New Blackland Era

I think everyone on this thread should have first dibs...just saying ;-)

Looks very interesting, but I'm still holding out for my Ti Blackbird!

This thread brings up a question / concern... Will there be ample supply come release? I'm dreading a Wolfy type list. Prayers said, fingers crossed, rabbits foot in hand.

I missed this question and it's an important one. The answer is no, there won't be ample supply.

This is intentional. We have a basically limitless production ceiling and can easily produce enough razors to meet demand. However, nobody has ever mass produced a product like this before so we're doing a soft launch with limited supply to ensure that production can work out any kinks needed as we scale. Additionally, since it's our most versatile and least expensive razor, it will likely be very popular and will strain our fulfillment abilities. So we're going to leave money on the table and choke supply until we're 100% confident in both the manufacturing side and the operations side to ensure that customers receive perfect razors and perfect service. This conservative and deliberate approach will probably be a little frustrating at first, but it's the right move to enable growth without sacrificing service, shipping times, and dependability. Restrictions will be lifted in pre-planned stages as we ramp things up until we open the doors wide open for as many orders as we can take.

Is this really where you want to focus your questions? The future of manufacturing and the way innovation can make USA production competitive once more is where I'd rather spend my efforts.

You made a claim about your product.  Are we not allowed to question said claim?

Kudos on 3d printing in metal - I'm aware of the technology, I produce products in the 3d printing sphere as well (not shaving).

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Are you guys using DMLS or SLM? Those are the standards and probably what you’re thinking of. The tech we’re using has never been used on parts remotely near this size until now. Far better ability to scale, better metal densities, better yield, and far far better pricing. It’s truly a game changer and is built to be cost competitive with MIM while meeting the capabilities of CNC.

Additional CNC machine is also used to ensure accuracy and flatness of specific surfaces related to blade geometry.

I don't have anything printed in metal, right now. We may print some stuff out in aluminum, maybe, but I'm not sure yet. I'm printing my parts in SLS Nylon PA12 or MJF Nylon PA12, depending on the color options - it offered the greatest detail while still being cost-effective (interior trim parts for fox body cars). I sub the printing of our parts out to craftcloud...they can print 316L & 420/BR steel, platinum, copper, titanium, bronze, etc..

anyways, I'm a buyer so, that's all that matters.

Introducing the first mass-produced stainless steel 3D-printed razor.

Welcome to the Blackland Era.
Let's start with the basics.


100% stainless steel

100% made in the USA, down the packaging

Metal 3D printed head using the most sophisticated tech in existence
Tolerances as tight as CNC machined razors

Five base plate levels in both open comb and safety bar for a total of ten base plate options

Perfect edge-to-edge blade clamping


Impossible to clog

Durable and stunning black finish
Semi-hollow handle for ideal balance and weight distribution

Six grip rings included to add grip when you want it


Full razor starts at $75

Expected release in May

Blackland Razors, how much are you betting on "impossible to clog"? 6 pack on you if I clog it? I drink expensive German wheats, by the way!

I'm not sure anything could be clog 'proof', and I definitely wouldn't blame a razor, unless it is excessive sensitive / prone. It sounds like he did take care to look for anything that would bottle-neck and cause clogging? Speaking of bottle...

Maybe for an opening release special, we can get a 6-pack of German Weisse with every purchase? Lol! I love me some traditional wheat ales too, though I don't buy the most expensive (I gravitate towards Hacker-Pschorr Weisse or Paulaner).

Good tastes andrewjs18 !

that's kind of the point I was trying to make.

my go to is Ayinger Brauweisse - best wheat beer ever made, IMHO.

I think everyone on this thread should have first dibs...just saying ;-)

A soft opening for DFS members would be great, but I don't forsee that happening.

I'm thinking Shane may be nice and post an alert here with the release date. However, I signed up for his newsletter emails figuring a release notice would go out there regardless.

Looks very interesting, but I'm still holding out for my Ti Blackbird!

I am as well!  I hope more are in stock soon!!

I'm intrigued.

I cannot find any example of small 3D metal printed pieces. 
Really looking forward to precision of the new safety razor. 

Materials are a lot with 3D printing:

Looks very interesting, but I'm still holding out for my Ti Blackbird!

Never hurts to ask...Shane, will the Ti Blackbirds be released before or after you release the new "Era"?

I cannot find any example of small 3D metal printed pieces. 
Really looking forward to precision of the new safety razor. 

Materials are a lot with 3D printing:

It's really critical that we clarify that the Era is not made in the way that any of those parts above are made. The kind of 3D printing we're doing here is like nothing available through providers like Shapeways or anywhere else in the world. 3DEO is the one place on earth to get parts made like this because its their novel and proprietary technology. And since I have exclusivity, Blackland is also the only shaving company in the world that can make parts like this. Normal metal printing like the examples above use a process where a laser basically fuses metal powder at each layer. So they lay down some metal powder, fuse the slice of the part and then build another layer on top. This is an acceptable way of 3D printing, but you can't hold tight tolerances or even very good dimensional accuracy at all. On top of those downsides it's expensive, not very scalable, and has worse mechanical properties because many of those stainless prints also have bronze added. All bad things for us.

The Era is made with a different approach that's basically a blend between MIM, CNC, and printing. Calling it 3D printing is a bit like calling space flight flying. Yea it's technically true, but it's a gross oversimplification that obfuscates the complexity of what's going on here simply because we don't have better terminology to describe it.

The way this process works is we lay down a layer of metal powder in the build volume, spray it with a binding agent that keeps it firm (like adding water to sand for a sandcastle), and then CNC endmills come down and machine the outline of the part. Since the layer isn't sintered, it's really easy and quick to machine. Kind of like cutting through wood. This gets repeated a ton of times until we've made our part in the build volume. Then the layers of bound metal are removed. This is called the cake since the entire build volume is firm due to the binding agent. The parts are broken out of the cake and then they are sintered (heated in a super-hot furnace). This causes the binding agent to drop out and the metal powder fuses together creating solid metal with about 99% the density of billet steel. We then do some post machining on shave-critical surfaces to ensure perfect performance. So in a lot of ways these parts are more similar to MIM (like the Rockwell 6S) than other 3D printed parts. With MIM you create the shape in a mold and then sinter it. Here, we're creating the shape layer by layer with printing and then sintering.

I cover this in finer detail on the Lather Talk podcast so go watch/listen to that for a deep dive.