New Blackland Era

I used the level 3 SB for my face shave last night...don't worry, it was only 7 days worth of growth this time, not almost 4 weeks!

the level 3 SB is not efficient enough for my tastes..it shaves fine, but not as close as I like to get with my 1 pass shaves. I'll be sending these back to get the level 4 stuff.

I used the level 3 SB for my face shave last night...don't worry, it was only 7 days worth of growth this time, not almost 4 weeks!

the level 3 SB is not efficient enough for my tastes..it shaves fine, but not as close as I like to get with my 1 pass shaves.  I'll be sending these back to get the level 4 stuff.

Agree with your assessment... the Level 3 SB shaves nice, but not quite efficient enough for me. I also tried the Level 4, and send it back (I probably could have kept it and done pretty well with it). I'm planning to get the Level 5 SB to try when it's back in stock.

I used the level 3 SB for my face shave last night...don't worry, it was only 7 days worth of growth this time, not almost 4 weeks!

the level 3 SB is not efficient enough for my tastes..it shaves fine, but not as close as I like to get with my 1 pass shaves.  I'll be sending these back to get the level 4 stuff.

Agree with your assessment... the Level 3 SB shaves nice, but not quite efficient enough for me. I also tried the Level 4, and send it back (I probably could have kept it and done pretty well with it). I'm planning to get the Level 5 SB to try when it's back in stock.

I am watching all the reviews and come to the conclusion if I was to order an ERA I would definitely start with a level 5 OC. So if I was not satisfied I would return it for a refund. Going from plate to plate even so it can be exchanged becomes expensive as it does not include shipping.

can anyone compare the era to the tradere SB? Blackland rates plate 5 as having the same efficiency but with slightly more blade feel. Are people finding that rating accurate?

Looks like the Era inventory has been restocked 

5 SB on the way.

5 SB on the way.

Arrived today. Will give it a go next shave on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Just got and shaved with the Level 5 SB. My decision to go with the Level 5 was based on what I was reading in this thread on the other levels. I’m glad I did as the razor gave me a nice smooth 3 pass BBS on 3/12 days growth. Blade feel was there but it was minimal. Kind of similar to my Yates H Plate in that area. The only slight complaint for me was it wasn’t instant love with the handle but it is my first use so we will see if that changes with a couple of more uses. For the money I’d say this is a good value.

On a side note, someone mentioned that this Level 5 is supposed to be similar in blade feel to a Tradere OC and I would have to disagree with that in regards to the original OC Tradere which I sold a few months ago. The Era to me is definitely has less and is a smoother shaver. It’s been a few years since I sold my Tradere SB so can’t make that comparison with confidence.

I’ll do a couple more shaves and do a update on the Era Level 5 SB.

Great shaves all

I've had my Level 5 SB for two weeks now.  In that time I also bought and sold a Lambda Athena, and got back a Weber that had been on an extended loan.  Of those three razors, I get my best shaves from the Era, with the Weber coming in a close second.  Of all the DE razors I have ever used, the Era has by far the best blade vice.  Nothing else even comes close.  Because of its design it clamps the blade closer to the edge than any other razor; a design that was accomplished by its method of manufacture.  Perhaps it could have been achieved using MIM (I don't know), but certainly not by CNC machining.  

Like Dragonsbeard I waited until the reviews were in before pulling the trigger.  Being a one pass shaver with a coarse white beard, I had my doubts that it would work for me (the Lambda Athena did not).  However those doubts were laid to rest from the first shave.  I do have some criticisms, but not of the shave quality.  The finish is rough, the handle is too heavy for the head, and the safety bar's connection to the baseplate looks a bit frail.  I like the feel of my 30 gram Tibam Ti handle with the 28 gram head, even though the two finishes look somewhat incongruous.  Maybe I'll have the head polished to match the handle; I haven't yet decided.

Could you explain why you feel that CNC machining could not make a head clamp a blade as well as the ERA process? When I look at my Tatara Nodachi head the blade is clamped almost identical to the ERA, and it is CNC machined.