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Tell me about the Blackland Tradere?

Nah man. OC is for a bit of a different feel on the face. Really hasn't much to do with long growth historically. People just say that now. Before the 1940s most double edge safety razors were open comb. Certainly all gillettes. I love them both and never really think about stubble length when choosing between oc and SB. Aggressive sometimes plays a part as well. Sometimes an OC version will be more agressive than their SB counterpart. But there are tons of OC razors that are super mild.
Cool! Good to know. I have totally overlooked them because of the supposed long hair thing. So I guess that will open my doors now to looking at a more broad range of razors. I don't know if that's good or bad, Lol!!
 
Cool! Good to know. I have totally overlooked them because of the supposed long hair thing. So I guess that will open my doors now to looking at a more broad range of razors. I don't know if that's good or bad, Lol!!
The theory behind the OC is that it allows more lather & water to remain on the face, providing a smoother, lubricated, transit for the blade. SBs, theoretically, squeegie.
 
What difference do you feel?
Asking because I've never used one!
The OC “C” plate for my Karve CB is my first OC. It feels like I’ve ditched the training wheels and need to really pay attention to the shave. It increases blade feel and for the first time in a long while, I nicked the bump where my chin mole used to be.

Nice close shave though.
 
What difference do you feel?
Asking because I've never used one!
It really depends on what the combs look like. Some OC razors have lots of closely spaced combs and others have fewer that are more spaced out. Some have nice smooth, rounded combs and others have combs that are pointy.

In the case of OC razors that have plenty of combs and that are smooth and rounded, the feel on the face is not that much different from that of a safety bar.

I love OC razors, but not the ones with sharp, pointy combs.


I have never tried the Tradere OC.



If you have never used an OC razor, you should definitely try one. I would recommend starting with a vintage long-comb New.
 
Nah man. OC is for a bit of a different feel on the face. Really hasn't much to do with long growth historically. People just say that now. Before the 1940s most double edge safety razors were open comb. Certainly all gillettes. I love them both and never really think about stubble length when choosing between oc and SB. Aggressive sometimes plays a part as well. Sometimes an OC version will be more agressive than their SB counterpart. But there are tons of OC razors that are super mild.
Absolutely. Think of OC as a razor with parts of the guard bar missing. It gives you improved efficiency and bladefeel without sacrificing too much of protection. Long stubble short stubble really not much difference for a daily/regular (shave consistently, several times a week) shaver. Aggression comes into play a little more if the razor has wider gaps between the teeth... think JAWS. This is because the gap between the guard is larger, and hence you are more likely to have excessive skin contacting the blade leading to a higher likelihood of a cut. Otherwise, on a like for like basis, the OC is about 20% (YMMV yadda yadda) more efficient than the SB equivalent.

Some examples of this:
Razorock Lupo Dual Comb - the .72 OC side for me is slightly more efficient without being more aggressive than the .95 side
Blackland Blackbird - The SB for me requires 3 passes with touch ups, but the OC gets the job done in 2 pass + touch ups
Timeless .95 - the SB is 3 pass with many touch ups, the OC is a flat 3 pass

Other than the Blackbird (which @Iridian finds scratchy due to his disdain for shaving riding the cap), most razors with OC/SB options exhibit an increase in efficiency without significant changes in shave comfort.
 
What difference do you feel?
Asking because I've never used one!
You should really try a Fatip Piccolo or Grande to give you an idea of an OC shave. They’re cheap enough to try on a whim. Plenty aggressive. They’re well built but not without their quirks. Both my Grande and OC Slant need a little help with blade adjustment when I put in a fresh blade but it’s not a huge deal for me (some others will disagree).
 

Iridian

Cool and slimy
most razors with OC/SB options exhibit an increase in efficiency without significant changes in shave comfort.
What do you think, you know what I like and what not, would I like the Tradere OC more than the Blackbird OC?
I quite like the SB, but the OC indeed wants an angle so shallow to be smooth that it goes too much against my grain.
 

BradWorld

Dances with Wolfs
You should really try a Fatip Piccolo or Grande to give you an idea of an OC shave. They’re cheap enough to try on a whim. Plenty aggressive. They’re well built but not without their quirks. Both my Grande and OC Slant need a little help with blade adjustment when I put in a fresh blade but it’s not a huge deal for me (some others will disagree).
The Fatip Grande is the absolute worst razor I ever bought new. Horrible blade alignment. Terrible plating. Terrible shaves. Never sliced up my neck so bad where it wasn’t due to a dreadful blade. Life is too short to deal with inferior poorly made razors. So many people love this razor, but it wasn’t for me.
What do you think, you know what I like and what not, would I like the Tradere OC more than the Blackbird OC?
I quite like the SB, but the OC indeed wants an angle so shallow to be smooth that it goes too much against my grain.

