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- #41
It's interesting with the above comments about the DE89 as that's the very razor I used that was enough to prompt me starting this thread. And I will use it again today.
Well, you said you had a manly beard. I shaved the same way earlier only with a different soap and brush and got as good a BBS as yesterday with the same razor and blade with three passes and detail work. I put the blade in my war era fat handle Tech to see what happens on shave #3 with a different razor tomorrow.So I got out my DE89 and loaded up with a fresh BIC.. this razor was my first ever DE purchase so holds sentimental value.
The shave was smooth as the DE89 always is and the BIC certainly brought the sharpness to the shave. In saying that after four passes, two of which were ATG plus touch ups I still didnt achieve BBS, but a respectable DFS+
This isnt a drawback on the blade but rather the mild razor, if anything the BIC in it is testament to how well it performed considering I got no issues with burn or irritation after so many passes. Reckon I will start trying this blade in my other razors and see how it preforms but so far, it excels with the Rocca V4 razors, which I would class as mid efficient
SOTD
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For me, they totally failed in higher gap razors like ATT H1, Tatara Nodachi, Timeless 95, Karve D, Yates H.
The blades felt incredibly rough, that they got binned immediately!
Then I tried them in the Merkur Progress and pearl flexi at medium settings and I was immediately blown away!
In razors with a moderate gap but big blade bend was also great (e.g. Rocca).
But the BIC in blackbird absolutely blew me away. So much so that it has been my daily combo for nearly 6 months.
I also tried these in my Timeless 95 and didnt care for them at all. Reckon I will be testing these out on a few of my other razors now if they perform well I might start stocking up an arsenal like you have, probably not to that extent though
In regards to your blackbird comment, it sort of made me start looking around and think I may well be in the market for a blackbird myself.. was going to go for a WR1 to complement my WR2 but after a bit of reading I have found these are quite popular.
Can I ask what material BB you have? Ti or SS? have you tried both and if so which do you prefer and why? From what I am hearing the Ti version is considerably smoother but I do prefer a razor with weight. One really important aspect is how does the BB shave ATG? ATG is a must for me and little concerned with its positive blade feel the ATG pass might be too much?
I have the SS blackbird.
I dislike lightweight razors like aluminium and titanium.
The comments about titanium smoothness must be from people for whom the blade feel from the BB is a bit much and the titanium helps to reduce that feel, hence making it "smoother".
Blackland have confirmed both versions are exactly the same razor, just different materials.
I would very highly recommend the blackbird. It's so effortless and yet, super efficient. I get better efficiency from it compared to even Yates H, karve F, Timeless 95 and other larger gap razors.
With the added bonus of zero skin inflammation, which large gap razors cause me!
Blackbird + BIC yellow...HEAVENLY!!
(Will be trying the BIC Astor tomorrow)
Timeless 95 is efficient but I would rate the WR2 1.25 as considerably more efficient, the lupo 95 is prob more that the T95 also.. have you tried a wolfman before to compare the Blackbird against? I had my heart set on a WR1 and even recently got back onto the list for one but came across your comments re BB and now I am not sure.
Following forum topics on the BB and some other members comments I take quite literally I believe the BB would be the way to go and if you are praising the BIC yellow along with it then I reckon that's what I should do.. on the positive side i can order today with express and get it to Australia in a week or so..
so just to confirm, you can go ATG without issue on the BB? and can you use it as daily driver?
I haven't used a Wolfman unfortunately.
Yeah, I use the BB for my daily 4 pass shave...
W, X, A, A.
Zero skin issues, glass-like finish!
Amaizing blade, when it's good
Better than Nacet, when it's good
Sharper than Frather, when it's good
Very smooth, when it's good
Stays sharp for long time, when it's good
And cheap, very cheap, when it's good
But when it's bad, oh boy, worst blade ever
IME, around 30% of them were bad, like a saw blade, after first stroke they would scratch my face, like a cat, red lines were showing on my face. Even from same tuck. And that is why I have stopped using them. I find them unperdictibe
I have used just one BiC CP blade so far and it was fantastic! I have another one that have yet to use so it will be interesting to see if it is consistent with the first one.Amaizing blade, when it's good
Better than Nacet, when it's good
Sharper than Frather, when it's good
Very smooth, when it's good
Stays sharp for long time, when it's good
And cheap, very cheap, when it's good
But when it's bad, oh boy, worst blade ever
IME, around 30% of them were bad, like a saw blade, after first stroke they would scratch my face, like a cat, red lines were showing on my face. Even from same tuck. And that is why I have stopped using them. I find them unperdictibe
Finished my shave with the Bic on shave #3 but in a war era fat handle Tech today. Again, lazy, so cold water splash as prep. Brand new jar of PdP #63 (I've used their original formula for many years), Pro Pro boar brush, got the lather right and went to work. Honestly, I got the same great shave as the last two with the Jagger DE89 but had to work a wee bit harder for it. No complaints about the blade but for this particular Bic, it's three and done. Noticed my neck was a bit hotter while doing the alum rinse but that's not really on the blade, that's on me; spent a little too much time in a couple troublesome spots. The blade felt sharp and no roughness. We'll see what happens with the next one which will go into razors I haven't tried it with yet.