New Blackland Era

I was poking Shane on a different forum about his timelines since this project got announced. I wanted to finally get in on something new for once. There are two reasons I am not jumping in and one that almost negates the two. The first one is the recent guidance that this is a mass appeal razor like the Henson. That makes sense as his other razors have unique shave properties that a novice would have difficulty figuring out. Second, and worst, is the vague guidance on plate selection. All I ask is at what point does the plate provide just barely positive exposure or which one is neutral so I can grab the next one up. I might want a three or a four, but I am not saving any money playing the Karve guessing game. And that brings me to the one thing that almost negates everything I just typed, price. It is a good price, if I knew which plate to get.

An aside, I don't appreciate having to find out about the release date on forums when I have an account and thought I was signed up for news letters.

I was poking Shane on a different forum about his timelines since this project got announced. I wanted to finally get in on something new for once. There are two reasons I am not jumping in and one that almost negates the two. The first one is the recent guidance that this is a mass appeal razor like the Henson. That makes sense as his other razors have unique shave properties that a novice would have difficulty figuring out. Second, and worst, is the vague guidance on plate selection. All I ask is at what point does the plate provide just barely positive exposure or which one is neutral so I can grab the next one up. I might want a three or a four, but I am not saving any money playing the Karve guessing game. And that brings me to the one thing that almost negates everything I just typed, price. It is a good price, if I knew which plate to get.

An aside, I don't appreciate having to find out about the release date on forums when I have an account and thought I was signed up for news letters.

I'm in the same boat.
I added a couple plates to my cart, was about to check out, but ultimately restrained myself.
The lack of specs on a brand new razor really turned me off.
I've noticed Shane's lack of response to inquiries on specs.
Sorry, but I need more data before purchasing.

Shane's consistent response to gap inquiries is that he does not publish gap specs.

The problem is not the gap spec, it's the blade exposure. If all the plates are negative or only 5 is slightly positive, we need something. Since apparently we can't compare his numbers to his other razors. How do I know if I want an 8 smoothness when maybe a 7 is good enough and is more efficient.

Okay, he updated the whole website. So it appears I can look at blade feel of the Blackbird and guess something less than that. I also didn't notice that if you click the bar on the graph there is a well thought out explanation of the parameters. Finally, I noticed a big jump between 4 and 3 so 3 is probably the neutral plate. It appears 1/2 and 4/5 are incremental differences. I will continue checking the website and decide again if I want to gamble.

Shane's consistent response to gap inquiries is that he does not publish gap specs.

He doesn't publish specs.
I don't make blind purchases.
If he sold all plates in a kit, I'd totally understand.
However, when I just want to make an initial purchase of one or two plates and don't want to guess which plate to get, I fold.

Shane's consistent response to gap inquiries is that he does not publish gap specs.

He doesn't publish specs.
I don't make blind purchases.
If he sold all plates in a kit, I'd totally understand.
However, when I just want to make an initial purchase of one or two plates and don't want to guess which plate to get, I fold.

Absolutely understand that, and I agree with you. I need some better idea of how it will shave first. That's why I'm waiting until others jump on it and review.

I also understand his thinking. I dredged up a post from 2017 (elsewhere) where Shane stated the Blackbird was, I believe, .58mm gap. That's absurdly low. It should shaved like a tech. Except all of the other intricacies that people don't pay as much attention to. That's his point, I would guess. He doesn't want folks to ignore a razor he knows is efficient and agressive because he came at it from a different angle and managed to slip in a neutral exposure or a small gap or ... Whatever design tricks he cooked up.

In Shane's defense, he also isn't asking folks to buy it now. He's very relaxed, as if he knows it will take off, in it's own time. Perhaps he's expecting the initial reviews to drive the further interest? Again, that's where I'm happily placing myself. I'm sure I'll get one (and I suspect Shane knows it too), and it'll be an informed decision, a little later.

So, instead of saying show me the specs, I'm going to say... Please review your purchases as soon as you can guys! Greatly appreciated.

I love the technology

Shane's consistent response to gap inquiries is that he does not publish gap specs.

