Comparing the Blackland Blackbird

have you compared it against the ikon tech and muhle r41 yet?

Those are two razors that I don't own and haven't used. Though I have see others report that the Dart is more aggressive then a 2013 R41. I would be willing to do the comparison given the opportunity.

I can loan you both, if you want. I've been mostly using my blackbird SB anyways....shoot me a PM with your address.

Very generous of you! Pm on the way

Sent from my Galaxy using Tapatalk

Personally, I would not put the Dart in the same category as the Ikon Tech/ Muhle R41 as these two latter razors have a more pronounced blade feel and they are much less smooth then the former. I found the Dart to be 'milder' compared to these other two. Of course, YMMV.
Regarding the Blackbird, I still find it to be a superb combination of efficiency and smoothness and my most used shaver in all three offerings.

Good luck with the experimentation, Andrew.

SOTD OCtober 29th


Blackland Blackbird
PAA SS Ascension
GSB(4)
Yaqi Barber Pole (24mm, Frigate Class)
Stirling Pumpkin Spice
PAA Will-O-The-Wisp Star Jelly

This morning I did another Blackbird comparison, this time with the PAA SS Ascension. Granted these two razors are not in the same price tier, and probably shouldn't be compared directly. But at the same time they are both modern SS safety razors so why not. In order to make the comparison somewhat fair in terms of efficiency I opened up the Ascension a 1/4 turn. Since it is getting close to Halloween it was time to break out the Pumpkin Spice again. I whipped up a gloriously slick lather in the Dry Dock lather bowl and went to work. I started with the Blackbird on the left side. Now that the blade is starting to dull a little, and with three days of weekend growth, I detected a bit of blade chatter on the first pass. The Ascension with its extreme head curvature did not suffer the same affliction and was a bit more comfortable on the first pass. After the first pass all was equalized. There is definitely less blade feel with the Ascension then with the Blackbird but it still has some and it is noticeable. Both sides ended near BBS, which I will attribute to the blades dulling a bit.

SOTD OCtober 31st
Happy Halloween everyone!


Blackland Blackbird
Gillette New Short Comb
Rapira Platinum Lux
30DCLE (26mm, Frigate Class)
Oleo Soapworks Empire soap and AS

This morning I did a rather unorthodox comparison. I put the Blackbird up against my favorite vintage Gillette, the New SC. New blades in both razors as the old ones were feeling a bit tired. I lathered up my face and did the first pass, I noticed that I was able to achieve a much shallower angle with the New SC then with the Blackbird which resulted in a more comfortable first pass. At the end of my first pass my son woke up and was fussing so I did a quick second pass, cleaned up, splashed on the AS and went to see if I could get him calmed down and back to sleep. I eventually did get him back down and was out the door a little late. Upon inspection of the shave result after the fact the Blackbird was indeed a bit closer after two passes then the New, but the New felt a good deal smoother. In the end after two passes both sides were a respectable DFS and there is no detectable irritation.

Personally, I would not put the Dart in the same category as the Ikon Tech/ Muhle R41 as these two latter razors have a more pronounced blade feel and they are much less smooth then the former. I found the Dart to be 'milder' compared to these other two. Of course, YMMV.
Regarding the Blackbird, I still find it to be a superb combination of efficiency and smoothness and my most used shaver in all three offerings.

Good luck with the experimentation, Andrew.  

I've not personally used a dart, but I believe Blackland Razors ranks it as being a touch less aggressive than the blackbird. personally I find the ikon tech and muhle r41 way more aggressive, in terms of how it feels on the skin than the blackbird.

Personally, I would not put the Dart in the same category as the Ikon Tech/ Muhle R41 as these two latter razors have a more pronounced blade feel and they are much less smooth then the former. I found the Dart to be 'milder' compared to these other two. Of course, YMMV.
Regarding the Blackbird, I still find it to be a superb combination of efficiency and smoothness and my most used shaver in all three offerings.

Good luck with the experimentation, Andrew.  

I've not personally used a dart, but I believe Blackland Razors ranks it as being a touch less aggressive than the blackbird.  personally I find the ikon tech and muhle r41 way more aggressive, in terms of how it feels on the skin than the blackbird.

That’s definitely how it feels to me. But with the Dart the reviews are all over the map and there is no consensus.

Personally, I would not put the Dart in the same category as the Ikon Tech/ Muhle R41 as these two latter razors have a more pronounced blade feel and they are much less smooth then the former. I found the Dart to be 'milder' compared to these other two. Of course, YMMV.
Regarding the Blackbird, I still find it to be a superb combination of efficiency and smoothness and my most used shaver in all three offerings.

Good luck with the experimentation, Andrew.  

I've not personally used a dart, but I believe Blackland Razors ranks it as being a touch less aggressive than the blackbird. personally I find the ikon tech and muhle r41 way more aggressive, in terms of how it feels on the skin than the blackbird.

To me the Dart is substantially more aggressive then the Blackbird. We will see how it compares to the Tech and R41 shortly!

SOTD November 2nd


Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Blackland Blackbird SB
RazoRock Game Changer .84-P
Rapira Platinum Lux (2)
Yaqi Moka Express (26mm, Frigate class)
Stirling Hot Apple Cider
The Blades Grim Smolder AS
Stirling Glacial Unscented PSB

Today's head to head features the safety bar version of the Blackbird and the RazoRock Game Changer .84-P. I begin the shave on my left side with the Blackbird, very similar feel using the SB as the OC. Pick up the GC and take my first stroke on the right side, WOW that's smooth! The contrast is very striking, The BB has quite a bit more blade feel then the GC and even at it's shallowest possible angle still feels aggressive. I continue my next two passes with just the general sense that the BB is the more aggressive of the two razors. Upon inspection the BB side was true BBS while the GC side wasn't quite there, DFS+ for sure though. Perhaps some angle adjustments with the GC would allow it to match the efficiency of BB while still maintaining the greater degree of smoothness.

Andrew, maybe, you can try shimming the GameChanger to see how that goes.

Andrew, maybe, you can try shimming the GameChanger to see how that goes.

I'm sure a little technique adjustment would do the trick.

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SOTD NOvember 5th


Stirling Mentholated Pre-Shave Soap
Blackland Blackbird
REX Ambassador(5)
Rapira Platinum Lux (3)
Epsilon White Horse (26mm, Frigate class)
Crown King Old Time Lime
Skin Bracer Dry Lime AS

Another Blackbird showdown this morning, this time with the Rex Ambassador. I started with the BB on the left side and was greeted with the now familiar feel of it efficiently slicing the whiskers at skin level. I started with the Rex at 4 but bumped it up to 5 to match the blade feel of the Blackbird. After two passes it seemed like the shave with the Rex was a little closer. After three passes both sides were equally BBS smooth.