I have the Tradere OC and the Blackbird OC. I like the Tradere OC so much more. It is much smoother than the BBOC, while maintaining similar efficiency levels. And I get my best shave with the BBOC by riding steep. It will definitely make a rare appearance for High Efficiency June. The Tradere makes an appearance always. 😎
 
What do you think, you know what I like and what not, would I like the Tradere OC more than the Blackbird OC?
I quite like the SB, but the OC indeed wants an angle so shallow to be smooth that it goes too much against my grain.
Well I think the tradere is between the blackbird SB and blackbird OC and doesn't require you to ride the cap. I need to shave with it again though to look for potential bits you may not like though. Hahaha
 
The Fatip Grande is the absolute worst razor I ever bought new. Horrible blade alignment. Terrible plating. Terrible shaves. Never sliced up my neck so bad where it wasn’t due to a dreadful blade. Life is too short to deal with inferior poorly made razors. So many people love this razor, but it wasn’t for me.


I have the Tradere OC and the Blackbird OC. I like the Tradere OC so much more. It is much smoother than the BBOC, while maintaining similar efficiency levels. And I get my best shave with the BBOC by riding steep. It will definitely make a rare appearance for High Efficiency June. The Tradere makes an appearance always. 😎
I think you must have gotten a bum unit. The more recent productions of fatip doesn't appear to have the alignment issues anymore. My Fatip IL grosso shaves quite nicely. It's not my podium razor but is reasonably good. BUT the Fatip lo storto is currently my favourite Slant. It isn't quite as smooth as or as efficient as the wunderbar, which is my very close number 2 slant. But it has a smaller profile which makes shaving a little but easier. Plus it is a little less blood thirsty compared to the wunderbar.
 
...pretty much. I would seriously consider trading my grail Darwin for an original Tradere SB head. My OC isn't going anywhere. It and the Karve are two that don't see much use because, yes, they are that good.
I have a few original Tradere SBs. I may be willing to part with one for a Darwin. @Rob72
 
I have the blackland tradere open comb. I’ve had it on the chopping block for a while. It’s just too big and heavy for me. I don’t like ultra heavy razors.

It doesn’t shave as closely as any of the other blacklands I own.

It’s really pretty though.
UPDATE:

This thread inspired me to retrieve my Blackland Tradere OC from storage and place it back onto the vanity. I've used it 4 times in a row.

I'm enjoying it thoroughly, though it is relatively mild. The weight doesn't seem to bother me as much as I had previously thought. The OC teeth are nice and round. I always liked that. They don't scrape my face.

Before, I didn't really like the sides of the blade tab being covered. I thought I gave up too much maneuverability, but I seem to have adapted to that design quirk.

The effective shaving angle is actually pretty slim, but once it's dialed in, it works great.

The comb and blade angle on this are really good for shaping my sideburns.

Overall, the Tradere OC really is a nice razor, as long as you can give it a couple of tries to dial it in. FWIW, it's pretty difficult to cut myself with it. I'm actually interested in trying the Tradere SB now. Too bad Shane doesn't sell individual plates to Tradere owners.

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Well I think the tradere is between the blackbird SB and blackbird OC and doesn't require you to ride the cap. I need to shave with it again though to look for potential bits you may not like though. Hahaha
Ride the cap?
I thought the BB was a steep angle razor!
I don't own one so that's why I ask.
 
I'm enjoying it thoroughly, though it is relatively mild. The weight doesn't seem to bother me as much as I had previously thought. The OC teeth are nice and round. I always liked that. They don't scrape my face.

Before, I didn't really like the sides of the blade tab being covered. I thought I gave up too much maneuverability, but I seem to have adapted to that design quirk.

The effective shaving angle is actually pretty slim, but once it's dialed in, it works great.

The comb and blade angle on this are really good for shaping my sideburns.

Overall, the Tradere OC really is a nice razor, as long as you can give it a couple of tries to dial it in. FWIW, it's pretty difficult to cut myself with it.

I assumed the OC would be more aggressive/efficient like the original Tradere. I have the "milder" gen. 2 OC but never tried the first version. Mine is incredibly smooth and comfortable. The SB must be really mild, based on the feel of the gen. 2 OC.
 
I assumed the OC would be more aggressive/efficient like the original Tradere. I have the "milder" gen. 2 OC but never tried the first version. Mine is incredibly smooth and comfortable. The SB must be really mild, based on the feel of the gen. 2 OC.
This has to be YMMV territory. The Blackland website has the OC categorized on the high end of efficiency/blade feel. That tells me that it shouldn't be on the mild end of the scale. If either the SB or OC versions are actually mild, I'll pass on the Tradere since I like razors that are on the more aggressive end.
 
Ride the cap?
I thought the BB was a steep angle razor!
I don't own one so that's why I ask.

I have neither and I'm still waiting for my sb BB to arrive, but i've heard that the oc BB works much better when you ride the cap unlike the sb version, which is the opposite. This is the reason why I first wanted to try the sb version and maybe at some point I might try the oc as well.
 
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