Blackland DART

I have the Mamba, GC, and Rex, but have never used a Blackbird.

It's an amazing razor. It's my go to shaver when I want a 12 hours BBS shave which won't rip off my face. I have the Rex. What setting of the Rex would you compare the dart and the GC ?

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EDIT: Reason for mentioning BlackBird -> I used that razor for 7 days straight last week and am very familiar with it.

Few Thoughts after first shave:

1. Well Balanced Razor, I thought it be would handle heavy but it is not.

2. Angle not too difficult to find, easy to maintain. Neither too steep nor too shallow.

3. A lot less blade feel than BlackBird. I would say Rockwell 4 or REX 3.5, but not really sure. These comparisons are worthless anyway.

4. Didn't feel any tugging or pulling while going ATG on my neck ( one of my litmus tests). Smooth in that aspect.

5. Didn't have to do much touch up on the right side of my chin and neck (another litmus test)

6. Some minor burning sensation from alum (neck) after the (3 pass) shave. (Final litmus test, I can get 0 burn from BlackBird, CG2 , 34C etc)

- I guess this will be improved with more shaves

7. While BlackBird is a very unique razor, this is more of a regular razor, which is not a bad thing.

8. One minor issue: I know many people dislike blade overhang. But I like the tiny overhang BlackBird has - it makes it easy to take the blade away for a quick rinse after the shave. DART covers the full blade, so this a tiny bit tricky.

Overall, very pleased with first shave.

I have the Mamba, GC, and Rex, but have never used a Blackbird.

It's an amazing razor. It's my go to shaver when I want a 12 hours BBS shave which won't rip off my face. I have the Rex. What setting of the Rex would you compare the dart and the GC ?

Sent from my MI MAX using Tapatalk

For a Rex setting of similar gap (3-4 by eye), I think the Dart may have a little more blade exposure, but the corners are a bit more guarded. Beyond that, my wrong-hand technique is too rough to make a fair comparison of those two right now.

Just finished my shave and first time use of the Blackland Dart. To be truthful, I did not know what to expect from the Dart as the first preliminary reviews have been all over the place from “mild, but efficient” to “the most aggressive razor I’ve tried”. Nothing to really sink your teeth into and honestly, it’s tough to go on a mere sampling of thoughts and early reports that just aren’t consistent. It seems that reports are now either the razor is to mild or it’s to aggressive. And somewhere in between those two mediums, we blurred the lines on what a good comfortable yet fairly efficient razor could or should be. Truly, YMMV is the rule when getting into a description of a particular shaving product, regardless of costs. `

Now, that being said, lets get into the Dart. And I’ll just say it outright, this thing can shave. I was shocked at how little blade reveal you see from the end of the top cap to the sb guard. Yet, you get a very good feel of the blade with just enough positive blade exposure to provide an excellent feeling and efficient shave. Finding the angle was very easy and intuitive and keeping it there during the stroke is as natural as it gets. The balance was excellent with a good feel in the hands and yet, it did not feel as heavy as I thought it would be or looked. The blade is supported rigidly and almost fully between the top cap and base plate. It’s as stable as they come with a vise like hold on the blade. The blade lines up perfectly between the 2 posts and thread stud with utter precision, aligning the blade perfectly on both sides of the head. Sandwich the blade between the 2 pieces, grab the handle and screw it into the stud with a very nice turning action and you hear the blade semi “crunch” into its ready state of reducing whiskers.

It was a 3 pass shave, one tiny weeper on my throat, the slightest of irritation on my neck near the jawline for a BBS finish. Weeper and irritation I chalk up to just getting to know the razor and I think after a shave or two that will be non existent.

This razor is nothing like a RR Gamechanger or RR Mamba. The Dart is supremely more efficient than either of them at the cost of losing a bit of smoothness to the GC and even more so to the Mamba. But the efficiency makes up for that in spades and with positive blade exposure, it’s an excellent mid aggressive razor.

I only have one other Blackland product, the Sabre with both the L1 & L2 baseplate. I love my Sabre and will never part with it. I like the Dart on the first go round and I can really see myself digging this razor too. More shaves to follow.....

