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If you’ve shopped around for razors, you’ve likely seen a lot of discussion about blade gap. It’s one of the most commonly referenced safety razor specs, and while it can be helpful, it alone doesn’t tell the full story. In fact, it can often be misleading.
Take our Blackbird razor, for example. It has a smaller gap than the Osprey Level One, yet it’s far more efficient and blade-forward. If you used blade gap as your sole comparison tool, you might end up confused and frustrated.
That’s why we don’t publish blade gap measurements. We believe shaving is a personal, subjective experience, and reducing that to a single spec oversimplifies what really matters.
Instead, we created something better.
A Better Way to Choose a Razor
We developed the Razor Performance Rating System. It's a more complete and useful way to describe how a safety razor actually feels in use. Every Blackland razor is rated across four key criteria:
✅ Efficiency
How well the razor removes hair per stroke. A 1 barely cuts, while a 10 gives you a BBS shave just by looking at it.
✅ Blade Feel
Describes (you guessed it) how much of the blade you feel during the shave.
✅ Smoothness
Measures glide and comfort. High smoothness is often correlated with a lower blade feel and efficiency, but not always.
✅ Weight
The only fully objective rating in the system. Weight is often overlooked in how it impacts performance, but we believe it's a huge factor. It has a major impact on maneuverability, versatility, and blade engagement.
Each of these categories is scored from 1 to 10, based on real-world testing and feedback. Is it subjective? Yes. But so is shaving.
The industry has long leaned on blade gap as shorthand for how a razor performs. But a spec sheet is misleading and can never truly describe how a razor feels.
That’s why our performance system focuses on what matters most - the shave experience.
So no, we don’t share blade gaps. We share something better: a system created by real shavers to help you understand how a razor truly performs.
