Mild vs Aggressive, Blackbird vs Vector, with respect to irritation free shaving and my unusual shaving regime

[Animitzi]

Hello! I have a very difficult relationship with DE shaving. To me it's less of a hobby and more of a 'I can't go without it otherwise I'm going to be a girl with a beard' type of situation... so naturally I want to grind my thick coarse hair down every single morning until it's as smooth as a baby's butt. The obvious is that this is going to irritate my skin to no end. As I've done my research, it seems that there are two school of thought when it comes to getting an irritation free shave. One is to use a mild razor and shave slowly, methodically, surgically, to get that perfect BBS shave. The other is to use an aggressive and extremely efficient razor to get that shave done in as few passes as possible.

I've done so so much research, and I have come to the conclusion that as far as DE razors go the Blackbird Ti is probably my best shot. Then the spiral handle of the Vector caught my eye on blacklands website, and I couldn't help but click on it. I tried to do research on it, and it had some very unique advantages over ALL over razors due to it's unique design.

1) Maneuverability. To go ATG on my neck requires maneuvering against some pretty nasty contours, Something I've had a lot of difficulty with using my current Razor the Rockwell 6s, and something I think the Vector could help solve.
2) Maneuverability and ease of use while regularly shaving my entire body (EVERYTHING), something I do roughly twice a week. The vector is known to be mild and forgiving. Think about shaving what you can't see, I can only imagine the Vector is supreme in this department.
3) While I don't mind taking the time to learn to do what I'm doing, the vector seems to have less of a learning curve and that is certainly not a bad thing.

There are a lot of advantages that the vector and blackbird both share among other razors. I am extremely partial to their incredibly low weight. Clogging is an issue when shaving my body; they both seem good with not clogging but this point applies particularly the blackbird. And most importantly at all: the Blackbird is the supreme option when it comes to not irritating the skin, or so I thought.

I was pretty damn set on the Blackbird, and the only reason the Vector is even a serious consideration is because I never was able to get a straight answer to the question I posed at the start of this post: considering my parameters, am I better off with a mild and hyper precise approach or an carefully executed efficient shave done in as few passes as possible with an aggressive razor? If I am the god of shaving with perfect execution and the most appropriate blades, then would the blackbird or would the vector be my best bet to get an irritation free shave? Perhaps my parameters are impossible to achieve: Shave every day, baby butt smooth, no irritation, extremely coarse hair. Even so, I want to get as close to that as possible, and it's very important to me to have the correct tools for the job. In my mind it's really between these two, blackbird and vector, they both check too many boxes to ignore. I don't want to buy a product with a Satin finish, which is all that is available at the moment for both titanium products, so I recon I have some time to ponder my decision, and I was hoping that this forum could help me out on that front. Should I stick with what I have already well thought out, go for the blackbird, or should I seriously consider the vector as the better razor for me?

 

[Big_T]

Blackland has a 30-day risk-free return policy. Seriously, buy both and return the one you don't prefer.

 

[StewB]

As far as your initial question, I am a proponent of the second methodology: Learn correct technique and use a more "aggressive" (I prefer the term "efficient") razor. For me the fewer passes the better, particularly on my neck. Good prep and technique are essential to this approach, though.

 

[lasta]

Except for the ultra modern negative exposure ones, I believe any razor is capable of producing a close shave.

The difference is that each one has a different sweet spot in terms of angle and pressure. "Milder" razors like the Tech is perfectly capable of BBS assuming you get the angle right, but won't even shave if you force it into exaggerated shallow/steep angles.

Whereas the Blackbird is more blade forward and will shave even if you extend beyond normal angles.

One penalizes you with missed spots, the other with post shave irritation.

I started with straights, before getting into the latter. Nowadays, mild+efficient is more to my taste. I can see if others prefer going the opposite direction.

**Since you already tried both, I'd suggest slowing down, and focusing on the angle. Milder razors have the benefit of being smoother too.

