Received my Black Hawk today.

I got my Black Hawk razor in the mail today.  Since I'm a night shaver I was able to take it for a test run.  My first impressions were favorable when it comes to fit and finish.  Upon handling the razor I knew the black coating on the handle wasn't going to hold up.  It was very grippy which is great, but there's no way for the coating to stick to it when the grip is that fine/sharp.  As I was handling it I had some of the coating come off which was no surprise.  My main concern is how it holds up on the head.  

I loaded up my brush for a 3-pass shave and went to town.  My immediate thought was how light the razor is and it took me back to when I first tried a Seygus.  No offense to Seygus, but I found that razor to be a paint scraper, having to constantly go back over several spots to the point of having actually done a 6-pass shave.  The Hawk did a better job although halfway through the shave I considered switching over to a stainless steel handle for the added weight.  I toughed it out and finished my shave.  With the razor being so light I found myself having to use quite a bit more pressure than I normally would.  I was concerned my face was going to end up razor-rashed, but everything worked out fine.  I found the Hawk to be a very mild shaver compared to the other single edges I own.  My primary single edge is the Mongoose which I find to be a mid-aggessive single edge.  I continued my shave as I would with any other razor I own.  Three passes, touch up here and there, plus an extra ATG on the neck for good measure.  No weeper, cuts or rash.  As it is now I don't see myself doing the normal 7 shaves and then switching to a new blade/new razor like I usually do.  My face actually feels great, and is definitely bbs, but I need a little more heft when it comes to gear.

Overall my impression is positive.  I got a great shave with a pretty darn good razor.  I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's shave so I can see how adding a heavy handle to it will effect things, especially the feel of the razor, for me.   I've added a few pics for comparison to the Mongoose as they are both VERY similar in head geometry.  As it stands now it's definitely worth the $25 cost and hopefully the head doesn't chip or wear too much too early.  I like my toys to look nice.