Weekly Razor Review

Blackland Blackbird – Polished OC (USA)



When the Blackbird is removed from the package it is the high quality polished finish that immediately grabs the attention. Both sides of the plate, the top of the cap and the handle have all received the work over while on the underside of the cap, it’s a machine finish greets you. I once tried to give the underside of a Blackbird cap the perfect polished finish and despite putting hours of work into the project, I would still only give myself 7/10 for the job; I now know just how hard it is to achieve a perfect polished finish on that underside of any cap. Clamping is well inboard and not at the outed extremities of the cap as is my preferred option. Compensating for the inside clamping, there is quite a lot of stiffness generated on the blade due to its curvature. Normally I would say that a handle of just under 11mm effective diameter is too thin, but somehow it seems about right on the Blackbird. Two length handles are available for the Blackbird: 85mm and 101mm and I use the 85mm handle. There is a flanged section at the front of the handle but for me, it was too far forward so apart from the artistic value was immaterial but the eight longitudinal grooves machined into the length of the handle provided a positive grip.

Blackland’s Blackbird OC did not disappoint. With an efficiency level equivalent to that of a Karve CB #D plate and a noticeable, but pleasant amount of blade feel, it was a delight to use. To be honest, the Blackbird’s first shave was in trying circumstances; that horrible Lord Cool blade used last week had scraped my face in a few places and it had not recovered when I used the Blackbird OC for the first time. I could certainly feel the Blackbird working over the affected areas but it did not aggravate the situation; all other shaves were pretty much as would be expected using such a great razor. With that shortish handle the Blackbird OC could be manoeuvred around quite freely and the low-profile head was beneficial in those tight spots. Shaves were smooth and certainly close, here is a razor to be appreciated.

Blades Used – Gillette Platinum and Willy’s Premium
Material – Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Slightly exposed
Weight – 95mm
Head Width – 41.96mm
Handle Length – 82.05mm
Handle Diameter – 10.86mm
Availability – Blackland
Final Word – A pleasure
 
Wowzers @Errol - nice to see the Blackbird finally reviewed as its one that's been on my radar ever since starting wet shaving. Keep up the great work!
 
Errol said:
Blackland Blackbird – Polished OC (USA)



When the Blackbird is removed from the package it is the high quality polished finish that immediately grabs the attention. Both sides of the plate, the top of the cap and the handle have all received the work over while on the underside of the cap, it’s a machine finish greets you. I once tried to give the underside of a Blackbird cap the perfect polished finish and despite putting hours of work into the project, I would still only give myself 7/10 for the job; I now know just how hard it is to achieve a perfect polished finish on that underside of any cap. Clamping is well inboard and not at the outed extremities of the cap as is my preferred option. Compensating for the inside clamping, there is quite a lot of stiffness generated on the blade due to its curvature. Normally I would say that a handle of just under 11mm effective diameter is too thin, but somehow it seems about right on the Blackbird. Two length handles are available for the Blackbird: 85mm and 101mm and I use the 85mm handle. There is a flanged section at the front of the handle but for me, it was too far forward so apart from the artistic value was immaterial but the eight longitudinal grooves machined into the length of the handle provided a positive grip.

Blackland’s Blackbird OC did not disappoint. With an efficiency level equivalent to that of a Karve CB #D plate and a noticeable, but pleasant amount of blade feel, it was a delight to use. To be honest, the Blackbird’s first shave was in trying circumstances; that horrible Lord Cool blade used last week had scraped my face in a few places and it had not recovered when I used the Blackbird OC for the first time. I could certainly feel the Blackbird working over the affected areas but it did not aggravate the situation; all other shaves were pretty much as would be expected using such a great razor. With that shortish handle the Blackbird OC could be manoeuvred around quite freely and the low-profile head was beneficial in those tight spots. Shaves were smooth and certainly close, here is a razor to be appreciated.

Blades Used – Gillette Platinum and Willy’s Premium
Material – Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Slightly exposed
Weight – 95mm
Head Width – 41.96mm
Handle Length – 82.05mm
Handle Diameter – 10.86mm
Availability – Blackland
Final Word – A pleasure
Click to expand...
Glad to hear you enjoy this razor. I'd like to enjoy mine but it hasn't seen light of day since I bought it due to an agreement with Mrs Pbgoose that I could purchase it as it had a discount but the proviso being I lose 11 kg. At the time that seemed achievable but a couple of years later and my weight hasn't budged. Just bought a road bike and have all the good intentions in the world........:LOL::LOL: I'm sensible enough to not go on shaving gear sabbatical but signed up for this drawn out form of torture.:p
Was interested that you rated the aggressiveness at Karve D. I don't have a Karve but when thinking about which Karve I'd buy I assumed I'd be shopping for a D or E plate. Lately a few references have made me think D is more aggressive than I'd assumed, including your rating of the Blackbird OC (I had used a Blackbird OC a number of times before purchase on a loaner).
 
