Does anyone have a feeler gauge and a Blackbird?? (Blade gap question)

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I've read the Blackbird has a gap of 0.58mm.
This is not officially announced by Blackland, just "forum talk".

By looking at the gap, I really have doubts that it's 0.58mm. To my eyes, it looks to be 0.45mm maximum.

The Yates M is 0.68mm and looks like a much bigger gap than the blackbird.

Another factor that gives me doubts is that the blackbird struggled to get through 3 day growth due to clogging easily.
(I'm a daily shaver but due to an injury I missed a couple of days)

Can anyone out there measure the gap on the blackbird?

 

[Big_T]

I put a Feather blade in my Blackbird and measured the gap below the blade to the safety bar at .81mm/.032 inch.

 

[muzichead]

If memory serves me Shane did confirm the blade gap to be .58 but as far as I know he has not confirmed the blade exposure which I think is a more telling number when it comes to a razor... I shaved on Sunday with my Ti Bird and had no problem with clogging on 5 days growth!! I don't think I've ever had a razor clog other than a disposable multi blade razor.

 

[nav]

If memory serves me Shane did confirm the blade gap to be .58 but as far as I know he has not confirmed the blade exposure which I think is a more telling number when it comes to a razor... I shaved on Sunday with my Ti Bird and had no problem with clogging on 5 days growth!! I don't think I've ever had a razor clog other than a disposable multi blade razor.

I imagine the exposure to be no less than 0.2mm

Although it has more blade feel than karve F plate which has an exposure of 0.23mm, so that's a little strange.

By eyeballing the gap, I feel it's less than 0.58mm but perhaps @Blackland Razors could give us a confirmation?

We all have different growth and density so I'm not sure what 3 day growth is for anyone else, but for me, the BB struggled a lot (on the first pass).

Not that it matters as I'm a daily shaver and the BB is my absolute #1 razor ever! Perhaps this love is why I'm obsessed with finding out more details about it.

 

[gdawg55]

When Shane first released the Blackbird he had the blade gap on his website. He stated .58 gap. Took it down at some point because he didn’t want folks shopping by blade gap as it’s only part of the shaving equation. That’s how I remember it anyway.

 

[Mr00classic]

I personally find that blade exposure plays a larger part the of shave experience than blade gap.

 

[dmshaver]

Interesting discussion, following!

 

[nav]

When Shane first released the Blackbird he had the blade gap on his website. He stated .58 gap. Took it down at some point because he didn’t want folks shopping by blade gap as it’s only part of the shaving equation. That’s how I remember it anyway.

Ok cool!
If it was officially quoted at some point, my curiosity is satisfied.

Eyeballing it didn't convince me of 0.58mm but it seems to be the real figure.

I personally find that blade exposure plays a larger part the of shave experience than blade gap.

No doubt!
There are many variables and the exposure plus geometry is what makes the blackbird special (VERY special!!).

I was curious about the gap because it really struggled to get through 3 days of growth and visually, it didn't look like 0.58mm.

 

[Blackland Razors]

Ok cool!
If it was officially quoted at some point, my curiosity is satisfied.

Eyeballing it didn't convince me of 0.58mm but it seems to be the real figure.



No doubt!
There are many variables and the exposure plus geometry is what makes the blackbird special (VERY special!!).

I was curious about the gap because it really struggled to get through 3 days of growth and visually, it didn't look like 0.58mm.

Assuming you used SB, OC is going to do a better job of getting through all that growth.

Blade gap and exposure specs really just don’t matter very much and tend to cause more confusion for customers than they resolve, in our experience.

 

[nav]

Assuming you used SB, OC is going to do a better job of getting through all that growth.

Blade gap and exposure specs really just don’t matter very much and tend to cause more confusion for customers than they resolve, in our experience.

Open combs don't suit my skin but in any case it was a one off as I'm a daily shaver and the BB works amazingly for me.

For me, when considering a new razor, gap and exposure are the only objective data available to input into the decision making process.

Reactors like geometry/blade bend, blade reveal etc can only be eyeballed and combined with objective data.

This method works well as I know from my experience that majority of razors with a gap of under 0.9mm, slightly positive exposure, strong blade bend and minimal blade reveal work well for me.

The blackbird is unique, I don't doubt that. But everyone knows it's the exposure that makes it what it is (coupled with a relatively smaller gap).

I feel there's no harm in making the figures available.

 

[Blackland Razors]

Open combs don't suit my skin but in any case it was a one off as I'm a daily shaver and the BB works amazingly for me.

For me, when considering a new razor, gap and exposure are the only objective data available to input into the decision making process.

Reactors like geometry/blade bend, blade reveal etc can only be eyeballed and combined with objective data.

This method works well as I know from my experience that majority of razors with a gap of under 0.9mm, slightly positive exposure, strong blade bend and minimal blade reveal work well for me.

The blackbird is unique, I don't doubt that. But everyone knows it's the exposure that makes it what it is (coupled with a relatively smaller gap).

I feel there's no harm in making the figures available.

Not all customers are equally savvy or knowledgable and most tend to only focus on blade gap as the definitive measurement of a razor's performance. So we did see harm when customers thought that the Sabre was more aggressive than the Blackbird due to the larger blade gap. Customers also thought that the Blackbird was milder than razors like a 34C which is certainly not the case.

If there's anything I've learned, it's that you can't shave with a spec sheet. So we try to provide as much qualitative information about how the shaving experience will be and then offer a nice return policy so you can put blade to face and figure out if it's actually a good fit.

 

[nav]

Not all customers are equally savvy or knowledgable and most tend to only focus on blade gap as the definitive measurement of a razor's performance. So we did see harm when customers thought that the Sabre was more aggressive than the Blackbird due to the larger blade gap. Customers also thought that the Blackbird was milder than razors like a 34C which is certainly not the case.

If there's anything I've learned, it's that you can't shave with a spec sheet. So we try to provide as much qualitative information about how the shaving experience will be and then offer a nice return policy so you can put blade to face and figure out if it's actually a good fit.

Just an idea...

How about including the specs but also retaining the aggressiveness chart you have?

That way there won't be confusion as it would satisfy both types of customers.

Alternatively, you could PM me the figures just too satisfy my curiosity.

 

[Blackland Razors]

Just an idea...

How about including the specs but also retaining the aggressiveness chart you have?

That way there won't be confusion as it would satisfy both types of customers.

Alternatively, you could PM me the figures just too satisfy my curiosity.

I don't think we'll change our approach on this for the foreseeable future since it's worked quite well and we haven't seen any adverse impacts. If we decide to add these specs, you guys will be the first to know!

 

[Dtownvino]

All of your wishes are answered, but keep in mind the blade bend also plays into this razor (just like the Yates 921 and Henson). Happy 4th! - Mike

 

[nav]

View attachment 1482706All of your wishes are answered, but keep in mind the blade bend also plays into this razor (just like the Yates 921 and Henson). Happy 4th! - Mike

Thank you so much!

It's quite shocking to see the exposure is just 0.1mm...certainly feels a lot more!

I've used many razors with a larger exposure that felt like lesser exposure than the blackbird.

 

[Dtownvino]

I didn’t need a feeler gauge, I had an optical comparator and a laser triangulation system. I can confirm within 2 microns this appears accurate on my Ti BB.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

I didn’t need a feeler gauge, I had an optical comparator and a laser triangulation system. I can confirm within 2 microns this appears accurate on my Ti BB.

 

[Dtownvino]