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First shave with the Blackbird

StewB

StewB

IMG_20221209_105402472.jpg


The recent Blackland sale for the Blackbird was too much for me to pass up and the lovely LOTH approved this extravagant purchase for my birthday.

(Keep in mind that my experiences with this razor are that of a relative newbie; I've only been using DE razors for about 10 months.)

As seen in the picture, this is the machined finish stainless steel version. It acquitted itself nicely in its inaugural flight. My initial impression is that the Blackbird is a nicely efficient razor and gave me a close, comfortable, and irritation-free shave. It wasn't quite a "wow," but it was still very good. I am going to use it for the next few days and watch my angle as I might need to adjust the angle a bit to get the best efficiency from it.

I feel like I approached the Blackbird with appropriate expectations and my initial impressions are positive. I'll post more of my experiences as well, but I'd be interested to hear from others who either:
  • gave the Blackbird a fair shake but ended up not liking it and parting ways with it, or
  • didn't like it at first but then changed their minds after using it more.
 
APBinNCA

APBinNCA

You are going to have a unique situation, most people get a Blackbird... eventually, but not early on. What's going to happen is one of two things: Your technique will improve and your experience with the BB will reward it. Or you get tempted by other razors, set The Bird aside for a bit and come back to it and wonder why you set it aside! 🤪

I hate to say it, but you should probably just grab the Lite plate now while it's on sale.
 
StewB

StewB

Second shave today.

It's maybe a little more efficient than the Lupo .95 but not quite as good as the R41. This is still very good!

Because so many say that the Blackbird is very efficient I will keep trying it for another couple of weeks. I expect it's efficiency will improve as I get better using it.
 
S

Steve_in_CT

I am one of the few that did not particularly enjoy the Blackbird. I have several razors that I preferred to it, so I sold it after a couple of months. One of those razors is its stable mate, the previously discontinued (and now discontinued again, I believe) Dart. The Dart (for me) is just as efficient and more comfortable to use. I also prefer the Lupo .95 OC and Karve Christopher Bradley (with the G safety bar) to the Blackbird.
 
StewB

StewB

Fascinating--I have a Dart also and find it to be a very fine razor. The Dart gives me a similar efficiency to the Blackbird: Maybe slightly better than the Lupo .95 but not quite as good as the R41. (To be fair this is only my second shave with the Blackbird.)

Regarding blades: I have so many...currently I am working my way through a bunch of RK Stainless and Dorco ST300s which work quite well. I'm so new at this that blades just don't seem to make a big difference to me yet. They all seem pretty good, actually.
 
StewB

StewB

Sunday morning, 3rd shave.

The Blackbird is like the love child of the R41 and Winning razors...

The efficiency was good this morning. I seem to need a slightly shallower angle with it but it's not too bad.

No irritation. There are a couple of spots along my jawline where I can feel (but not see) some residual stubble. These spots are difficult to get with any razor (DE, cartridge, electric) I have used so this isn't surprising. LOTH noticed these but still gave a 👍 on this morning's shave.

So far I am a fan of the Blackbird.
 
StewB

StewB

Monday, 4th shave.

For this morning's shave a I used an RK Stainless blade (3rd use) and Cella soap (red container, almond).

I skipped pre-shave and got some very minor neck irritation, which is not totally unexpected. Other than that: Good shave.

Keeping in mind that I'm a relative newbie and this is only my 4th shave with the Blackbird, this razor performs quite well. I think it's good that Blackland now has the Lite version; I could see how if I started out with the standard Blackbird I would have given myself a lot of irritation due to poor technique.

I like the feel, weight, and shape of the Blackbird, but I'm not sure I'm used to the angle quite yet. So far the R41 seems more efficient (maybe because the R41 angle is more intuitive to me). Coming in second to the R41 in efficiency is no small feat, though.

I'd be interested in anyone's thoughts in regards to comparing the efficiency of the R41 and Blackbird.
 
BigJ

BigJ

StewB said:
Sunday morning, 3rd shave.

The Blackbird is like the love child of the R41 and Winning razors...

The efficiency was good this morning. I seem to need a slightly shallower angle with it but it's not too bad.