Pbgoose said:
Was interested that you rated the aggressiveness at Karve D
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I have the stainless Karve with plates #C to #G (SB).
Daily shaver is the #F plate...but...a Blackbird OC is inbound to this location.
I was sort of hoping the BB would be about the #F plate.
Will report when the BB arrives. It's in Auckland but will take more than a week to travel just a few hundred kms (NZ Post is not the sharpest tool in the box).
 
Pbgoose said:
Glad to hear you enjoy this razor. I'd like to enjoy mine but it hasn't seen light of day since I bought it due to an agreement with Mrs Pbgoose that I could purchase it as it had a discount but the proviso being I lose 11 kg. At the time that seemed achievable but a couple of years later and my weight hasn't budged. Just bought a road bike and have all the good intentions in the world........:LOL::LOL: I'm sensible enough to not go on shaving gear sabbatical but signed up for this drawn out form of torture.:p
Was interested that you rated the aggressiveness at Karve D. I don't have a Karve but when thinking about which Karve I'd buy I assumed I'd be shopping for a D or E plate. Lately a few references have made me think D is more aggressive than I'd assumed, including your rating of the Blackbird OC (I had used a Blackbird OC a number of times before purchase on a loaner).
Click to expand...
Great review and my Saturday morning coffee starts with a razor review.
I too do not have a Karve razor and never will as it isn't my cup of coffee. Though have quite a few aggressive razors like the Blackbird.
So I have no idea what a Karve plate 'D' feels like and now guessing too that it is on the upper end of efficient. As the OC Blackbird is an aggressive efficient razor and in my top five.
Suppose it is all YMMV as every hand is different.
The Helix and the newer Timeless slim rated against the measure of the Karve D as I have more of an idea of what it could be are now making those razors look more attractive.

Keep the great work up @Errol as your experiences shared are our knowledge.
 
Blackie said:
Will report when the BB arrives. It's in Auckland but will take more than a week to travel just a few hundred kms (NZ Post is not the sharpest tool in the box).
Click to expand...
Hmmm, OK...I buggered that up.
The BB is still 'In Transit' (I wonder where Transit is? Can't find it on Google maps).
What has arrived in Auckland is my Wizamet blades. I had to buy one of those sleeves on offer didn't I? Just to check them out 'cos you lot reckon they are OK.
So, sadly...no BB here yet, but it's coming (once it leaves that place called Transit).
 
Blackie said:
...

What has arrived in Auckland is my Wizamet blades. I had to buy one of those sleeves on offer didn't I? Just to check them out 'cos you lot reckon they are

...
Click to expand...

So Morocco can post to NZ but not Australia at present ...
 
Errol said:
Blackland Blackbird – Polished OC (USA)



When the Blackbird is removed from the package it is the high quality polished finish that immediately grabs the attention. Both sides of the plate, the top of the cap and the handle have all received the work over while on the underside of the cap, it’s a machine finish greets you. I once tried to give the underside of a Blackbird cap the perfect polished finish and despite putting hours of work into the project, I would still only give myself 7/10 for the job; I now know just how hard it is to achieve a perfect polished finish on that underside of any cap. Clamping is well inboard and not at the outed extremities of the cap as is my preferred option. Compensating for the inside clamping, there is quite a lot of stiffness generated on the blade due to its curvature. Normally I would say that a handle of just under 11mm effective diameter is too thin, but somehow it seems about right on the Blackbird. Two length handles are available for the Blackbird: 85mm and 101mm and I use the 85mm handle. There is a flanged section at the front of the handle but for me, it was too far forward so apart from the artistic value was immaterial but the eight longitudinal grooves machined into the length of the handle provided a positive grip.

Blackland’s Blackbird OC did not disappoint. With an efficiency level equivalent to that of a Karve CB #D plate and a noticeable, but pleasant amount of blade feel, it was a delight to use. To be honest, the Blackbird’s first shave was in trying circumstances; that horrible Lord Cool blade used last week had scraped my face in a few places and it had not recovered when I used the Blackbird OC for the first time. I could certainly feel the Blackbird working over the affected areas but it did not aggravate the situation; all other shaves were pretty much as would be expected using such a great razor. With that shortish handle the Blackbird OC could be manoeuvred around quite freely and the low-profile head was beneficial in those tight spots. Shaves were smooth and certainly close, here is a razor to be appreciated.

Blades Used – Gillette Platinum and Willy’s Premium
Material – Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Slightly exposed
Weight – 95mm
Head Width – 41.96mm
Handle Length – 82.05mm
Handle Diameter – 10.86mm
Availability – Blackland
Final Word – A pleasure
Click to expand...

That’s one sexy looking razor!!!
 
Mark1966 said:
So Morocco can post to NZ but not Australia at present ...
Click to expand...
No @Mark1966 , these were bought in Australia.
There were 2 sleeves for sale (on BST and I think there is one sleeve still not sold), so I had to buy one to check these blades out.
250 Wizamet blades plus 100 Minora stainless arriving soon (from different sellers).
 
