I'd have to disagree with this as I learned that a shallow angle is what works best for me and in fact that's how Shane intended for it when it was designed. The best shave comes, for me, when I follow the natural angle of the top cap. It's in between the shallow and steep angles most talk about.
Am I a good candidate for Blackbird Lite?
- Thread starter T Bone
- Start date
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Notwithstanding Shane’s recommendation of a shallow angle, the brilliance of the Bird for me is only achieved with a very steep angle. A Feather blade and steep angle of attack yields high efficiency and no drama.
I’m a huge fan of the BB lite. Still has the feel of the BB but just more tame. A good daily driver for me
If I used a shallow angle as you state. I would hate the razor. I have watched Shane's videos and says steep.
Try riding the bar instead of the cap
Not sure what you saw in the video but even @Hannah's Dad verified a few posts up that he recommended shallow!!
I shaved with a steep angle when I first received my TiBB but wasn't until I saw the video and his recommendation for shallow and that is when the best shaves came, for me!! It basically is nothing more than following the natural design of the top cap which is probably about 30 degree's or what has been known as a natural shaving angle for a safety razor...
I clipped a pic of the angle Shane suggested and what I have been using for a while now...
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Mike is correct - Shane recommends the shallow angle for the Bird. And perhaps less blade feel occurs with this approach. I don’t mind the feel of the TiBird blade because the results are spectacular. It provides a shave without a hint of irritation, nicks, weepers. When I’ve gone shallow with it, it seems to require perfect technique. I admit my technique is less than perfect, which is why a steep angle is more forgiving of my technique.
The beauty of this ‘debate’ is that both sides of it are correct - either approach works.
The black bird titanium would probably work better than the light
We recommend a shallow angle as you start and learn to use the Blackbird. That seems to be the best way for new Blackbird users. But there are no rules in shaving. If a steep angle is working better then that’s what you should use! We won’t arrest you.
- Thread starter
- #51
Blackbird Lite flight 7 / halftime report
I like to give a new razor about a dozen or so shaves, so I'm about halfway there. First shave with an Indian GWS went generally well, a solid DFS+ with 1 weeper and a couple more spots of blood from stupidly over-buffing. I picked up the Litebird again a week ago and the next 2 shaves went about the same, minus the over-buffing - 1 weeper each, and DFS+ and BBS- respectively. In fact, the third shave was 1 mustache weeper away from being superb.
Fourth shave, with an Astra SS, the wheels fell off. Tons of weepers throughout the goatee area, tons of alum feedback, quite a bit of irritation. Took a day off after that and tried another Indian blade, Laser Ultra. A bit better, but still a few weepers in the mustache. Tried it again, got a couple on the mustache, a couple on the chin, and even a couple of rare neck weepers. Closeness of shave I'd rate 7.5/10, which is not bad, but it's not like I'm drawing all this blood trying too hard to chase BBS. New Indian Wilkie today, since that's the only blade that's done reasonably well so far. Got 2 weepers going XTG - XT-freakin-G! - on the mustache. I was bracing for an awful second pass, but I only got 2 more, though I pulled up at a 7/10 on the closeness scale.
I'm determined to see out a few more shaves. I really want to like this razor, literally everybody seems to love it, so there must be something to it. And the first 3 shaves were so promising. I'll probably take tomorrow off to see if I can get back on track with an extra day to heal up. If it's still going poorly, I'll try a Nacet as a Hail Mary, since several folks above recommended it. The idea of going all the way to the sharp end of the blade spectrum troubles me if moderate blades keep giving me weepers, but if nothing else is working, I might as well give it a shot.
I like to give a new razor about a dozen or so shaves, so I'm about halfway there. First shave with an Indian GWS went generally well, a solid DFS+ with 1 weeper and a couple more spots of blood from stupidly over-buffing. I picked up the Litebird again a week ago and the next 2 shaves went about the same, minus the over-buffing - 1 weeper each, and DFS+ and BBS- respectively. In fact, the third shave was 1 mustache weeper away from being superb.
Fourth shave, with an Astra SS, the wheels fell off. Tons of weepers throughout the goatee area, tons of alum feedback, quite a bit of irritation. Took a day off after that and tried another Indian blade, Laser Ultra. A bit better, but still a few weepers in the mustache. Tried it again, got a couple on the mustache, a couple on the chin, and even a couple of rare neck weepers. Closeness of shave I'd rate 7.5/10, which is not bad, but it's not like I'm drawing all this blood trying too hard to chase BBS. New Indian Wilkie today, since that's the only blade that's done reasonably well so far. Got 2 weepers going XTG - XT-freakin-G! - on the mustache. I was bracing for an awful second pass, but I only got 2 more, though I pulled up at a 7/10 on the closeness scale.
I'm determined to see out a few more shaves. I really want to like this razor, literally everybody seems to love it, so there must be something to it. And the first 3 shaves were so promising. I'll probably take tomorrow off to see if I can get back on track with an extra day to heal up. If it's still going poorly, I'll try a Nacet as a Hail Mary, since several folks above recommended it. The idea of going all the way to the sharp end of the blade spectrum troubles me if moderate blades keep giving me weepers, but if nothing else is working, I might as well give it a shot.
