The Blackbird was an accident. In fact, Blackland itself was an accident. I didn't set out to create a razor or a razor company.
I was fresh out of college and started learning how to design things on a computer. I would measure and copy random items around the house to practice designing. A coffee mug, a pen, a watch, a razor.
I played with that razor design. Iterating and tweaking until it started to look the way I wanted. Then I tested it out on my own face. Ouch! Further tweaking.
Through trial and error, the Blackbird took shape. It wasn't meant to be sold - it was just for me. So it shaved just the way I wanted it to. No testers. No market analysis. No focus group. Just a razor that worked for my face better than anything else.
I wound up with something special. A razor that mows down a thick beard like mine without nicking or cutting. It was unique.
And it turns out I wasn't the only one who thought the Blackbird was unique. I showed the design and prototypes on social media. People loved it. So I found a machinist and they made production samples. I made a company, too.
I launched the Blackbird razor on Kickstarter in the summer of 2015. Since then, we've sold thousands of them to people all over the world. The design hasn't changed. It's still that same razor that I stumbled into by trial and error in my college apartment.
It's a cool feeling to know that every day, someone somewhere wakes up and uses the razor that I designed just for myself all those years ago. The Blackbird changed my life and I hope you get the chance to try it yourself. It (probably) won't change your life. Then again, I didn't expect it to either.
Long live the Blackbird.
Shane Swartzlander // Founder
