#1

Member
Redwood City
Shane was kind enough to let me borrow the Dart for several days and I wanted to share my experience with the group:

I’ve been a huge fan of Blackland Razors for quite some time and am a proud owner of a Blackbird and Sabre. Shane is extremely talented and pays close attention to even the most minute details. When he told me that he was designing a new razor, I knew I had to try it out.

How it looks:

The Dart looks different yet surprisingly familiar. It looks like it belongs in the Blackland family of razors for sure. The razor that Shane sent me had a machined finish almost identical to the machined Blackbird. Build quality and finish were excellent. It also featured tight tolerances which is something I look for and appreciate in premium razors.

The sharp corners and angles featured on the Blackbird won’t be found on the Dart. Instead, Shane decided to soften and round out parts of this razor, especially on the guard bar and corners of the base plate, which feels smoother against my skin.

How it shaves:

The Daft shaves and feels very similar to a Blackbird in terms of efficiency and closeness. The Dart however feels a bit smoother and is generally a bit more comfortable to shave with. I'm guessing that this is partially due to the rounded/smoothed out edges of the Dart's guard bar and base plate.

I absolutely love my Blackbird but I tend to be careful with it in certain areas, especially around my adams apple.  I also tend to use a shallower angle (handle closer to my neck). Finding the proper angle was very easy with the Dart. It was also very intuitive to use. In fact, I rushed through a morning shave and didn’t have to take my time shaving the usual problem areas.

I can see the Dart becoming my go-to daily driver. It's a comfortable razor that I can easily shave with every day and most skilled shavers won’t have to worry about developing irritation. I’ve used the Blackbird as a daily driver in the past, but I’ve had to take my time to produce an irritation-free shave. I can mow down a full beard in one pass with that thing. Anyone that’s found the Blackbird to be a bit harsh or aggressive should try the Dart.

Many of you will ask me to compare the Dart to others in my den. Efficiency and comfort is up there with the Blackbird, Timeless .95, Karve D plate, and Rockwell 6S #6. The Dart is the smoothest of the bunch.

Who it’s for:

If you’re a huge Blackland Razors fan, get one. The Dart is the Blackbirds younger brother and you will absolutely love it. If you’ve always wanted a Blackland Razor but couldn’t afford or chose not to pay the premium price, this is your chance to own an excellent razor, from an excellent company, at an excellent price. This is a razor that anyone can enjoy.

ANG69, LOOT, Deus Vult and 6 others like this post
#2
Thank you for a great report. Is there a picture of the handle available? Also, how do you feel about the weight?
#3

Member
Redwood City
Shane just let me borrow the head. I haven't seen or used the production handle yet.

morr likes this post
#4
(06-12-2018, 01:32 PM)drdeemanda Wrote: Shane was kind enough to let me borrow the Dart for several days and I wanted to share my experience with the group:

I’ve been a huge fan of Blackland Razors for quite some time and am a proud owner of a Blackbird and Sabre. Shane is extremely talented and pays close attention to even the most minute details. When he told me that he was designing a new razor, I knew I had to try it out.

How it looks:

The Dart looks different yet surprisingly familiar. It looks like it belongs in the Blackland family of razors for sure. The razor that Shane sent me had a machined finish almost identical to the machined Blackbird. Build quality and finish were excellent. It also featured tight tolerances which is something I look for and appreciate in premium razors.

The sharp corners and angles featured on the Blackbird won’t be found on the Dart. Instead, Shane decided to soften and round out parts of this razor, especially on the guard bar and corners of the base plate, which feels smoother against my skin.

How it shaves:

The Daft shaves and feels very similar to a Blackbird in terms of efficiency and closeness. The Dart however feels a bit smoother and is generally a bit more comfortable to shave with. I'm guessing that this is partially due to the rounded/smoothed out edges of the Dart's guard bar and base plate.

I absolutely love my Blackbird but I tend to be careful with it in certain areas, especially around my adams apple.  I also tend to use a shallower angle (handle closer to my neck). Finding the proper angle was very easy with the Dart. It was also very intuitive to use. In fact, I rushed through a morning shave and didn’t have to take my time shaving the usual problem areas.

I can see the Dart becoming my go-to daily driver. It's a comfortable razor that I can easily shave with every day and most skilled shavers won’t have to worry about developing irritation. I’ve used the Blackbird as a daily driver in the past, but I’ve had to take my time to produce an irritation-free shave. I can mow down a full beard in one pass with that thing. Anyone that’s found the Blackbird to be a bit harsh or aggressive should try the Dart.