 

[Animitzi]

Thank you guys for taking the time to read my post, and sharing your insight with me, much appreciated!

 

[never-stop-learning]

Hello! I have a very difficult relationship with DE shaving. To me it's less of a hobby and more of a 'I can't go without it otherwise I'm going to be a girl with a beard' type of situation... so naturally I want to grind my thick coarse hair down every single morning until it's as smooth as a baby's butt. The obvious is that this is going to irritate my skin to no end. As I've done my research, it seems that there are two school of thought when it comes to getting an irritation free shave. One is to use a mild razor and shave slowly, methodically, surgically, to get that perfect BBS shave. The other is to use an aggressive and extremely efficient razor to get that shave done in as few passes as possible.

I've done so so much research, and I have come to the conclusion that as far as DE razors go the Blackbird Ti is probably my best shot. Then the spiral handle of the Vector caught my eye on blacklands website, and I couldn't help but click on it. I tried to do research on it, and it had some very unique advantages over ALL over razors due to it's unique design.

1) Maneuverability. To go ATG on my neck requires maneuvering against some pretty nasty contours, Something I've had a lot of difficulty with using my current Razor the Rockwell 6s, and something I think the Vector could help solve.
2) Maneuverability and ease of use while regularly shaving my entire body (EVERYTHING), something I do roughly twice a week. The vector is known to be mild and forgiving. Think about shaving what you can't see, I can only imagine the Vector is supreme in this department.
3) While I don't mind taking the time to learn to do what I'm doing, the vector seems to have less of a learning curve and that is certainly not a bad thing.

There are a lot of advantages that the vector and blackbird both share among other razors. I am extremely partial to their incredibly low weight. Clogging is an issue when shaving my body; they both seem good with not clogging but this point applies particularly the blackbird. And most importantly at all: the Blackbird is the supreme option when it comes to not irritating the skin, or so I thought.

I was pretty damn set on the Blackbird, and the only reason the Vector is even a serious consideration is because I never was able to get a straight answer to the question I posed at the start of this post: considering my parameters, am I better off with a mild and hyper precise approach or an carefully executed efficient shave done in as few passes as possible with an aggressive razor? If I am the god of shaving with perfect execution and the most appropriate blades, then would the blackbird or would the vector be my best bet to get an irritation free shave? Perhaps my parameters are impossible to achieve: Shave every day, baby butt smooth, no irritation, extremely coarse hair. Even so, I want to get as close to that as possible, and it's very important to me to have the correct tools for the job. In my mind it's really between these two, blackbird and vector, they both check too many boxes to ignore. I don't want to buy a product with a Satin finish, which is all that is available at the moment for both titanium products, so I recon I have some time to ponder my decision, and I was hoping that this forum could help me out on that front. Should I stick with what I have already well thought out, go for the blackbird, or should I seriously consider the vector as the better razor for me?

The Ti Blackbird is my #1 DE razor.

The Ti Vector is my #1 AC Blade and #1 Overall razor.

If the nimble and maneuverable attributes are high on your list of requirements, you should consider the Ti Vector. You can vary the efficiency by using different AC blades.

Want a mellow, but still effective, shave? Use the Kai Protouch MG blade.

Want a highly efficient shave? Use the Feather Pro Super blade.

Something in between? There are a number of blades to choose from.

There are numerous shaves in my Journal with both the Ti Blackbird and the Ti Vector:

Thread 'never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge' never-stop-learning's Quest for Knowledge - https://www.badgerandblade.com/forum/threads/never-stop-learnings-quest-for-knowledge.611194/

Just my opinion.

Hope this helps.

 

[Mr. Shavington]

I wouldn’t call the Vector a “mild and forgiving” razor. I would say it is mid-high aggressive. Less efficient than the Blackbird is capable of, but by no means a mild, gentle razor. It is a great razor, but not what you are thinking it is.

