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- 414
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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.
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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