Introducing the Blackland Era - 100% stainless steel. 3D printed. $75

[spacemonkey42]

Hey fellow Era shavers! I've been shaving with my Level 4 SB plate, which has more of a range of angles than the level 3. I'm wondering if you all shave steep/neutral/shallow. I had been more riding the cap, but I am trying to tune in the Era and wondering what y'all do.

I asked Shane and here are his thoughts:

You might want to try the safety bar for a steeper angle. Use the SB as a pivot point to pull the blade off the skin to reduce blade engagement or lean more into the top cap to increase engagement. It’s super versatile so just play with it to figure out what’s best for you!

 

[BradWorld]

Hey fellow Era shavers! I've been shaving with my Level 4 SB plate, which has more of a range of angles than the level 3. I'm wondering if you all shave steep/neutral/shallow. I had been more riding the cap, but I am trying to tune in the Era and wondering what y'all do.

I asked Shane and here are his thoughts:

I ride mine steep for the best results. Both Level 5 plates and Both Level 4 plates work best for me riding steep. I prefer steep angles generally.

The Level 3 OC plate doesn’t work well steep. I think the teeth are too long to properly engage the blade while riding steep in my opinion. All I get are rake marks and not much cutting. I tried this 3 OC plate as my first Era OC plate and was surprised at the fact I couldn’t go steep at all. Then I was even more surprised at how well the 4 and 5 OC plates worked steep.

 

[spacemonkey42]

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

I've been trying steeper for the last four shaves with the level 4 plate. I think I need to go more neutral or even a touch shallow on the last pass to get a very close finish. I ended up with a terrific shave. I still need to work on tuning things in though. There are more angles available with the 4 SB, the gap of the 3 SB makes for a smaller range, but that is fine, it too gives a great shave.

 

[GlazedBoker]

Late to the party but, made it nonetheless. Picked up this pristine Era up on the b/s/t from a fine shave member here for a very good price. It’s a Level 5 in the OC set up. Installed a fresh new Gillette Minora blade and I must say, for a first shave outing, not bad at all. Just might finish out the rest of the month with this nice piece of kit and put my 2 cents worth in on this razor. A 2 pass plus some pick ups for a very smooth and irritation free BBS finish. The Ethos was and always is on point with the protection end of the deal and the scent is just superb.

Great shaves to all….

 

[GlazedBoker]

The 3rd shave with the Era & OC-L5/Gillette Minora and it has been a really nice shave. As quite a few have stated here and across other forums, the blade reveal is on the lighter side and one would think it would yield a very mild shave with very little blade feel. Though it feels smooth & comfortable it is by no means a mild shaver such as a RR Mamba .70 or a Feather AS-D2. It has much better cutting ability than the aforementioned pair with a very good safe feel on skin. Blade feel is muted but, you can still get feedback on precisely what it is doing in every pass and for me especially the ATG pass. Balance and feel are darn near perfect with grip being an absolute nonissue for me. The handle offers plenty of tactile feel in the hands that I personally see no need for installing any of the o-rings though, it’s nice to have for those that don’t feel as comfortable with the handle as I do. Blade is aligned perfectly with equal exposure on both sides of the razor head. Blade clamp and rigidity is right on the money and I’d say on par with some of the best in the business. Very impressed with the Era’s performance & attributes so far….

 

[Shave Souffle]

Glad you jumped on board. The ERA is kind of like the Dart which are both razors that punch way higher than their price points and both have been discontinued. Tell me about the ETHOS Shave MD. Haven't heard of it before. I have the Rosa in cream and F-base and the Lavender one, and hoping the Violetta comes out soon.

 

[GlazedBoker]

Glad you jumped on board. The ERA is kind of like the Dart which are both razors that punch way higher than their price points and both have been discontinued. Tell me about the ETHOS Shave MD. Haven't heard of it before. I have the Rosa in cream and F-base and the Lavender one, and hoping the Violetta comes out soon.

I agree. There are some similarities between the Era & Dart. The Dart for me though has a dual personality in that it can give a smooth a shave as anything out there and can simultaneously give one a very blade feel like shave with a simple angle adjustment. The Era L5 OC is not as aggressive feeling regardless of the angle which to me exhibits a smaller adjustment window. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed every single shave with it so far.

The Ethos ShaveMD soap & splash is a tribute creation for one of Frank's best friends Mark, who unexpectedly passed away a little over a year ago. Frank made the scent more neutral as Mark had skin & scent sensitivity to some of the natural oil based fragrances & aroma additives in the Ethos line up. It's very fresh with an effervescent and Ginger Ale like scent profile. It's a wonderful scent for a nice refreshing and uplifting shave. If you like something on the cleaner side of scent profiles that is not heavy or dense, this will definitely please.

