(This post was last modified: 06-10-2023, 11:05 PM by Dragonsbeard.)
Ok so I did the side by side comparison between the Asylum Injector and the E Barbershop Type O Clone and it definitely didn’t go the way I thought it would which I anticipated as a very close match up but not so. So first I have to say that I’ve had my Type O Clone for a long time and I’ve always used a twin blade in it and gotten excellent results with it. In the last year because of a filled up work schedule I’ve been doing a lot of shower shaves where I use either the Clone or I’ve got a vintage Gillette Fat Handles Tech that I like.
So about a week ago after about 50 shaves on the twins I thought let me put a new blade in it but it was weird it didn’t go in as smooth as normal and I struggled with it for a few minutes but I got it in ok . So because I’ve been trying other razors for the last couple of weeks I haven’t used the Clone until todays match up shave off. Well to make things even I took the twin blade out and put a Schick Yellow in it and put a new one in the Asylum also. It went in both razors easily so I thought to myself I wonder why the twin gave me a hard time last time I put one in but I didn’t dwell on it and moved on.
So for todays shave I felt like using my Greenfresh F Base and I think I over loaded as the lather was really dense.. not a problem with my DE razors but I found that with both of these two SE’s I had to rinse them quite often throughout the entire shave. So I should have added more water and not loaded as much on the brush. There’s definitely a weight difference and you really feel it when changing from one to the other. It wasn’t a problem but thought I’d mention it.
Ok so like the old Shave Offs I used to do I split my face into 4 Sections as my whole right solids of my face and neck are much more difficult to shave as I’ve got some nasty cowlicks especially on my neck on my right side. I thought I’d give that area to the Asylum and my cheeks to the Clone. Just the opposite on the other side neck to the Clone and cheeks to the Asylum. I have a little more than 2 days growth.
So starting on my left side with the Asylum going WTG as normal it took down a considerable amount of growth and was very smooth with just a bit of blade feel. I’ll note I had the time so I did a little bit of skin stretching but not overly aggressive. Did my cheeks, half my chin and have above my lips ( under my nose ) So an excellent 1st pass but like I mentioned I had to stop at least 3 or 4 times to rinse the razor head. On to the left side and the Type O Clone. Again going WTG within a couple of short stroke I noticed that the razor had an unusual amount of blade feel but I attributed it to the Yellow blade maybe not being as sharp as the Twins I’m used to in the razor. With the Clone still in hand I went over to my left side to complete the WTG pass on my neck area and it was pretty much the same. At this point I’m saying to myself I’m not liking this blade in this razor. So back to the Asylum for the WTG on my most difficult area, my right side neck with its nasty cowlicks. The Asylum performed beautifully on the first past but like the Clone I had to rinse often which I won’t keep bring up but it happened through talk 3 passes.
So rinsed and reapplied the Lather for the XTG pass. The Asylum with some skin stretching definitely took down a good amount of what was left of my growth and if this were a work shave I’d be good with a nice DFS shave. Again picked up the Clone and went eat to nose while doing my skin stretch short stroke technique and when I got to my nose the blade feel under my nose was sort of uncomfortable so at this point things just don’t seem right. Confirmed on my chin. I’m at this point ready to put the Twin back in the Clone because there was quite a bit of stubble left and that is not normal for this razor but I finished the pass and completed the rest of the XTG passes. When I rinsed and felt my face it was almost light I had done only one pass where the Clone had shaves as there was quite a bit of stubble left. I almost put the twin in but I thought no I’ve got to finish this shave. So not to go into extreme detail the Asylum performed great going ATG and the Clone seem to leave as much stubble as was there after the 2nd pass. At this point I’m just not happy with the Clone which I’ve always liked a lot for it’s smoothness and efficiency. Well I knew something was wrong besides the blade and sure enough after inspecting the razor I discovered it had the dreaded smile on the SB. Apparently when I put the Twin in it last time and it was so hard to get in from me forcing it in and moving the injector cartridge around I damaged the razor. Im not happy as their hard to replace and I’ve enjoyed this razor for quite a few years but it’s ruined now as there’s not way to relate it. So no wonder the tremendous amount of blade feel and inability to take don my stubble. I layered up again and went over the areas where I had used the Clone with the Asylum and I ended up with a vey solid BBS shave but I’m not happy about the loss of one of my consistently good shaving razors and my number one Shower shaver.
So not a good test of the two razors. I will begin my search t try to replace my Clone. So I guess I’ll have to break out my vintage Schick Type M adjustable for my shower shaves. So a sad day at the den. Not sure if you can see the smile on the Clone but trust me it’s there. I once had a DE razor that was sod t me that had a smile and it was useless so I’m familiar with the issue.
So Dave I basically didn’t accomplish anything with todays Shave Off except I got another good shave out of the Asylum.
Enjoy your weekend all