Blackland shaving brush

p.b

Forum GOD!
Being a Blackbird fan I’m very tempted by the brush but I suspect, at 23mm, it’s a little small for my preferences. However, I do have a 24mm Rasorock and think that’s great so it might be fine.

Has anyone bought the Blackland brush? What’s your opinion of it?
 

Wintermute

Forum GOD!
Did you end up getting one? I'm quite tempted, i love the look of the handle but it is a lot of money for a 23mm synthetic.
 

Zhang Doe

Forum GOD!
Ooh, didn't realize there were colors other than black. Love the green. Seems high considering I just paid about $65 for a stainless steel synthetic brush, though that was the sale price. But I suppose the price can be somewhat justified due to the anodized aluminum. You're paying more for the handle than the knot. It should be more than a resin handle.
 

Ventastic

Forum GOD!
I think if Maggards had it I may be tempted. The way it is for us in the EU though, once you add the postage costs and customs/vat, the brush starts getting very pricey.
 

Blackland Razors

Forum GOD!
Artisan
I agree, I think if it were $30 less, I would have bought it already. It's a bit high, even for anodized aluminum.
The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.

So ultimately I'm confident that these were all the right choices in order to create a quality product that looks beautiful, performs well, and is as accessible as possible. Of course, none of what I just said makes the brush any cheaper or magically puts that extra $30 in your pocket, but I at least hope you guys can see the pricing rationale and understand that it's not egregious and was done with as much respect for the customer as possible. :)
 

gwsmallwood

Legendary Member
The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.

So ultimately I'm confident that these were all the right choices in order to create a quality product that looks beautiful, performs well, and is as accessible as possible. Of course, none of what I just said makes the brush any cheaper or magically puts that extra $30 in your pocket, but I at least hope you guys can see the pricing rationale and understand that it's not egregious and was done with as much respect for the customer as possible. :)
Thanks, Shane. It's always helpful to know what goes into these designs when we make our decisions. Ultimately it's your design, and you get to do what you want with it and charge what you feel is right. I don't begrudge you that at all. You make great products and you have plenty of fans in the shaving world that will buy these. I might eventually pick one up myself.
 

MrK1

Forum GOD!
The price is due primarily to three factors: the design and its required method of manufacture, the hard Type II anodizing, and wholesale plans. The vertical cuts require a lathe that also has CNC mill internally to mill the slots while it's turned. Axing that feature would save a fair chunk of money, but the design just wouldn't be right. Same with the anodizing. We could cheap out and go with a basic anodizing to cut costs, but hard anodizing is the right choice for longevity and protection against wear and tear. Finally, we need enough meat on the bone to be able to wholesale these. As Blackland grows, I'm leaning more and more into wholesaling because it benefits you guys internationally so much. It makes ordering one of our products a more pleasant experience and that's good for all involved. But that benefit doesn't come free.

So ultimately I'm confident that these were all the right choices in order to create a quality product that looks beautiful, performs well, and is as accessible as possible. Of course, none of what I just said makes the brush any cheaper or magically puts that extra $30 in your pocket, but I at least hope you guys can see the pricing rationale and understand that it's not egregious and was done with as much respect for the customer as possible. :)
Shane,

What made you decide on a 23mm knot?
(Apologies if it's been asked elsewhere)
 

p.b

Forum GOD!
I wouldn't even be considering it if it didn't have the milled flutes on it :) It wouldn't be a Blackbird without them and i wouldn't expect basic anodizing either. :thumbsup:

However, why only 23mm? Yaqi do a 26mm knot that can be set a little lower to give decent backbone. I'd pay more for a more luxuriously sized knot...
 

Blackland Razors

Forum GOD!
Artisan
23mm fits the brush design best. Bumping to a 26 changes the shoulder/waist/hip proportions. Of course, you could scale the whole thing to fit it, but I love the way it feels in hand so I wouldn't want to do that. I also think around 23-25mm is the best size for most people. To make up for the slightly smaller knot, we bumped up the density a fair amount. So you wind up with more fibers than you'd get in a standard 24mm knot in a smaller package.
 

gwsmallwood

Legendary Member
23mm fits the brush design best. Bumping to a 26 changes the shoulder/waist/hip proportions. Of course, you could scale the whole thing to fit it, but I love the way it feels in hand so I wouldn't want to do that. I also think around 23-25mm is the best size for most people. To make up for the slightly smaller knot, we bumped up the density a fair amount. So you wind up with more fibers than you'd get in a standard 24mm knot in a smaller package.
I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.
 

Boycie83

Space Cadet
I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.
Although I have a few larger brushes, 24mm is the sweet spot for me as well. It's the knot size that dominates my collection.
 

p.b

Forum GOD!
I'm pretty much an exclusive synth user. I agree with Shane's assessment. I had a similar conversation with Matt Pisarcik recently. I have a couple of 26mm knots that I enjoy, but the sweet spot is right around that 24mm mark. Any larger, and the lofts don't grow along with the base, which makes them hollow out in the middle over time and tends to make them feel springy.
I have several synthetic brushes larger than 24mm and mine have not hollowed out in the middle so I don’t know why you make that statement.
 

Ventastic

Forum GOD!
Although I have a few larger brushes, 24mm is the sweet spot for me as well. It's the knot size that dominates my collection.
For synths, this is true for me too. I need a bigger badger knot to get the amount of lather a 24mm synth can produce. I have tried the cashmere and plissoft noir (similar to this hair?) knots in 26mm and prefer the smaller ones. However, not to say a large synth can‘t be wonderful. My Omega evo shares the top spot with my RR Plissoft Noir 24mm.
 

gwsmallwood

Legendary Member
I have several synthetic brushes larger than 24mm and mine have not hollowed out in the middle so I don’t know why you make that statement.
Just my opinion. Just because it happened to me, doesn't mean it happens to everyone. Just because it didn't happen for you, doesn't mean it doesn't happen for anyone. I've talked to many synthetic users who have had this problem with large, dense synthetics, though.
 
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