Technique with the Blackbird: from blood and tears to easy bliss

[Finecat]

Hi,

It's two consecutive days that I got "perfect" shaves with the Blackbird and I really needed to share. Also it might help someone one day if they struggle like I did with this razor.

I am a newbie in the wet shaving world. Bought cartridge razors all my life but for more than a year I used a low quality DE razor. I had no technique at all and it showed with blood and irritations every shave.

3 months ago I decided to upgrade my game: grabbed a badger and acquired the Blackbird polished SS. Lots of reading and watching videos to get a proper technique.

Despite the advices from Shane and others, first shaves with the Blackbird were terrible, as expected. It was amazing how efficient the razor was at removing the beard but it was also removing my skin in the process, big time.

Getting the "perfect" shave took me 3 simple steps:

- fixing my lather (with the help of forum users, thank you): I was just not using enough soap

- applying the right angle indicated by Shane: this very shallow angle makes the razor glide much more easily and is not less efficient; I should not have tried to experiment differently

Last step was the more difficult to find and it had a dramatic effect on the quality of the shave:

- applying ZERO pressure: this is the advice everyone gives, of course, but for me it was difficult to understand; I used the lightest pressure instead of zero pressure and it made a world of difference.

It's incredible because following those steps I get the same amazing efficiency but now the shave is super super smooth, my skin is not irritated and I don't get cuts. It is just night and day!

Thanks to this forum and its kind users for the help I got that lead me first to choose this superb razor, then to use it properly and to get the best shaves of my life. Decades of horrible shaving are over, it's a new life for me now and it's much better.

 

[John Stetson]

That was my experience with it as well. The shallow angle for me was key. I also got better shave out of the Ti version than the SS, which was probably just because I found zero pressure easier to maintain with the titanium.

 

[Hannah's Dad]

 

[Finecat]

That was my experience with it as well. The shallow angle for me was key. I also got better shave out of the Ti version than the SS, which was probably just because I found zero pressure easier to maintain with the titanium.

I understand much better the praise for the Ti version. When I was gathering infos I read multiple times that a good razor needed weight to be efficient without adding pressure but I guess that's just not right for the most efficient razors.

 

[gdawg55]

Glad you have it figured out. The Bird is my favorite DE razor. The Ti rules the roost.

 

[dmshaver]

The Ti Blackbird is a superb razor. Enjoy your shaves!

 

[StewB]

The stainless steel Blackbird is an outstanding razor for me as well. (FWIW I don't feel any FOMO for not splurging on the titanium.) There are some Blackbird users who say it can be used steep, but as you noted the head design suggests a somewhat shallow angle. Regarding pressure: Yes, of course you do need enough pressure to keep the razor engaged. I prefer to say "use a light touch" rather than "use zero pressure"--using zero pressure to me seems impossible because you need at least some pressure to keep the razor engaged. Good shave prep and a wet and slick lather are important as well. Congrats on finding a razor that works well for you!