Many of you will ask me to compare the Dart to others in my den. Efficiency and comfort is up there with the Blackbird, Timeless .95, Karve D plate, and Rockwell 6S #6. The Dart is the smoothest of the bunch.

Who it’s for:

If you’re a huge Blackland Razors fan, get one. The Dart is the Blackbirds younger brother and you will absolutely love it. If you’ve always wanted a Blackland Razor but couldn’t afford or chose not to pay the premium price, this is your chance to own an excellent razor, from an excellent company, at an excellent price. This is a razor that anyone can enjoy.
Wow, smoother than the Karve w/D plate. That is pretty high praise

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

HMan and Optometrist like this post
#5

Member
Surrey, UK
Sabre, Blackbird, Karve F and Muhle R41 are now the only razors I use. This is going to get very interesting. Party
David
#6

Member
Italy
Thanks for your report. Very interesting.
- Yuri head and face daily shaver
with a passion for perfumes and coffee, coming from Italy 
#7
That smoothness factor really has me intrigued!
#8
Any idea when it will be released?
#9

Member
Redwood City
(This post was last modified: 06-12-2018, 03:33 PM by drdeemanda.)
(06-12-2018, 02:22 PM)rawfox1 Wrote:
(06-12-2018, 01:32 PM)drdeemanda Wrote: Shane was kind enough to let me borrow the Dart for several days and I wanted to share my experience with the group:

I’ve been a huge fan of Blackland Razors for quite some time and am a proud owner of a Blackbird and Sabre. Shane is extremely talented and pays close attention to even the most minute details. When he told me that he was designing a new razor, I knew I had to try it out.

How it looks:

The Dart looks different yet surprisingly familiar. It looks like it belongs in the Blackland family of razors for sure. The razor that Shane sent me had a machined finish almost identical to the machined Blackbird. Build quality and finish were excellent. It also featured tight tolerances which is something I look for and appreciate in premium razors.

The sharp corners and angles featured on the Blackbird won’t be found on the Dart. Instead, Shane decided to soften and round out parts of this razor, especially on the guard bar and corners of the base plate, which feels smoother against my skin.

How it shaves:

The Daft shaves and feels very similar to a Blackbird in terms of efficiency and closeness. The Dart however feels a bit smoother and is generally a bit more comfortable to shave with. I'm guessing that this is partially due to the rounded/smoothed out edges of the Dart's guard bar and base plate.

I absolutely love my Blackbird but I tend to be careful with it in certain areas, especially around my adams apple.  I also tend to use a shallower angle (handle closer to my neck). Finding the proper angle was very easy with the Dart. It was also very intuitive to use. In fact, I rushed through a morning shave and didn’t have to take my time shaving the usual problem areas.

I can see the Dart becoming my go-to daily driver. It's a comfortable razor that I can easily shave with every day and most skilled shavers won’t have to worry about developing irritation. I’ve used the Blackbird as a daily driver in the past, but I’ve had to take my time to produce an irritation-free shave. I can mow down a full beard in one pass with that thing. Anyone that’s found the Blackbird to be a bit harsh or aggressive should try the Dart.

Many of you will ask me to compare the Dart to others in my den. Efficiency and comfort is up there with the Blackbird, Timeless .95, Karve D plate, and Rockwell 6S #6. The Dart is the smoothest of the bunch.

Who it’s for:

If you’re a huge Blackland Razors fan, get one. The Dart is the Blackbirds younger brother and you will absolutely love it. If you’ve always wanted a Blackland Razor but couldn’t afford or chose not to pay the premium price, this is your chance to own an excellent razor, from an excellent company, at an excellent price. This is a razor that anyone can enjoy.
Wow, smoother than the Karve w/D plate. That is pretty high praise

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

I should note that I really enjoy my Karve razor w/ D plate but admit that I probably haven't done enough blade exploration with it. I typically throw in a Feather or Gillette Platinum Blue. It's an amazing razor but the Dart navigates around my adams apple just a tad better. As always, YMMV.

(06-12-2018, 03:32 PM)ppfingsten Wrote: Any idea when it will be released?

Shane mentioned sometime this month.
#10

Member
Redwood City
(06-12-2018, 02:43 PM)Optometrist Wrote: Sabre, Blackbird, Karve F and Muhle R41 are now the only razors I use. This is going to get very interesting.  Party

If you've got a Sabre and Blackbird, you'll absolutely enjoy the Dart. It's very much built for speed. Hot damn is it efficient.

Optometrist likes this post


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