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Noob shaver, Blackland Blackbird review

It's no exaggeration that I only thought I knew what BBS was until I tried the Blackbird OC. After a Blackbird shave my face feels like a sheet of glass.

I just had a shave with my Brassbird and the heavily mentholated Snake Bite soap, so now my face feels like a frozen sheet of glass. You can't beat that feeling here in Texas heat.

I might still buy another Blackbird with the SB baseplate. I know I could buy the baseplate by itself, but it would be nice to indulge and get the black oxide SB. That is one sweet looking razor.
 
It's no exaggeration that I only thought I knew what BBS was until I tried the Blackbird OC. After a Blackbird shave my face feels like a sheet of glass.

I just had a shave with my Brassbird and the heavily mentholated Snake Bite soap, so now my face feels like a frozen sheet of glass. You can't beat that feeling here in Texas heat.

I might still buy another Blackbird with the SB baseplate. I know I could buy the baseplate by itself, but it would be nice to indulge and get the black oxide SB. That is one sweet looking razor.

Agreed on the BBS.

Dude if you buy another one you could mix and match handles and plates and caps! It’d look so cool.

I might buy the OC plate but I’d do it in polished or brass for that look.
 
That was a great review and write up @Steinmetzify! I used my BB this morning.

I love the Blackbird, it's a top 3 razor for me. It, partnered with my Wolfies, has seriously helped reduce my RAD. I like the curvature of the blade being amendable to steep angle shaving which is my preferred angle. The exposure is nice for it shaving at a wide range of angles.

I have the Black Oxide, it started as a SB but I swapped plates for the OC. I find the OC a bit smoother but it does have a higher minimum blade feel compared to the SB; that said, I believe some find the SB smoother, some find the OC smoother. The Black Oxide is wearing nicely on mine and if fun to watch as it gets used more.

I would like to get a polished BB with OC and SB plates. One day... Some folks have the brass which are beautiful and I've seen one 24k gold and one rhodium plated. All beauties!

The razor is a bit of an enigma. It works incredibly well for some, yet others can never get it to work for them.
 
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Best one since Monday....rode the bar again, and that let me put the og handle back on, no need for weird angles.

Little bit of buffing but nowhere what I needed to do even with the Timeless .95SB.

A sheet of glass is jealous of how smooth my face is right now.
 
Be sure to post your thoughts on the Dart compared to the Blackbird.

After spending time with both, the Dart was the clear winner for me... but many others like the Blackbird more
 
I'm really hoping you don't say the Dart gives a better shave. I DO NOT need another razor and I'm running out of excuses to get new ones. I already used the "travel razor" excuse for my GameChanger.
 
I’ll give my journey to the Holy Grail (Brassbird OC).

I began wetshaving in 2006 soon after Gillette announced some $4/cartridge razor. Enough was enough. I didn’t need that many blades. That’s when I discovered DEs and I started this as a protest and as a way to save money. Yes, I honestly thought I’d save a ton of money.

Prior to this I had terrible shaving habits and my neck always looked completely raw. I thought it was just my skin and was jealous of guys that had “good skin.”

I started with a Futur and promptly tore my face up. I then tried about five different Merkur razors and about 10 old-school Gillette razors. The only Gillettes that ever worked for me were the three-piece Tech razors. I never cared for the TTO Gillettes.

So I pretty much stuck with Merkur all the way to 2018. By this point I had gone back to cartridge shaving using Dorco razors. My shaving habits were still good and I was getting good results. On a lark I ordered a $12 Chinese Futur clone in March of this year. That’s when all hell broke loose. I put away my cartridge razors and bought another Merkur. I began taking more pride in my shaving ritual.

After resurfacing on Badger and Blade from a long hiatus, I bought a Rockwell 6c. I tried the #4 plate and wasn’t that impressed. Then I went to #5 and #6. Whoa! This produced by far the best shave I’d ever had. The razor was fantastic and leagues beyond my Gillettes and Merkurs. I wondered what I had been missing all those years.

Within six months I had ordered the following razors:
ATT
Karve (4 baseplates)
Timeless
Blackbird
GameChanger (2 baseplates)

All were fantastic and each had their own charm. The odd duck of the group was the Blackbird OC. It was the only one that I considered selling after the first shave. While I got the best results of all the razors I had tried, it was a punishing shave. I had gotten so used to letting the razors fly across my face that I tried that approach with the Blackbird and that comb felt like it was trying to stab me.

I spoke with Shane at Blackland about ordering an SB baseplate and considered placing my OC baseplate on BST. I decided to give it a few more days and take my time. That’s when the clouds parted and my bathroom was filled with a bright light. Patience was the key. I began to slow things down and was rewarded with both the smoothest face I’d had since I was 12 and the best shaving experience I’d ever known.

