Well, I ended up purchasing a new Blackland made Above The Tie S1 (machined stainless) and let me say it is a great razor. When I opened the box the first thought that came to mind was this is definitely an Above The Tie razor. Shane did an outstanding job keeping the ATT character while mildly updating the razor. I had an older ATT S1 a few years back so memory may be a tad foggy, but the new S1 head covers the blade tabs, looks to be slightly more torqued, and definitely has more of a ramp on the base plate moving up to the scallops which I really like (hopefully you can see this in the pictures below). He kept the tiny blade locator pins, and the handle is basically a Kronos with a couple of lines engraved at the bottom for more aesthetics.
I've had two shaves now with this razor back to back. I can tell the efficiency has been improved a little while still keeping a very smooth shave. The S1 would be a great daily shaver for anyone looking for a smooth, efficient shave. It's not Blackbird efficient, but it's not too far behind. For me the Blackbird is a 9 in efficiency....the S1 is coming in at around 7.5-8 on the efficiency scale so far. It is providing a close shave, but it doesn't last as long as the Bird. Blade feel seems like it may be more neutral as I can barely detect any blade at all. Shaving angle is very broad. I am able to get nice cutting from steep to shallow so should work for the majority of folks style. I haven't felt any blade chatter, only smoothness. Overall quality is probably better than the original (less machine marks) and most definitely on the typical Backland level.
I think Shane did a great job with the S1. I really feel like it's an Above The Tie razor and not some knock-off Blackland product. If I didn't know Backland was linked to the ATT brand, I would never know by looking at this razor....so nice job here. I'm going to use it for the week daily to see how well it does....but I have a sneaking feeling I won't have any issues. My first couple of shaves yielded close, smooth, no irritation shaves. One last thought, I really like the downsized razor stand. I always thought they were way too large.
I've had two shaves now with this razor back to back. I can tell the efficiency has been improved a little while still keeping a very smooth shave. The S1 would be a great daily shaver for anyone looking for a smooth, efficient shave. It's not Blackbird efficient, but it's not too far behind. For me the Blackbird is a 9 in efficiency....the S1 is coming in at around 7.5-8 on the efficiency scale so far. It is providing a close shave, but it doesn't last as long as the Bird. Blade feel seems like it may be more neutral as I can barely detect any blade at all. Shaving angle is very broad. I am able to get nice cutting from steep to shallow so should work for the majority of folks style. I haven't felt any blade chatter, only smoothness. Overall quality is probably better than the original (less machine marks) and most definitely on the typical Backland level.
I think Shane did a great job with the S1. I really feel like it's an Above The Tie razor and not some knock-off Blackland product. If I didn't know Backland was linked to the ATT brand, I would never know by looking at this razor....so nice job here. I'm going to use it for the week daily to see how well it does....but I have a sneaking feeling I won't have any issues. My first couple of shaves yielded close, smooth, no irritation shaves. One last thought, I really like the downsized razor stand. I always thought they were way too large.