I went through a 31 day fixed shave format where I had to use four items for the whole month of March on another forum that I'm a member of. Had to use a razor, soap, blade and brush and stick with these same items from beginning to end of the month. The razor I chose was the Asylum Rx. I had purchased it in mid February and only had a handful of shaves with it, so I figured I'd give it a full months worth of shaves to get familiar with it, figure out it's characteristics and just try my best to dial it in. Here is what I found or better yet, what I discovered about this amazing razor...... I'll start off first by just giving a little bit of an introduction on the maker of this razor, it's development and why it was made. I'm not going to go in depth on it's concepts and developmental stages, but just a quick overview on the vision to reality. Most of the info was obtained directly from the Bullgoose website. What was the reason for this razors being? Phil Huntsinger, the owner of Bullgoose had a thought on what a modern se razor should be using the current AC style blade such as the Feather Pro Series and the Kai Titan Series blades. He commissioned a product engineer back in July of 2013 to design a single edge razor with a slim head profile and a locking mechanism that would secure the blade tightly and completely eliminate blade chatter and give smooth and consistent shaves. It took him a while to find a machine shop that had the proper machinery specific to creating and maintaining the tight tolerances required by the drawings he had created with his product engineer. In January of the following year, Phil found that shop that could produce the product as he wanted it, and they were intrigued by the project itself. The razor was born. Made out of 303 stainless, it is a free machining steel that has very good anti corrosion, heat and oxidation properties. It does have sulphide content, so it is not as corrosion resistant as S/S 304 or 316 Surgical Steel, but the 303 is more than sufficient for a shaving tool product. It's an austenitic stainless steel, so exposure to chlorine based liquids or environment can cause stress corrosion cracking above 60 degrees C. And don't take it out to sea, marine environments are not ideal for it. Why the Rx name? Because as Phil stated "it will give the wet shaving community a shot in the arm and, it will be a prescription for a superior shave". IMHO, mission accomplished. Slim head profile? Check. Super tight locking mechanism via a somewhat tongue and grove application? Check. All stainless steel construction? Check. No blade chatter or resonance? Check. Beautiful and exquisite machining? Check. They nailed it on all fronts in my estimation. Ok then, so how does it perform? It is an amazing razor. The feel and weight in the hands is spot on. The 3 piece design fits perfectly together with no wiggle or play once assembled with a blade and tightened down. Blade exposure and gap is more on the aggressive side, but not scary by any means. The smoothness and efficiency the Rx exhibits with the AC style blades is just phenomenal. Absolutely no pressure is needed or should be applied as the weight of the razor and the width of the razor head makes it unnecessary. Just smooth, consistent strokes and a relaxed grip is all that is needed for this razor to perform. After a shave or 2, the angle becomes apparent and almost intuitive to be honest. Don't get me wrong, if your careless the Rx will bite and there will be blood. My first 2 shaves were filled with weepers and a couple good nicks and a cut. Oh yes, and I'm a straight razor shaver. Haven't cut myself with one in over 10 years, but the Rx made me show some respect. Didn't deter me though, I wised up and showed it some respect and it has payed off with marvelous shaves. The past 2 weeks have been solely 2 pass shaves, WTG, ATG and put the razor down. No buffing, no touch ups of any kind. The post shave feel and longevity have been outstanding. 12 hour days of smooth, stubble free skin is the norm, with an occasional 16-18 hour smooth skin feeling. Irritation? Non existent, and I have super sensitive skin with wirey and semi course hair thrown in around the chin/throat area. Short work for the Rx, and I believe the AC style blades are part of the reason that the Rx is so smooth and efficient. These blades are super sharp, and stiff. No de blade even comes close to the stiffness on these AC style blades. It's a combination that works together beautifully. And the number of quality shaves these blades provide are unbelievable. I've gotten 14 shaves from a Kai Titan Mild. Yep, 14 pal. Count'em....... So, how good is it? Is it the best razor known to mankind? Will it cure me/us of our RAD and we'll never want to look at another razor again? Is it worth the $230 price tag? I can't answer that for you, because I haven't tried every single razor known to man. I do have a fair amount of razors in my den. Mostly adjustables from a Merkur Vision, Progress, Futur. A Gillette Slim '63. A Parker Variant Black and Satin. A Rockwell 6s and an Old Type and New OC razors. I also have a OneBlade, Version 1.0 and about half a dozen straights with my prized possession a Wade & Butcher Wedge with Barbers Notch passed down to me from my Old Man. And I will say this without any reservation or doubt. The Rx has outdone them all except for my prized family heirloom. It shaves on par with my Wade & Butcher. It pains me to say that, I never, ever thought that could be possible. IT'S THE BEST SAFETY RAZOR IN MY POSSESSION, PERIOD. Yes, we are all different with hair types, skin types and sensitivities. The old adage will always be announced, YMMV. Is it worth it? EVERY DAMN $CENT, IMO..... It is an excellent razor that is beautifully designed and machined. It will out live any of us 2-3 times over. And the quality shave and premium feel is second to none. I'd like to say it will work for everyone, but we know how that works. But to those that do acquire one and get to tame this amazing beast of a shaving tool will agree. IT'S THE BEST DAMN SAFETY RAZOR EVER!!!! I apologize gents for the long write up. I blame a couple glasses of Jamison for this one....
Great write up. Have you used any of the other AC blade razors like the Cobra or Mongoose? I would be interested to hear a comparison.
No, I haven't had the pleasure of trying any of those 2. To be honest I've never tried another se razor except for my V1 OneBlade. But I love the Cobra King & Classic look. After using my Rx, I really have no desire to try another se. The shaves are that good with it. Perhaps further down the road, I never say never. But I'm more than satisfied for now.
Only 2. The Kai Captain Original, and the Kai Titan Mild Pink blades. But I'm placing an order on some Feather Pro and ProGuard blades and perhaps the Kai ProTouch as we speak. I'll post my thoughts on them once I've received and put a few shaves on them.
Just to put in a quick note. I just recieved a couple of Feather Pro blades from a member in another forum and put in 2 shaves with them. I must say, I am impressed with the Feather Pro. Each shave was a 2 pass, WTG and ATG with barely a touch up along the jawline. It is more aggressive and I get more blade feel than from both Kai blades that I've tried. But it is incredibly sharp and efficient and both shaves have been smooth with 2 weepers in the first and 1 in the second. Post shave feel is just incredible, perhaps better than both Kai blades. I will give the smoothness and being more forgiving edge to the Kai, but the Feather Pro feels sharper and more efficient feeling. It mows whiskers with ease. I won't have a problem in purchasing Kai blades in the future, they work great. But the Feather Pro is in another level imo. I'll be buying these exclusively, they're that good. For me at least. RX/Feather Pro = AWESOME!
Nice reporting, Str8on2! I've concluded exactly the same impressions. I have a Mongoose and an Alumigoose, but plan to sell them. I can't imagine a better AC blade razor than the RX. I've got many DEs, injectors and Gem blade razors that I enjoy, but no razor in those categories is heads above the others. I also agree with your comparison of the Feather Pro to the Kai blades.
That's what we're here for. We love and encourage enabling!!! Seriously though, just as @pbrmhl has said, I think if you enjoy an aggressive but smooth and efficient shave, the RX is right up your alley. Enjoy amigo and keep us posted....
