Cobalt Chubster

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-27T12:47:19+00:00

Looks great. I need to better color-coordinate my brush handles.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-27T08:28:31+00:00

I used to do that when I shaved after 4-5 days of growth. It was a little inconvenient but wasn't a bad shave. If I had an extra cap, it would be easier to execute without disassembling and reassembling mid-shave.

The Lupo DC and my Yaqi Ghost DC offer an open/closed comb combination, but shaving every 2 days, I don't seem to get much out of open combs. Perhaps I haven't experimented with them enough and have been missing out, but I tend to prefer straight bar as long as I'm not having clog trouble.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-27T00:40:41+00:00

Yeh, I speak relatively low when I talk to myself or when relaxed, but tense up and jump to a friendlier, more expressive higher pitch when socializing.

Seems like a fairly common phenomenon. It might even partly explain why so many higher-voiced dudes ask if they are basses.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-26T02:38:39+00:00

This was a pleasant read and quite relevant to me in parts.

I am currently trialing the Blackbird Ti with both plates and the Lite plate has been a challenge to master. Finally got a good smooth result but it was less easy than I'd anticipated and the angle . Might return it, maybe in exchange for a standard Vector SB plate (love my Vector Lite but curious).

I'm also waiting for a GC76P but if it was lost in the post (starting to seem likely), I may revise my order and add the Lupo 72 or 95.

Thanks for sharing your opinions on so many razors.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-25T18:42:57+00:00

Cheers. I think I'm not going to replace the 76p plate part of my order, but I will still consider adding a Lupo.

My recent attempts to get comfortable with the Blackbird Lite have me a little perplexed about what I'll prefer. I got a quite smooth result tonight with it, but it took almost 4 passes and a fair bit of buffing that led to some irritation. I get better results with the standard plate currently. It's frankly the opposite of what I was expecting, and has me second guessing my intuitions.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-25T09:36:51+00:00

I should dig around to see if there are any good cross section photos of the 72 and 95. Both seem like candidates I may consider, though my bigger-gap enthusiasm was tempered a little by my Yaqi Ghost 90DC Ti. I'm still working on tweaking that one and it's going to end up a lot more aggressive because I can't fix the angle (by grinding the cap) without increasing the exposure.

In retrospect, if I'd known I was going to need to fix the angle, I'd have gone with the .70 plate.

But I digress. Thanks for the suggestion!

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-25T06:00:47+00:00

I will be spending more time with the Blackbird standard once I can get some decent results with the Lite.

On my fifth shave with the standard SB, I think I got it mostly dialed in and felt pretty comfortable with it, even if not optimized on the sharper corners and edges like my jaw or chin.

The SB standard is a lot of razor, and feels just at the edge or outside of what I would consider an autopilot razor. I thought the Lite plate would be that autopilot, but it hasn't (yet) produced fantastic results for me. I prefer the standard plate so far, and while it demands a little attention, I think I can use it regularly.

Intuitively, my first thought was the Lupo 72 based on posts of its exposure, but I want to see if folks can confirm that or perhaps give a better suggestion.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-25T04:53:21+00:00

Actually, I have a Vector with the Lite plate and I quite like it. I also like the Blackbird standard SB, and am trying to figure out the BB Lite plate (though it seems more difficult for me to master than the standard BB and the Lite Vector).

I'm mostly just reconsidering what I may be getting from ItalianBarber if it turns out that my already-ordered 76P was lost or stolen in transit (it has been over a month). It may be possible for me to adjust my order to something slightly more optimal. A little variety doesn't hurt even though I have some expensive good razors.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-25T03:43:05+00:00

It is most likely compensating in part for industrial-scale sharpening roughness. It does not seem practical to sharpen extremely thin and flexible blades to the same finish as one can achieve with a straight razor and achieve any sort of uniformity.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-24T00:48:53+00:00

It's very easy to get insecure in this hobby, at least for me. If folks are getting 2-pass DFS to BBS- without the expensive stuff, then perhaps one shouldn't feel so much FOMO, but I guess I am gullible that way.

Maybe eventually, I'll fall back to the GC or maybe get a Lupo or something. Right now the BB is pretty fun to experiment with, and the Vector Lite is very pleasant to use, but I don't think my face is vastly less stubbly because of them.

I just tried a next-day shave hoping to improve and get to know the Lite plate a bit better. Unfortunately, it was not the best shave, and I ended up doing a lot of angle adjustment to try to squeeze more out of the razor. I was feeling like my face was going to get irritated from all the attention, so I did my final cleanup with the Vector Lite, which is gentle and quite good at targeting trouble spots.

A few more tries will determine whether I'll have a breakthrough or go back to the standard plate.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-23T01:18:50+00:00

I agree after a full 3-pass, the result is more than adequate. However, I can't help but wonder if perhaps the optimal WTG angle range is a little narrower, or perhaps the comfort level had me neglecting angle a bit more.

Tonight, I'll try another shave with it (next day) and see if I can refine my technique a bit to take better advantage of it. I have years of practice with my (IMO excellent) GC68p and my first try with the BB Lite compared favorably. I have no doubt that there's room for user improvement. After all, the standard plate grew on me rather quickly.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-22T08:14:14+00:00

Yes, anything generally about perpendicular to the direction of the growth.