I basically agree with almost everything you said, Gus. I hesitated a bit on offering the Super Mamba description. I do think there is some physical suggestion of Mamba meets Rex, but it is a huge step up in efficiency from the Mamba, and it is much easier to find the right angle with the Dart (ie don’t worry about it, just shave).

The point I was trying to make is that I think for many, they will find in the Dart what they had hoped to find in the GC (and did not).

In saying that, I am totally aware than Shane is a class act, and never makes disparaging remarks about his competitors. It isn’t my intent to do so either. The RR razors mentioned are very high quality products designed for a different operating point or market segment.

The challenge lies in placing apples and oranges in reasonably informative relative positions on the spectrum without drawing some forced comparisons.

Truly, the Dart is like nothing except the Dart, and Blackland has a very generous return policy.

FINALLY, a couple of great and well worded reviews!
MY Dart is out for delivery today .... so, I'm NOW looking forward to my first shave with it ...

JAY

I agree wholeheartedly with you partner. And trust me, I was not taking a shot at anyone regarding their shave experience with the Dart. With your apples and oranges analogy you hit it spot on. I only mentioned the RR GC & Mamba as a reference point as to the trade off in smoothness versus gaining a more direct feeling razor and blade at the benefit of increased efficiency that the Dart brings compared to those 2 mentioned previously. I still have the RR GC & Mamba and they shave very nicely for me. The Rex is very close to the Dart in its highest setting, but I feel a bit more blade and directness with the Dart versus the Rex, yet the Rex feels a tiny bit smoother than the Dart. To me at least it does.

More importantly though is the old adage of YMMV in Shaving related terms. It truly is the rule and not a probability as we start elaborating on how a specific razor performs and feels for each individual. The variables are many to keep a general consensus that most/all can agree upon and accept. And I’m cool with that, as we are all different on how we approach our shaves and the means that we use to get to the same goal. A Damn Good Shave if not a BBS finish. That’s the end game, period.

And to be fair, Shane himself gave a pretty darn good comparison when he stated that he would slot the Shave feel and characteristics of the Dart between the Sabre L2 and the venerable Blackbird. I own the Sabre with L2 and I feel as though the Dart is a step ahead of it in terms of efficiency and blade feel. I don’t have a Blackbird but I did shave with one a few times that my brother let me try a couple years back. I really can’t honestly tell you if the Dart shaves more or less efficiently than the Blackbird as I can’t remember how it felt but, I will say that the shaves from the latter were very close and gave a very good long lasting BBS finish, just like the Dart.

By the way, hope you’re on your way to a quick recovery (I just read a few posts ahead of mine and saw your work related incident) and can get back to using your dominant hand and really put the Dart through its paces. Then again, now might be a good time to become ambidextrous. It pays off in the long run....

I basically agree with almost everything you said, Gus. I hesitated a bit on offering the Super Mamba description. I do think there is some physical suggestion of Mamba meets Rex, but it is a huge step up in efficiency from the Mamba, and it is much easier to find the right angle with the Dart (ie don’t worry about it, just shave).

The point I was trying to make is that I think for many, they will find in the Dart what they had hoped to find in the GC (and did not).

In saying that, I am totally aware than Shane is a class act, and never makes disparaging remarks about his competitors. It isn’t my intent to do so either. The RR razors mentioned are very high quality products designed for a different operating point or market segment.

The challenge lies in placing apples and oranges in reasonably informative relative positions on the spectrum without drawing some forced comparisons.

Truly, the Dart is like nothing except the Dart, and Blackland has a very generous return policy.

FYI: I Just got my DART today and measured the diameter of the handle at the base. It is right at 14mm and it fits tightly in the 14mm Timeless Razor STAND.

Today’s shave was just as good if not better than yesterday’s. I did a 2 pass shave that gave an excellent result without a single nic, weeper or the dreaded irritation bullies showing up. The stubble didn’t start showing up until late this morning and I finally had my 5 O’Clock shadow at about 3-4 pm today, that’s how close the 1st shave was. That’s almost 13-14 hours of a BBS shave from the previous night. Impressive, only behind my straights, RX and my PAA EVO DOC SS for longevity and closeness. This razor ain’t going anywhere.......