I would say the Blackbird depends very much on how you use it - shaving steep it is very efficient indeed but you really feel a lot of blade and you have to go carefully. Shaving shallow, as the razor is designed, it can be pretty smooth and not irritating, but I find it less efficient that way.

On balance, for what you say you are looking for, between these two, I would say the Karve Overlander is the one you should get. Will give you a consistent, easy BBS result and won’t irritate your skin, even if you over-buff with it. If your heart is set on one of these fine Blackland razors then I’d say go for the Blackbird and shave at a shallow angle, with a light touch, and it should work well for you. You might need a bit of practice with it before you get the best results.

 

[JAHE]

You can’t go wrong with either the Vector or the B'bird - for your face. Stunning razors... but not mild ones.

For those other body parts which rarely see the sun perhaps rely on a Henson Shaving AL13 in "mild" or "medium" .

Might be way better suited for this task.

Cheers!

 

[Animitzi]

lasta's post up there really has me leaning heavily into the vector, and thinking about things logistically with how exactly I'm going to use this razor, I think I'm completely undervaluing just how important maneuverability is. I'm skin and bones, contours everywhere, and particularly frustrating to maneuver spots are all over my body. On one hand, I could figure out a method to get each contour regardless of the razor I'm using with a little practice, but on the other hand, why deliberately choose the less maneuverable razor if this is going to be a problem? Thank you guys for the extra insight, cheers! I looked into the Overlander; I completely missed it in my research and it looks very promising with one unfortunate issue: the ultra light aluminum version, light weight being something very important to me, has a matte finish which is also shared with the current version of the Vector and Blackbird. So frustrating! With either the blackbird or vector my plan was to find a secondhand discontinued polished finish to invest in, but with the Overlander I can have it not be matte, I can have it lightweight, but it seems like I can't have it both ways.

 

[Blackland Razors]

lasta's post up there really has me leaning heavily into the vector, and thinking about things logistically with how exactly I'm going to use this razor, I think I'm completely undervaluing just how important maneuverability is. I'm skin and bones, contours everywhere, and particularly frustrating to maneuver spots are all over my body. On one hand, I could figure out a method to get each contour regardless of the razor I'm using with a little practice, but on the other hand, why deliberately choose the less maneuverable razor if this is going to be a problem? Thank you guys for the extra insight, cheers! I looked into the Overlander; I completely missed it in my research and it looks very promising with one unfortunate issue: the ultra light aluminum version, light weight being something very important to me, has a matte finish which is also shared with the current version of the Vector and Blackbird. So frustrating! With either the blackbird or vector my plan was to find a secondhand discontinued polished finish to invest in, but with the Overlander I can have it not be matte, I can have it lightweight, but it seems like I can't have it both ways.

Sorry I missed this thread! You have may have already made your decision by now, but I'll chime in here anyway. From your post here it sounds like you're shaving your body, too. If that's the case, the Vector is absolutely the way to go. Wider head to cover more surface area, more versatile blade options, and a more forgiving geometry. I'd also advise choosing the machined (SS) or satin (Ti) finish because you'll enjoy the extra grip in the shower over a polished finish.

 

[ImJustMe]

My number one balls shaver of all time is/was the Blackland Blackbird Titanium. I wrote was because curiously the only razor i still haven't tried is my Vector Titanium... that would be until they make a Titanium Sabre. ;-)

 

[Time Bandit]

My instinct is telling me to encourage you to choose the Vector. There are clear and known differences with Artist Club blades. You can dial in the mildness/aggressiveness simply based on the blade you choose. All AC blades are thicker and last longer than DE blades.

Blackland makes highly engineered, super high quality razors of just about all formats. At the end of the day, you really can't go wrong with any of their offerings.

Even though my vote is for the Vector, I think @Big_ T said it best. "Blackland has a 30-day risk-free return policy. Seriously, buy both and return the one you don't prefer."