

I still have high hopes for it. I got level 3 and 4 SB and level 3 OC but I would like to get level 4 and 5 in both SB and OC as well. Not really interested in the other plates. Nice looking razor. Can't wait to shave with it.

 

[Eric_75]

I still haven't gotten around o shaving with this guy yet

I still have high hopes for it. I got level 3 and 4 SB and level 3 OC but I would like to get level 4 and 5 in both SB and OC as well. Not really interested in the other plates. Nice looking razor. Can't wait to shave with it.

I hope you enjoy it! A fine razor.

 

[spacemonkey42]

The level 3 safety bar has been excellent for me. Level 2 was very comfortable, but a bit too mild for my particular whiskers. I may try higher levels, but the 3 is really great for me.

By design this razor doesn't have a wide range of angles - mostly it cuts or it doesn't. I really like that in a razor - less of a challenge, just a reliable, easy shave. At the higher levels it likely has more angles.

 

[cwright]

I love mine, L5 SB. Pairs up well with a very sharp blade. For me a 3 pass shave, ride the bar, neutral (in the middle), ride the cap, gives me an DFS+ or BBS every time. Does have some blade feel but in a good way, requires little to no pressure, little buffing in my trouble spots.

 

[Guest2023]

I got lvl 4 and 5. Milder than I expected and smoothness is not impressive. There are some better options at this price range.

 

[schwaggy]

Anyone else with an Era have issues with blade alignment not being perfect when tightening the handle? I have to unscrew and re-center the blade and top cap every time I tighten. Shane replaced my original top cap and it’s a bit better that the original was but still not nearly as spot-on as my other DE razors.
I have 2 different base plates and they behave exactly the same - the blade alignment is wonky unless I spend extra time holding the parts together while tightening. And even then, the blade typically sticks out a bit more on one side compared to the other and is sometimes not parallel with the safety bar. This is with several different blades I like.
Does it affect my shave? Probably not, but the fact I can’t just tighten and go without spending extra time aligning things bothers me, especially when compared to others in my collection. Not a deal breaker but I do find myself choosing other razors over the Era when shaving.

 

[spacemonkey42]

That doesn't sound right. I haven't noticed any issues with my razor.

 

[Rocket 1]

Anyone else with an Era have issues with blade alignment not being perfect when tightening the handle? I have to unscrew and re-center the blade and top cap every time I tighten. Shane replaced my original top cap and it’s a bit better that the original was but still not nearly as spot-on as my other DE razors.
I have 2 different base plates and they behave exactly the same - the blade alignment is wonky unless I spend extra time holding the parts together while tightening. And even then, the blade typically sticks out a bit more on one side compared to the other and is sometimes not parallel with the safety bar. This is with several different blades I like.
Does it affect my shave? Probably not, but the fact I can’t just tighten and go without spending extra time aligning things bothers me, especially when compared to others in my collection. Not a deal breaker but I do find myself choosing other razors over the Era when shaving.

I have this issue as well and presume it is related to the top cap (as it occurs with Level 3-5 SB plates). I am ultimately able to get it aligned and balanced fairly quickly (usually requires 1 or 2 extra attempts). I keep meaning to follow up with Shane on this, but I am rarely using the Era these days.

 

[hduty]

Anyone else with an Era have issues with blade alignment not being perfect when tightening the handle? I have to unscrew and re-center the blade and top cap every time I tighten. Shane replaced my original top cap and it’s a bit better that the original was but still not nearly as spot-on as my other DE razors.
I have 2 different base plates and they behave exactly the same - the blade alignment is wonky unless I spend extra time holding the parts together while tightening. And even then, the blade typically sticks out a bit more on one side compared to the other and is sometimes not parallel with the safety bar. This is with several different blades I like.
Does it affect my shave? Probably not, but the fact I can’t just tighten and go without spending extra time aligning things bothers me, especially when compared to others in my collection. Not a deal breaker but I do find myself choosing other razors over the Era when shaving.

Yep, I alluded to it when I first tried the Era: I said "fit and finish", where "fit" referred to the poor alignment.

I mentioned it again only a couple of days ago.

For the record, I have bought two Eras, months apart, both with the same issue.
Seems that the 3D printing tech doesn't have the tolerances of CNC machining yet.

 

[Eric_75]

Anyone else with an Era have issues with blade alignment not being perfect when tightening the handle? I have to unscrew and re-center the blade and top cap every time I tighten.

Nope, haven't had any issues at all with mine.

 

[Rocket 1]

Yep, I alluded to it when I first tried the Era: I said "fit and finish", where "fit" referred to the poor alignment.

I mentioned it again only a couple of days ago.

For the record, I have bought two Eras, months apart, both with the same issue.
Seems that the 3D printing tech doesn't have the tolerances of CNC machining yet.

That reminds me, I also received a replacement top cap a few weeks later but that was due to a manufacturing finish issue. Same issue with alignment.

 

[Rocket 1]

I should also mention, that the Era has been a solid performer when used in this past. The main issue for me is the level of efficiency isn't quite where I ultimately need it, even with Level 5.

 

[02flhtci]

I rarely reach for anything else. I have levels 3,4 and 5 SB base plates, with #5 seeing the majority of use. I bought from the original run, and did have an issue with top cap alignment. More side to side over blade alignment. Shane took care of me with a new top cap, and haven’t noticed any since.

 

[02flhtci]

I should also mention, that the Era has been a solid performer when used in this past. The main issue for me is the level of efficiency isn't quite where I ultimately need it, even with Level 5.

Curious what blade you’re using, and what other razors you’re comparing the Era to. While my Blackbird is more efficient, I find that the Era gives me a better balance of efficiency and comfort.

 

[Rocket 1]

Curious what blade you’re using, and what other razors you’re comparing the Era to. While my Blackbird is more efficient, I find that the Era gives me a better balance of efficiency and comfort.

The Era is absolutely a comfortable razor. It is nearly impossible to injure yourself, at least in my experience. While not using the Era as much these days, Nacets were my primary blade for the Era. If I compare the efficiency from my Blackbird Ti, it is meaningfully different. The Blackbird is the first DE razor to fully clear my most difficult spots, running with either a Feather or Bic CP blade. My Blackland Vector with a Feather Pro AC blade will deliver an incremental improvement of efficiency over the Era Level 5 SB but the gap is closer. I have been meaning to do a shave off between my Lupo .95 OC and the Era. I think that one would be interesting.

If it weren't for the addictive nature of BBS and post shave shadow reduction outcomes from the Blackbird Ti, I would probably have the Era and Lupo .95 OC in rotation more often.

 

[rudygu]

Anyone else with an Era have issues with blade alignment not being perfect when tightening the handle? I have to unscrew and re-center the blade and top cap every time I tighten. Shane replaced my original top cap and it’s a bit better that the original was but still not nearly as spot-on as my other DE razors.
I have 2 different base plates and they behave exactly the same - the blade alignment is wonky unless I spend extra time holding the parts together while tightening. And even then, the blade typically sticks out a bit more on one side compared to the other and is sometimes not parallel with the safety bar. This is with several different blades I like.
Does it affect my shave? Probably not, but the fact I can’t just tighten and go without spending extra time aligning things bothers me, especially when compared to others in my collection. Not a deal breaker but I do find myself choosing other razors over the Era when shaving.

Mine is spot on with both plates - 2 sb and 3 oc. I obsessively check it before every shave and have never seen it.