No irritation. There are a couple of spots along my jawline where I can feel (but not see) some residual stubble. These spots are difficult to get with any razor (DE, cartridge, electric) I have used so this isn't surprising. LOTH noticed these but still gave a 👍 on this morning's shave.

So far I am a fan of the Blackbird.
Click to expand...

Congratulations!! Looks like ’the love child’ is a winner!! :thumbup1::thumbup1:
 
StewB

StewB

Tuesday, 5th shave.

Today I used Stirling Spice soap, three drops Shave Secret for my neck, and an RK Stainless blade on its 4th and final use.

The angle feels shallower than what seems "natural" to me, but I'm adjusting to it. There's no arguing with the results, though: Very close, smooth, and irritation-free. This is the kind of excellent result I typically get from the Winning razor. The Blackbird is kind of like a shallower-angle and ever-so-slightly more efficient version of the Winning. (Yes: To me, the Winning really is that good.)

So far, the Blackbird seems to be a very good "daily driver": It's efficient enough to give me a quality, irritation-free shave in a fairly short amount of time.

I only have one very minor complaint about the design: I wish the shave angle was just a little bit steeper. This is a very minor complaint, though. The Blackbird works very well when I use it as designed.
 
J

Jonn

Love the Blackbird SS polished. Just got the longer handle and like it even more. My other blade forward efficient razors are Tatara nodachi and Haircut and a Shave Ti P076. They are all very efficient, although the H&S is titanium so it is a different animal. I also have some timeless razors which are very efficient, but not as blade forward, and a bit heavier.
 
gdawg55

gdawg55

StewB said:
I only have one very minor complaint about the design: I wish the shave angle was just a little bit steeper. This is a very minor complaint, though. The Blackbird works very well when I use it as designed.
Click to expand...
Try shaving with a steep angle. That's what I use with the Bird and get very nice results. I think the head design sort of sets the angle a bit, but I find it works well with a steeper than neutral angle.

Glad your having success with the Blackbird....it's one fine performing razor.
 
PLANofMAN

PLANofMAN

StewB said:
View attachment 1569608

The recent Blackland sale for the Blackbird was too much for me to pass up and the lovely LOTH approved this extravagant purchase for my birthday.

(Keep in mind that my experiences with this razor are that of a relative newbie; I've only been using DE razors for about 10 months.)

As seen in the picture, this is the machined finish stainless steel version. It acquitted itself nicely in its inaugural flight. My initial impression is that the Blackbird is a nicely efficient razor and gave me a close, comfortable, and irritation-free shave. It wasn't quite a "wow," but it was still very good. I am going to use it for the next few days and watch my angle as I might need to adjust the angle a bit to get the best efficiency from it.

I feel like I approached the Blackbird with appropriate expectations and my initial impressions are positive. I'll post more of my experiences as well, but I'd be interested to hear from others who either:
  • gave the Blackbird a fair shake but ended up not liking it and parting ways with it, or
  • didn't like it at first but then changed their minds after using it more.
Click to expand...
It's a fairly aggressive and efficient razor, compared to the vintage Gillettes I was used to. When I bought it, it came with lab blue blades (don't know if it still does) which I found a bit too sharp. Once I paired it with slightly smoother blades and dialed in the really narrow shaving angle, it was smooth sailing.

It's my only DE razor that can give me a near BBS one pass shave. All my other DE razors require at least two. Most people that don't get along with the Blackbird never get the proper shaving angle dialed in. It's a good teaching razor, as it will punish poor technique.

Edit: I have the original Kickstarter version, which has sharper edges than the current crop of razors.
 
never-stop-learning

never-stop-learning

Demoted To Moderator
Staff member
Blackbird + Feather or Perma-Sharp blade + Steep Angle = Shaving Bliss. :)

Lots of shaves with all of the Blackbirds in my Journal: never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/never-stop-learnings-quest-for-knowledge.611194/

You'll also want to check out the Blackland Brotherhood and the Steep Angle Shaving Alliance (SASA) threads:
Blackland Brotherhood - B³ - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/blackland-brotherhood-b.494998/

Steep Angle Shavers Alliance - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/steep-angle-shavers-alliance.521311/

Hope this helps. :)
 
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