Good shaves to you amigo....

 

[Shave Souffle]

I agree. There are some similarities between the Era & Dart. The Dart for me though has a dual personality in that it can give a smooth a shave as anything out there and can simultaneously give one a very blade feel like shave with a simple angle adjustment. The Era L5 OC is not as aggressive feeling regardless of the angle which to me exhibits a smaller adjustment window. Nonetheless, I have enjoyed every single shave with it so far.

The Ethos ShaveMD soap & splash is a tribute creation for one of Frank's best friends Mark, who unexpectedly passed away a little over a year ago. Frank made the scent more neutral as Mark had skin & scent sensitivity to some of the natural oil based fragrances & aroma additives in the Ethos line up. It's very fresh with an effervescent and Ginger Ale like scent profile. It's a wonderful scent for a nice refreshing and uplifting shave. If you like something on the cleaner side of scent profiles that is not heavy or dense, this will definitely please.

Good shaves to you amigo....

I'll have to check the Shave MD soap set out if they still make it. Was it only available on the Ethos site or was it only sold by a single vendor like how collabs are done?

 

[GlazedBoker]

I'll have to check the Shave MD soap set out if they still make it. Was it only available on the Ethos site or was it only sold by a single vendor like how collabs are done?

I believe Frank, the owner of Ethos is in the process of creating a small run of Shave MD in both soap & splash and should be available on his website in the coming weeks. Sign up for his updates and future releases.

 

[GlazedBoker]

A really good shave this evening with the Era L5 OC paired with the Gillette Minora on its 4th shave. Easy maneuverability from left to right and as muscle memory starts to take shape, the shave with the Era becomes more intuitive and natural with each pass. Quite forgiving to be honest and I can’t foresee anyone doing themselves any real damage with this iteration of the Era. I mean, there are those that unfortunately can’t help from being all thumbs or just accident prone and will inflict upon themselves a slew of nics, cuts, weepers and such regardless of the razor they may have in hand. That’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. For a wet shave vet though, the Era so far has proven to be very competent at knocking down whiskers smoothly, quickly and quite efficiently.

 

[GlazedBoker]

A real good shave even with the blade beginning to show it was getting close in giving up the ghost. By the final pass it declared itself done, dusted and depleted. 5 good shaves from the Gillette Minora in the Era is not a bad deal at all. Moving on to either a Bic Chrome Platinum or Gillette Super Platinum (Black Ninja) to finish off the month. So far the Era has been competent in the 3 major areas of shave requirements for me. It’s efficient, easy on the skin (which combines comfort & smoothness) and exhibits exceptional blade support/rigidity. Nice trifecta for the Era.

 

[GlazedBoker]

I decided on the Black Ninja’s (Gillette 7 O’ Clock Super Platinums) to work on almost 3 days worth of stubble. Long story short, it was a super pairing and if not better than the Gillette Minora, it was certainly its equal in smoothness and in sharpness. The Era L5-OC was locked in from the moment it touched skin. Angle was spot on and maintaining it there was even easier. Muscle memory just took over and in 2.5 passes (the half pass was merely for touch ups and a slight buff on the chin) 3 days of stubble was nonexistent. Though the Era has some nice weight to it, it feels perfectly balanced and feels much lighter in use than it really is. It gives quick confidence in allowing one to really get their shave on without much fanfare or drama. Tactile grip has never been an issue with any of Blackland’s razors and handle configurations as knurling is not in Shane’s vocabulary when it comes to that aspect of razor creation. And the Era has no such issues with grip in my use with it.

In conclusion, the Era for being a first of its kind in the safety razor industry in 3D Metal Printing was an astounding success for Blackland in my opinion. In terms of quality, tolerance & specs at least with my particular razor it was equal to if not better to a fully cnc’d razor. Low profile head, stainless steel make up, near perfect balance and feel in hand providing a very comfortable yet efficient performing razor that was offered at an extremely affordable price. What’s not to like? Sadly, by circumstances not controlled by Blackland, the razor was discontinued. But, this razor was a home run for Shane at Blackland and hopefully one day, he manages to resurrect the Era with the 3D production method as I think he accomplished what he set out to do. Produce a quality razor at a competitive price point designed for the masses in the wet shave domain and still have the shave pedigree and craftsmanship that Blackland Razors is synonymous for.

I do wish it to come back. I’d like to try a couple more plates just to see how low I can go and still get a quality shave. B/S/T land for me for the time being….