I'm a little behind @T Bone, but in a similar boat. I didn't get along very well with the Blackbird standard plate, so I got a Lite plate. I'm only three shaves in with the Lite after 29 shaves with the standard plate. The first Lite shave was OK, but it the next two were worse - more weepers and more zing from the alum and/or astringent. I'll see if I can pull the Blackbird out of the nosedive, but taking a day off today to recoup and prepare to try again.
Best blades for me in my Bird are Polsilver SI, Wizamet, Gillette Platinum, Gillette Super Platinum, and Rapira Swedish Super Steel. Once you find the blade that works, you’ll get great shaves form the Bird. Never had the lite plate so not sure if these blades also work well with that. Best of luck getter it figured out.
Also, don’t be afraid to play with shave angle. I tend to use the natural cap angle as well as steeper angles with my Blackbird.
- Thread starter
- #54
Still rooting for you! 
Maybe try the RK chromium or one of the SuperMax blades that you have had for awhile(not Diamond Edge). Maybe even a Shark Stainless, all of these are less sharp than what you have tried. That should tell whether the blade is the problem, or something else…
Maybe try the RK chromium or one of the SuperMax blades that you have had for awhile(not Diamond Edge). Maybe even a Shark Stainless, all of these are less sharp than what you have tried. That should tell whether the blade is the problem, or something else…
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Have you tried either a Feather or a Perma-Sharp? Those blades with a very steep angle might be the answer for you. I understand that a very steep angle might seem like you’re scraping the beard; but with the sharpest of blades this method just works. And you’ll have less chance of weepers because less blade is used - you’re just letting the safety bar guide your technique and the very tip of the blades will cut efficiently. You simply must try this technique before you give up on the Bird.
- Thread starter
- #57
Honestly, I'm quite apprehensive about trying those sharper blades in the Blackbird. I can see the logic of it, a sharper blade means probably fewer strokes, which is fewer opportunities to cut oneself. But after 3 pretty decent shaves with the Indian Wilkie, the Astra blue was terrible, and I don't think it's a whole lot sharper than the GWS. But I won't give up without at least trying one of the really sharp blades - probably Nacet, it's in the same league as Feather and Permasharp, and I've gotten the best results with Nacet in other razors.
I'm not sure I'm up for shaving steep though. From what I understand about the Blackbird geometry, scraping the beard right at skin level is the very fine line between not cutting (so steep the blade lifts off the skin) and stabbing the blade into the skin (just a little shallower), and I don't think I have the skill to keep that perfect angle for very long.
But I'll give a sharper blade a try if the Wilkie doesn't get me there.
Are you skin stretching? Just curious because all of the weepers, it’s just confusing for this razor. I can shave blindfolded with the lite and get a DFS+ irritation free. Same with the bird and get an 8-10 hour BBS and my skin isn’t what I would say, cooperative.
- Thread starter
- #59
I'm going to give it 1 more shave tomorrow before moving on to another razor and was going to follow up here 1 last time after that, but I might as well do it now. I gave it 4 more shaves with an Indian Wilkie which went better but not great. First 3, got a couple/few weepers, all small and fleeting, but still not ideal. Fourth shave I finally got through without any, but it wasn't particularly close, I had a ton of alum feedback (very unusual with no cuts) and quite a bit of irritation.
Took a day off then tried a Nacet yesterday, and that was much better. I even thought I had repeated with no weepers, but a spot of blood appeared above my upper lip while I was rinsing out my brush before rinsing the alum off my face. But it was much closer (9/10 vs. 6.5/10 two days earlier), there was almost no alum feedback, and zero irritation. Tonight was similar, but no blood noted, mild alum, an no irritation. Definitely my bad not trying a Nacet sooner.
So to my original question, "am I a good candidate for the Lite?" It's not nearly as rough as the standard plate to me. I may or may not end up keeping the Blackbird, but I'm going to at least give it another round in August or September to explore it further with a couple of sharp blades. The only negative these last 2 shaves is it's taking me a lot longer since I'm still being super-cautious, but that's something I can try to work on next go-round. So I at least won't be returning the Lite plate for a refund, and yeah, I guess I am a good candidate for the Lite.
Took a day off then tried a Nacet yesterday, and that was much better. I even thought I had repeated with no weepers, but a spot of blood appeared above my upper lip while I was rinsing out my brush before rinsing the alum off my face. But it was much closer (9/10 vs. 6.5/10 two days earlier), there was almost no alum feedback, and zero irritation. Tonight was similar, but no blood noted, mild alum, an no irritation. Definitely my bad not trying a Nacet sooner.
So to my original question, "am I a good candidate for the Lite?" It's not nearly as rough as the standard plate to me. I may or may not end up keeping the Blackbird, but I'm going to at least give it another round in August or September to explore it further with a couple of sharp blades. The only negative these last 2 shaves is it's taking me a lot longer since I'm still being super-cautious, but that's something I can try to work on next go-round. So I at least won't be returning the Lite plate for a refund, and yeah, I guess I am a good candidate for the Lite.
I found similar to @T Bone, I put in a Perma Sharp and the Blackbird Lite was a different razor. Much smoother and counterintuitively, an easier shave. All that said, I don't think the Blackbird is right for me so the full razor and the Lite plate are up on BST.
