Kudos to Shane and Blackland

The Blackbird. Matte finish. I was tempted to veer off and get the Vector but I don't use SEs all that often. I have the Dart and love it. I wondered if the BB would be too "efficient." But I often shave with Feather AC razors and am used to the feel of a blade on my face. I'm psyched.

The Flagship of the Blackland line. It is a great razor. I'd venture to say, of those I've tried, and I've tried a lot, there are some that might be as good, but none better ... in terms of the shave. For my particular face of course, YMMV.

+ 1. It’s in a class of its own, for sure.

You guys are extremely nice and I deeply appreciate your support and for taking the time to share your kudos. Trust me, I don't take that lightly and I love a pat on the back as much as the next guy. But my reaction to this thread after first thinking "aww how nice!" is "how sad". Our standards as a community are far, far too low if answering a phone or returning emails is odd enough to be pointed out. The reality is that responding to customers promptly, effectively, and nicely is quite literally the bare minimum you can do as a business. It's also exceedingly easy so there is absolutely no excuse. My service isn't above and beyond; I drop the ball, people fall through the cracks, and I make mistakes. But I try and I also try to improve. It's the minimum that should be expected from all businesses and in most markets it is.  For some reason the wet shaving world seems to be largely okay with poor communication, generally bad business practices, and, worst of all, just no effort to even improve at it year after year. And this tolerance of disregard permits and encourages it to continue. People who can't be bothered to answer a phone or who ignore emails from paying customers simply should not receive your money yet these companies continue to thrive and operate on cruise control for years. Demand better service and keep your money until you get it and you'll be blown away by how quickly those practices change. You guys, the paying customers, get to decide which business practices become standard. Right now, when we look across the wet shaving landscape it's clear that mistreatment and disregard are tolerated. It doesn't have to be that way.

Again, please don't take this as lacking gratitude. I couldn't be more thankful for my incredible fans, customers, and cheerers-on. Let's all work together to demand more and to raise the standards in this community. <3

Sadly, you are right, Shane. Customer service seems to have gone by the wayside with just about everything - not just in the shaving world. This has been going on for a very long time. So much has changed in the retail industry, even before the Covid mess. Items are considered "disposable" now. Seldom is anything considered repairable, nor do they carry much more than a 90-day warranty. Much of that comes from items being produced overseas. Largely, people don't manufacture and sell their items. They buy the items, sell them and that's it. If you have an issue, you call a toll-free number and sit on hold for an hour. Maybe they figure folks will give up and go away. We've become so accustomed to poor customer service that, when we do get what should be normal customer service, we're thrilled. 

Honestly, I think the bulk of the retailers and artisans do right by their customers as far as the shaving community goes. There is one razor manufacturer that just doesn't seem to "get it" - however as long as people keep giving them money, there's little reason for them to change. 

Blackland has second to none service and also continues to make unique razor designs with no close analogues, that's why I've purchased every model they've released, excluding the Tradere. In a world of year plus wait lists, random drops, production runs of 50 razors etc, Blackland is a refreshing change. I'm waiting on pins and needles for the titanium Blackbird!

I have to pile on here with the praise of Shane and [b]Blackland Razors .  [/b]I've spoken to Shane once and I learned a tremendous amount from this conversation. He's a class act. I too am looking forward to the upcoming releases.