While I still have my Karve and GameChanger razors and still love them, I reach for the Blackbird more than any and can’t help but smile when I rub my hands over my cleanly-shaven face.

For me the Blackbird isn’t just the best razor I’ve ever used, it’s the best razor by a very wide margin.
 
Will do.

1st Dart shave this afternoon, barring anything unforeseen.

Why’d the Dart win over the BB for you?

Sleeker head design, beefier handle/better grip, better overall balance, closer shave.

Blade feel is a bit more apparent on the Dart, but strangely less aggressive.
 
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1st Dart shave in the books.

@McNutt I think your wallet is safe bro.....this thing is also amazing, and if I hadn't used and gotten the best shave I'd ever had from the BB, this would be it. It's probs 95% there on the 1st one, I think I might be able to get it even with practice.

Little bit more buffing required than the BB for my problem areas, but nowhere near what's needed with other razors.

Definitely louder than the BB if you're into that, and I am.

Finish is almost the same. Just smooooth. BB face feel is better though. Sometimes the BB can leave me feeling a bit rawish, this isn't that. No irritation at all over an hour later.

I think it's amazing that you can get the machined version of this for under $100. I got a better shave out of this than I ever did my Timeless .95 and that costs a lot more.

There's literally no reason to buy anything else in this price range for me, something would have to try pretty hard to beat this. Closest out of what I've tried in that price range would be a Karve C plate, and this is a better shave than that.

As always, YMMV etc and so on.
 
:001_302:

I tried!

Think you’ll dig it. You can tell it’s a Blackland shave, man.

If you left the BB at home and took this with you you wouldn’t miss the BB shave very much, methinks.

Keep in mind this is the polished version, I don’t now what the machined version is like. My buddy that’s a Blackland fan had both and kept the machined version tho...

EDIT:

I wanted to say that I think it's worth having both, especially if the BB can feel harsh once in a while. I think I could alternate daily or even just use the Dart as a daily.....I can't run the BB as a daily yet but I'm hoping to get there.
 
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Best one since the first one. Very little sting from the alum, none at all from the AS, even with the little bit of buffing I had to do. I feel like I'm shaving my beard, not scraping my face.

I love this razor. I feel like it's really helping my technique as well as giving me the best shaves I've ever had. I can't believe how smooth my face is.
 
All the Blackbird love in this thread is great to see! I share the enthusiasm for the BB. It is a marvelous instrument in the right hands. It's affordable, it's available, it's sexy, and it's polarizing. The later being my favorite. You can spend a lot more money and get the same results.

09.24.19 SOTD.jpg
 
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Best one since the first one. Very little sting from the alum, none at all from the AS, even with the little bit of buffing I had to do. I feel like I'm shaving my beard, not scraping my face.

I love this razor. I feel like it's really helping my technique as well as giving me the best shaves I've ever had. I can't believe how smooth my face is.
I'm confused. I thought that it was black oxide. Now it looks like brass. :001_huh:
 
All the Blackbird love in this thread is great to see! I share the enthusiasm for the BB. It is a marvelous instrument in the right hands. It's affordable, it's available, it's sexy, and it's polarizing. The later being my favorite. You can spend a lot more money and get the same results.

View attachment 1019744

How do you like the Jet? Any comments on the coating compared to your replated Blackbird?
 
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8 on the Blackbird so far. This is going to end up my favorite razor. It’s light, it’s nimble, it’s efficient like nothing else I’ve tried.

I did 2 passes, DFS approaching BBS. I could have gotten it closer, but this razor is so efficient I wouldn’t need to shave tomorrow. I was BBS Tuesday after work and didn’t have to shave until this morning.

No cuts, no nicks, think I’ve got it down.

I’m a fan.
 
That was a great review and write up @Steinmetzify! I used my BB this morning.

I love the Blackbird, it's a top 3 razor for me. It, partnered with my Wolfies, has seriously helped reduce my RAD. I like the curvature of the blade being amendable to steep angle shaving which is my preferred angle. The exposure is nice for it shaving at a wide range of angles.

I have the Black Oxide, it started as a SB but I swapped plates for the OC. I find the OC a bit smoother but it does have a higher minimum blade feel compared to the SB; that said, I believe some find the SB smoother, some find the OC smoother. The Black Oxide is wearing nicely on mine and if fun to watch as it gets used more.

I would like to get a polished BB with OC and SB plates. One day... Some folks have the brass which are beautiful and I've seen one 24k gold and one rhodium plated. All beauties!

The razor is a bit of an enigma. It works incredibly well for some, yet others can never get it to work for them.
Interesting. I use the angle build into the top cap for very smooth and BBS shaves. Steep angle also works but I prefer the above mentioned one.
 
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