Blackbird blade chatter

I find the persona red and Med prep to not be very smooth. I have not experienced the click you describe. I would recommend talking to Shane about this.

I have been using BlackBird for quite some time, and I could never finish a full shave with a 'milder' blade. I only use Kai, Wizamet and Occasionally Personna 74/Feather. Some milder blades which i like in other razors, felt like tugging a lot in BlackBird.

The fact that most folks don't experience blade chatter (or whatever you'd like to call it) is evidence only that most folks don't experience blade chatter. That the design is sufficiently rigid for most is evident, as it is for razors of similar design from ATT,, Paradigm, and many others.

It's also evident that there are more rigid designs out there (fully supported Old Type/Fatip or more rigidly clamped with wider clamping distance like WR1/Timeless types) which some small percentage of shavers discern the benefit of.

Nothing wrong with either approach. As I said in my earlier comments the Bird only exhibited some problem going ATG on crown stubble my head, performance on my beard was stellar.

Gsb, personna red, and med prep, 2 shaves each. One thing I have noticed is an audible "click" the final turn every time I put a blade in. And before anyone states the obvious yes, the blade is in place and the sound isn't from it snapping into place.

I get the clicking sound also. And to be sure, I just loaded a 4x used GSB a few minutes ago...on the final turn there was a "click." I was never too curious about it until seeing your post. I had assumed it was the blade "locking into place"

BTW, for me, the best blades in this razor are the Kai's, the GSB's, and the Gillette Platinum.

Maybe a sharper blade like a Kai which is also thicker would help. Worth a try.

The KAI is not thicker than normal, and it’s mid-pack on sharpness. It is wider than normal though, which gives it slightly more positive blade exposure and thus a step up in aggression. Sometimes that is desirable; sometimes it is not.

I love my BB. I also rotate 2 Charcoal Goods, 2 Timeless , a Wolfie and a few SE's. All work for me and I would take the BB in the top 3. I can get a true BBS with any of them,and that is all that matters to me

As far as thickness goes you may be right on that but I was told they were thicker so I'm just repeating what I was told. As far as sharpness I'd have to disagree as I find them behind Feathers as far as sharpness goes along with a couple of other brands I like. But just my opinion.

Sometimes I live blade chatter with some razors. That could happen for a few minutes as for all the time of shaving. I learnt that it's just a technique matter: wrong pressure and angle (for first !), maybe bad blade, and, last but not least, a not correct 'foam' in the areas where you get chattering from. There are many variables in wet shaving, you know. So, IMHO, if you don't know how to use a specific razor, don't say bad things about that razor. Each razor needs its specific kind of use ! They're not all the same.

I have all three of the Blackbirds and I don't get any 'chatter' from them, whatsoever, unless I am oblivious to it. The razor(s) just work, for me, as opposed to the likes of the Wolfman and Timeless that I have had. This hobby of ours will always be a YMMV thing.

I have to agree here. In fact, I always thought that one of the several things BB does really well is NOT chatter. I use Gillette Platinum... and Polsilver, on occasion.

As far as thickness goes you may be right on that but  I was told they were thicker so I'm just repeating what I was told. As far as sharpness I'd have to disagree as I find them behind Feathers as far as sharpness goes along with a couple of other brands I like.  But just my opinion.

Yes, once someone first posted, wrongly, that they were thicker, it was repeated as gospel over and over. Misinformation somehow spreads faster than truth.

I measured them myself. They are standard thickness but wider than normal.

As for sharpness, there’s objective data at refinedshave.com, which is consistent with my own less-precise experiments. That’s not a YMMV thing; they are measurably less sharp.

However, the extra width definitely gives more positive blade exposure. Compared to another blade of comparable sharpness, it is going to increase the aggressiveness and probably the efficiency.

I think this is why it is often perceived as sharper. If it cuts better, it must be sharper, right? In this case, no.

With all that said, here’s where YMMV comes in. If the extra blade exposure gives you a better shave that is still comfortable, great!!!

The KAI is definitely a blade worth trying. It’s a little “outside the box”, which can be useful sometimes.

I just think it’s helpful to understand which variable(s) are really being changed.

It is true that (according to the data on refinedshave) the KAI gets considerably sharper after several shaves, while the Feather gets duller. They do end up pretty close together, though other blades are sharper at that point.