Errol said:
Homelike Colibri 1.50mm (Russia)



It was always in the plan to review one of the four SB plates supplied in the Colibri kit this week but until I’d put the OC plate through its paces, I did not know which plate that would be. Decisions, decisions! Yes, that 1.50mm has a bigger gap than that used last week, but in the end the 1.50mm plate was selected. With the exception of a change to a SB plate, everything detailed previously about the Colibri range is applicable; quality machine finish, striking appearance, excessive blade tab exposure, Karve CB style of knurling on the handle, everything! Of note, the 1.50mm plate has one long lather channel running along each side of the plate.

Over time, I’ve come to expect an OC plate to be a bit more aggressive than a SB plate of the same blade gap. Based on that assumption, I was banking on the 1.50mm SB plate shaving something similar to the 1.30mm OC plate. However, with the 1.50mm SB plate fitted the efficiency felt to be under that of a Karve CB #D level and most notably, there was way less blade feel and there in is the big change. There was never any doubt about how close the 1.50mm plate shaved though. Using the 1.50mm SB plate was a totally different experience to the same razor fitted with the 1.30mm OC plate, smoother and less blade feel. I enjoyed my time shaving with both plates, but probably would not select much lower than a 1.30mm SB plate on the Colibri; too mild. Homelike, do yourself a favour and increase the width of the head on the next release of Colibri razors; there is a dangerous amount of blade tab exposed.

Blades Used – Gillette Platinum and Sputnik
Material –316L Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Dangerous
Weight – 101g
Head Width – 39.97mm
Handle Length – 89.93mm
Handle Diameter – 11.97mm
Availability – Homelike Shaving
Final Word – Pleasant
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I've been eyeing this one out for a while, but they always seem to be out of stock.

Did you get it straight from the website?
 
Phunk said:
I've been eyeing this one out for a while, but they always seem to be out of stock.

Did you get it straight from the website?
Click to expand...

Yes. They only have one site and I keep a regular eye on what’s going on. I purchased my Colibri within seconds of them becoming available. What did seem strange was that they were for sale for quite while before selling out.
 
Blackland Blackbird – Polished (USA)



I have previously used a Blackbird but it was the machine finished version so using the Blackbird is not completely new ground. All I’ve done for this week is swap the plate to the SB; other than the plate swap everything remains the same. What more could one ask for? Blackland have countersunk the blade hole in the back of the plate thus requiring a corresponding shoulder on the handle. Probably the only disadvantage of this system is it reduces the number of handle options available. After market handles with shoulders to fit the Blackbird system are available but are not common. Blackbird’s own handle provides very good grip and being the shorter option handle is perfectly fine by me.

While I’d previously enjoyed the performance of the Blackbird, I was still not prepared for the exceptional shave delivered this time around. If I’ve ever had a smoother shave I cannot remember when, it was effortless. Performance wise, the Blackbird is not a super aggressive razor but sits comfortably in that Karve CB #D range. You can be sure there is positive blade feel but it is a well balanced amount and when combined with the efficiency provided made the Blackbird perfect for me. When everything gels with a razor and shave, closeness come naturally, there is no need to let you know that the shaves were close. But what I will tell you is that this is a magnificent razor.

Blades Used – Gillette Super Stainless and Super-Max Platinum
Material – Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Slightly exposed
Weight – 93g
Head Width – 41.96mm
Handle Length – 82.05mm
Handle Diameter – 10.86mm
Availability – Blackland
Final Word – Soooo smooothh
 
Errol said:
Blackland Blackbird – Polished (USA)



I have previously used a Blackbird but it was the machine finished version so using the Blackbird is not completely new ground. All I’ve done for this week is swap the plate to the SB; other than the plate swap everything remains the same. What more could one ask for? Blackland have countersunk the blade hole in the back of the plate thus requiring a corresponding shoulder on the handle. Probably the only disadvantage of this system is it reduces the number of handle options available. After market handles with shoulders to fit the Blackbird system are available but are not common. Blackbird’s own handle provides very good grip and being the shorter option handle is perfectly fine by me.

While I’d previously enjoyed the performance of the Blackbird, I was still not prepared for the exceptional shave delivered this time around. If I’ve ever had a smoother shave I cannot remember when, it was effortless. Performance wise, the Blackbird is not a super aggressive razor but sits comfortably in that Karve CB #D range. You can be sure there is positive blade feel but it is a well balanced amount and when combined with the efficiency provided made the Blackbird perfect for me. When everything gels with a razor and shave, closeness come naturally, there is no need to let you know that the shaves were close. But what I will tell you is that this is a magnificent razor.

Blades Used – Gillette Super Stainless and Super-Max Platinum
Material – Stainless Steel
Blade Tab – Slightly exposed
Weight – 93g
Head Width – 41.96mm
Handle Length – 82.05mm
Handle Diameter – 10.86mm
Availability – Blackland
Final Word – Soooo smooothh
Click to expand...
Another magnificent review @Errol. Would you say that the polished version gave a smoother shave than the machined one?
 
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