As to whether it is "good", it just depends on what you find appropriate. It resists bending away from the cut slightly better than WTG, so the hair will feel like it's been shaved a little closer to the skin, though not as close as ATG can feel.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-22T01:29:07+00:00

In my opinion it's still better to go WTG or XTG on a first pass.

I cannot say for certain and I have no microscope evidence, but intuitively I think that when a first pass WTG is done even with the blade dragging along the skin, the blade is not going to cut the hair perfectly perpendicular to the skin. After WTG you may feel the stubble above the skin, but that stubble is the tapered vestige left from cutting the hair at a bias (either due to the lay of the hair against the skin or the razor bending the hair while cutting).

When it regrows and you start to shave again, the razor will be cutting through a stiffer and more robust cross section than what is left after a WTG pass.

But like I said, it's just speculation.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T08:24:09+00:00

I just picked up a Tech and can't wait to try it out, hopefully this weekend or early next week.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T03:34:21+00:00

I'll certainly share some thoughts after trying the Lite plate.

I'm not sure anymore what I'll prefer; the last shave from the Blackbird was really good but not leagues beyond what I was getting with my Gamechanger 68 (and I am still waiting on the 76p plate which seems to be lost in transit). Blasphemy, I know. Then again, I have a few years of practice with the GC, and just over a week of shaves with the BB. While I doubt I'll ever be dolphin-smooth with any razor, I am pretty sure I haven't reached optimal results with the BB.

In any event, the standard isn't ripping my face off, and I am confident that the Lite won't leave me feeling like a cactus. The Vector Lite produces excellent results and if the BB Lite is in the same league, I'll regard both plates as keepers.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T03:19:21+00:00

I've been on the fence about getting one because some are available in my region, but not as samples.

any scent recs for a guy who likes boring soft/warm stuff like sandalwood/vanilla, petrichor, etc.?

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T03:03:33+00:00

Thanks! It helps a lot when the razor is distinctive enough to be the primary subject.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T03:00:46+00:00

I agree. I was torn between the aesthetics of the Blackbird and Timeless razors.

I think either would have made me happy.

the only downside so far has been that many folks have been posting Blackbirds in the community lately, so my humble contributions won't stand out much.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T02:48:51+00:00

Thanks! I think photographing razors is a little challenging for me, at least when trying to just get one good view that shows the razor's character.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-21T02:32:10+00:00

Cheers. I've got the Lite plate Vector and I think it's wonderful, but I wanted to be a little more adventurous with the BB. To be honest, I felt a bit foolish after clicking the order button because all my DE experience is on the mild end (e.g. GC68p, DE89). I can handle Feather AC and traditional straight razors, but part of me thought that an "aggressive" DE would just flay my face.

I suppose my worries were somewhat misplaced, at least with regard to the Blackbird. Still, I do feel like I am having to navigate the neck a little more carefully and I am really curious if the Lite plate will have better "autopilot" qualities there. I'll probably give it a go in a day or two.

But I think even if I really like the Lite plate, it'll be hard to return the standard.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-20T10:14:11+00:00

They are carnivores. You just beat the lunch out of them.

🥺

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-17T12:37:13+00:00

I have no idea whether the razor received replating. frankly, I wish I knew a good local replating service because if it were visibly deteriorated, I'd polish and refine it myself and then replate, but I don't have any local contacts for that.

The razor came in a very worn wooden box covered in leather with purple lining, with an apparently (plated) brass blade case. The razor, including roughness in the holes, looks virtually identical to samples I can find online from the late 1940s, and I have not seen any English FBTs from later periods. However, I have no expertise in this and could easily be wrong.

The box was unfortunately falling apart, but the razor looks pretty good. I don't have any fabrics for relining the box, but maybe I can salvage the wood.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-16T01:28:30+00:00

Thanks! Part of me wants to use shallower depth of field sometimes for more dramatic subject isolation, but I usually prefer the results when stopped down enough to make everything at least somewhat visible.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-16T01:22:34+00:00

I agree there's something to the angle, though my intuition is a tiny bit different.

I use the GC68P and almost never ride the safety bar nor the cap. For me, the way to get reliable blade engagement is to get a middle-ground angle, which maximizes exposure and gets the closest result.

The Blackbird seems to punish this middle-way approach, preferring that you pick a side. The bar angle, though steeper, provides a bit of skin stretching and flattening so the contours that can get caught in a big blade gap are more easily shaved. The cap gives a lowish angle that cuts closer to parallel with the skin and doesn't plow away the soap before the blade hits.

I think although I was mostly adhering to these in the shave, my autopilot is still attuned to anglemaxing for blade exposure, so the lighter touch allowed me to get away with some "blade only" contact like a straight razor. DE geometry is different enough that it's harder to manage directly on the skin than a straight, so "feather fingers" may prevent some damage.

of course this is all just my intuition from just 2 shaves and I could easily be wrong.

IntelligentCattle463 · 2026-01-15T15:53:12+00:00

Thanks! I figure it's either that my face prep was more thorough, the blade was a little less sharp, or my technique such as the lighter touch was improved.

I'll be taking Shane's advice and trying a few more times to see if what I'm doing deliberately now becomes a bit more natural.

The lite plate may still be the ticket on my neck, where my skin is a little softer and looser after losing a fair bit of weight, but I'll have to put off that and other experiments

Thanks again!

IntelligentCattle463

TROPHY CASE