My 1st shave with Blackland Blackbird

Purbeck

Purbeck

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414
Location
Sunny Sunny Dorset
The hype surrounding this razor is immense, practically all forums are lording it's praises and reviews all state that it's the closest to a SE you can get in a DE. I managed to get my hands on one finally for a much more reasonable price than brand new, but with only a couple of uses. It's the black anodised finish which I'm undecided on. All my other razors look like they are from a surgeons tray, my first impression of the Blackbird was that it wouldn't look out of place in a mechanics toolbox, next to oily wrenches and claw hammers.

Behind the rough looking exterior is a superbly made razor, very tight tolerances and everything fits together tightly. Make no mistake this is a quality product.

I decided on a hot shave to see just how good this thing was.

2 day growth

Blackbird

Polsilver blade

Soapy Sudsery Double Mint


So the most important bit – how does it shave. Well, the angle is easy to find as the head is angled to help, the initial face feel was of a midrange aggressive razor. Efficiency was the best I've come across in a DE, however this was a problem. I've never experienced this before in any razor, the blade was taking all the lather and even the sub lather slickness off my face leaving my skin bone dry and with no cushion or glide left. The upside though was very little stubble left also. I had to be very careful not to go over the same patch twice. My usual three pass shave turned into lathering virtually after every time the blade touched my face. I'm not sure why this was happening, maybe the razor texture coupled with the flat angle of the cap acts like a wipe. There was certainly some very light skin pull even with no pressure and slight negative pressure. Puzzling.

The end result – BBS all over, no missed patches, some irritation from the parts where the lather was obliterated. Very impressed but definitely a case of needing to match the razor to the soap. Next time I will try pre shave oil and a more rubust soap.
 
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Nice review Purbeck. I so have a version one in black. You will get used to the finish for sure. I really enjoy the patina emerging through use. It takes some time to get used the the pressure and angles of this razor. I almost sold mine in the first week or so.

Try using a sharper blade such as a Shark blade and the lightest of touches. I tend to hold the razor nearer the bottom end of the handle and apply negative pressure allowing the the head to cut under its own (plus negative pressure) weight. Once dialed in you do get one of the closest shaves.

I don't use a pre shave oil or any pre shave at all anymore. Face wash and a good thick, slick soap is what you need. Go tallow and take your time, should work a treat.

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Like Nishy says it takes a week or two to really appreciate this razor, I wasn't impressed so much the first few shaves but it got better and better. For me it has the efficiency of a 2011 R41 but much smoother feeling.
 
Nishy said:
Nice review Purbeck. I so have a version one in black. You will get used to the finish for sure. I really enjoy the patina emerging through use. It takes some time to get used the the pressure and angles of this razor. I almost sold mine in the first week or so.

Try using a sharper blade such as a Shark blade and the lightest of touches. I tend to hold the razor nearer the bottom end of the handle and apply negative pressure allowing the the head to cut under its own (plus negative pressure) weight. Once dialed in you do get one of the closest shaves.

I don't use a pre shave oil or any pre shave at all anymore. Face wash and a good thick, slick soap is what you need. Go tallow and take your time, should work a treat.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Towards the end of the shave I was holding near the end and applying negative pressure, however the same results. I can't argue with the overall finish as it's now 17 hours later and still no stubble, it was just the execution was harsher than expected. Also I'm not sure a sharper blade would make a lot of difference - I was getting BBS with no tug off the polsilver, surely a sharper blade would increase the irritation ? The issue I had was with the design and texture of the head removing all the lather and glide - akin to wiping with a flannel. I'll try again this weekend with mystic water or P&B.

An interesting topic by the way - I've found razors act very differently with different soaps but it's never mentioned in the sales information and I've never seen a table of recommendations. For example the Blackbird in my opinion needs high slickness, medium cushion. Cobra - high cushion, watery lather. RRSS - low cushion medium glide. The Hone definitely didn't like thick lather. Obviously YMMV etc but a rough guide would be nice to see. Even a grading on soaps with slickness, cushion and lather thickness rating ?
*Cue someone telling me this already exits.
 
+1
I have a version 1 satin finish Blackbird. This razor has a learning curve, you have to develop a feel for it.
I still experiment with different blades, Feathers f. ex. are an absolute No Go for me with the Blackbird. At the moment Kai blades work good for me with the Blackbird. I have both the 100 mm and the 70 mm handle and I change them on regular base. I am still undecided which length is better or with other words. I like both handles.

Best Regards
Marco
 
There are a few soaps I wouldn't risk a Feather AC razor with and I haven't tried the soap you are using.


I almost exclusively use @OSP soaps. For me, they are the perfect all rounder. Excellent protection no matter which razor I'm using, including the V1 Blackbird.
 
Next up - my just arrived Rockwell 6S newest generation. I'm not sure how to tackle this one as there are six heads to try..... maybe a side by side comparison against the 1st gen.
 
I would suggest keep working with the Blackbird. Once you've dialed it in switch to a sharper blade and I would be very surprised if you get a closer shave. I would hold the end of the handle and apply negative pressure throughout the shave, not just at the end. Reasoning behind the sharper blade is to eliminate irritation if removing stubble with the use of little to no pressure. Fewer passes and a lighter touch with a sharper blade is much easier IMO.

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Used my V1 again last night with a Polsilver SI on it's second shave.

Just for a change, I used Proraso Green.
Not as good as OSP, but not bad.

3 pass - WTG, XTG and WTG.
BBS results without even trying.

No nicks or cuts and and a very slight 'tickle' from the aftershave.

I have this razor well and truly dialed in.
Definitely a RAD killer for me.

(Until the OC becomes available)
 
MrK1 said:
Used my V1 again last night with a Polsilver SI on it's second shave.

Just for a change, I used Proraso Green.
Not as good as OSP, but not bad.

3 pass - WTG, XTG and WTG.
BBS results without even trying.

No nicks or cuts and and a very slight 'tickle' from the aftershave.

I have this razor well and truly dialed in.
Definitely a RAD killer for me.

(Until the OC becomes available)
Click to expand...
Interesting - I had midrange sting from the alum block - put this down to me going over unprotected areas . I have some proraso sensitive which might provide a bigger cushion. Running low on soap choices. Current stock is P&B Spitfire, Soapy Sudsery Doublemint, Mystic Water barbershop, Musgo Real Oak, Proraso Sensitive and one shaves worth of Speick original kindly pif'd to me. After years of palmolive and bluebeards revenge I've somewhat missed out on the weird and wonderful world of soap choice.
 
So what's with negative pressure? - seems like an oxymoron to me - so I'm obviously misunderstanding the meaning. If you combine the weight of the razor with negative pressure - does that mean you are lessening the weight of the razor, after all a + and - equals a minus.
 
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