He doesn't publish specs.
I don't make blind purchases.
If he sold all plates in a kit, I'd totally understand.
However, when I just want to make an initial purchase of one or two plates and don't want to guess which plate to get, I fold.

Absolutely understand that, and I agree with you. I need some better idea of how it will shave first. That's why I'm waiting until others jump on it and review.

I also understand his thinking. I dredged up a post from 2017 (elsewhere) where Shane stated the Blackbird was, I believe, .58mm gap. That's absurdly low. It should shaved like a tech. Except all of the other intricacies that people don't pay as much attention to. That's his point, I would guess. He doesn't want folks to ignore a razor he knows is efficient and agressive because he came at it from a different angle and managed to slip in a neutral exposure or a small gap or ... Whatever design tricks he cooked up.

In Shane's defense, he also isn't asking folks to buy it now. He's very relaxed, as if he knows it will take off, in it's own time. Perhaps he's expecting the initial reviews to drive the further interest? Again, that's where I'm happily placing myself. I'm sure I'll get one (and I suspect Shane knows it too), and it'll be an informed decision, a little later.

So, instead of saying show me the specs, I'm going to say... Please review your purchases as soon as you can guys! Greatly appreciated.

Paul, you couldn't have said it better!! I am hoping there are many reviews, and comparing to razors I already have or had, so that I can buy once and love it! I am hoping that by March or April we'll have those comparisons, and no restraint the month after the reviews I need are read!

He doesn't publish specs.
I don't make blind purchases.
If he sold all plates in a kit, I'd totally understand.
However, when I just want to make an initial purchase of one or two plates and don't want to guess which plate to get, I fold.

Absolutely understand that, and I agree with you. I need some better idea of how it will shave first. That's why I'm waiting until others jump on it and review.

I also understand his thinking. I dredged up a post from 2017 (elsewhere) where Shane stated the Blackbird was, I believe, .58mm gap. That's absurdly low. It should shaved like a tech. Except all of the other intricacies that people don't pay as much attention to. That's his point, I would guess. He doesn't want folks to ignore a razor he knows is efficient and agressive because he came at it from a different angle and managed to slip in a neutral exposure or a small gap or ... Whatever design tricks he cooked up.

In Shane's defense, he also isn't asking folks to buy it now. He's very relaxed, as if he knows it will take off, in it's own time. Perhaps he's expecting the initial reviews to drive the further interest? Again, that's where I'm happily placing myself. I'm sure I'll get one (and I suspect Shane knows it too), and it'll be an informed decision, a little later.

So, instead of saying show me the specs, I'm going to say... Please review your purchases as soon as you can guys! Greatly appreciated.

Paul, you couldn't have said it better!! I am hoping there are many reviews, and comparing to razors I already have or had, so that I can buy once and love it! I am hoping that by March or April we'll have those comparisons, and no restraint the month after the reviews I need are read!

I spent more hours today than I care to admit looking at reviews, they are months old surprisingly. Once again, as well intentioned as they might be, the reviews are useless because they would all use plate 5 and can't relate to anybody else. One problem I discovered too late is they are all shaving very steep. Which is fine, but then your analysis of blade feel is useless because you automatically tip the blade in until it just shaves. For those of us who are either neutral or cap riders, blade feel is critical partly because of the weight of the handle trying to push the blade into our skin. At some point I too added some stuff to the cart, but ultimately fatigued and closed the tab. I think he did a really good job with the new website, I discovered my account was deleted in the transition though. It appears that the level 4 shaves similar to the Tradere, but with a little less efficiency. I wanted to get an open comb plate, but going past the Tradere SB at all seems too risky. I think the OC 3 is going to be a good plate, but some reviews mentioned noticeably lower efficiency that the 4SB, which is what leads me to believe the 3 is neutral. Then we have to account for US Personna blades that he uses being narrower than Russian blades and I am getting a headache...

Forgot to add, if you use ShopPay to break up the payments into 4, the second payment won't happen until you (should) have the razor in your hands. And you can cancel any time. That's how got to a razor and 1 extra plate, probably buy it tomorrow or Monday depending...