Apex by Aylsworth Razors

Marius & Gus, how do the efficiency and shave of the Apex compare to the Blackbird?
Thanks.

Marius & Gus, how do the efficiency and shave of the Apex compare to the Blackbird?
Thanks.

Hello Celestino,
I can only tell you what I think personally and take this with a healthy helping of your favorite salt. Hopefully Marius will chime in with his perspective as well and help to contribute a better overall picture for your consideration.

I’ve never owned a Blackbird except for sampling their Stainless & Brass versions respectively from a kind forum member. It has been some time since that trial run but, from what I can recall, the Blackbird in both alloys offered a very direct forward & direct feel in overall blade feel on my skin. To me, the Blackbird was designed more for the shaver that employs riding the guard as I experienced a better quality shave with that technique. It wasn’t favorable in the neutral or cap riding technique that I have come to adapt more times than not. They both delivered very efficient shaves that were full on BBS but, there was always a modicum of irritation involved at the end and with the short time experience I had with them, perhaps a dozen shaves or so, I never got to dial them in properly and find out what technique to use to get them closer to my liking or at least satisfaction in comfort & results. Like I said, it was limited to a handful of shaves and I can not discount my limited use and lack of experience with them. However, i feel as though the Apex-Ti by Aylsworth is equally as efficient as the Blackbird while maintaining a much smoother & milder feel on the skin that very few razors deliver that I have encountered. I can’t speak for the Blackbird Ti as I’ve not had the opportunity to sample it either so, I would assume in the Ti alloy the Blackbird would exhibit the same tendencies that most Ti alloy razors are offering today. But, as I write this in answer to your question, I can wholeheartedly say that the Apex-Ti is the best razor that I have used in the Titanium alloy that delivers in both comfort and effective efficiency. Blade feel is nowhere near the Blackbird but, in the cutting aspect of it, it’s deceptively good while maintaining a smoothness that is arguably unmatched so far in my experience. Respectively, one also has to consider what type of shaver an individual is. Do you prefer blade feel as it provides more audible data and feel on what is transpiring between steel & skin? Do you prefer efficiency over comfort related to skin tolerance in keeping the potential irritation bugs from appearing? There’s a lot of variables Celestino, too many to name at this moment. I will say this to close out my lengthy answer and that is that I have in the Apex-Ti perhaps the best compromise of comfort, efficiency & smoothness that my skin & whiskers have ever met. Ironically, the razor that I can compare it to closely is another Blackland, the Dart which I love immensely for its smoothness & efficiency. The one that most wet shavers despise as being too aggressive. Go figure. The difference with the Dart & Apex-Ti though is that the latter offers me a more natural shave position that is slightly more intuitive thus more comfortable and easier to maintain in completing my shaves.

I may have not made it any more clearer and possibly muddled the waters even further for you but, it’s as best an explanation as I can give you amigo.

Great shaves to you my friend…

Marius & Gus, how do the efficiency and shave of the Apex compare to the Blackbird?
Thanks.

Hello Celestino,
I can only tell you what I think personally and take this with a healthy helping of your favorite salt. Hopefully Marius will chime in with his perspective as well and help to contribute a better overall picture for your consideration.

I’ve never owned a Blackbird except for sampling their Stainless & Brass versions respectively from a kind forum member. It has been some time since that trial run but, from what I can recall, the Blackbird in both alloys offered a very direct forward & direct feel in overall blade feel on my skin. To me, the Blackbird was designed more for the shaver that employs riding the guard as I experienced a better quality shave with that technique. It wasn’t favorable in the neutral or cap riding technique that I have come to adapt more times than not. They both delivered very efficient shaves that were full on BBS but, there was always a modicum of irritation involved at the end and with the short time experience I had with them, perhaps a dozen shaves or so, I never got to dial them in properly and find out what technique to use to get them closer to my liking or at least satisfaction in comfort & results. Like I said, it was limited to a handful of shaves and I can not discount my limited use and lack of experience with them. However, i feel as though the Apex-Ti by Aylsworth is equally as efficient as the Blackbird while maintaining a much smoother & milder feel on the skin that very few razors deliver that I have encountered. I can’t speak for the Blackbird Ti as I’ve not had the opportunity to sample it either so, I would assume in the Ti alloy the Blackbird would exhibit the same tendencies that most Ti alloy razors are offering today. But, as I write this in answer to your question, I can wholeheartedly say that the Apex-Ti is the best razor that I have used in the Titanium alloy that delivers in both comfort and effective efficiency. Blade feel is nowhere near the Blackbird but, in the cutting aspect of it, it’s deceptively good while maintaining a smoothness that is arguably unmatched so far in my experience. Respectively, one also has to consider what type of shaver an individual is. Do you prefer blade feel as it provides more audible data and feel on what is transpiring between steel & skin? Do you prefer efficiency over comfort related to skin tolerance in keeping the potential irritation bugs from appearing? There’s a lot of variables Celestino, too many to name at this moment. I will say this to close out my lengthy answer and that is that I have in the Apex-Ti perhaps the best compromise of comfort, efficiency & smoothness that my skin & whiskers have ever met. Ironically, the razor that I can compare it to closely is another Blackland, the Dart which I love immensely for its smoothness & efficiency. The one that most wet shavers despise as being too aggressive. Go figure. The difference with the Dart & Apex-Ti though is that the latter offers me a more natural shave position that is slightly more intuitive thus more comfortable and easier to maintain in completing my shaves.

I may have not made it any more clearer and possibly muddled the waters even further for you but, it’s as best an explanation as I can give you amigo.

Great shaves to you my friend…

I've owned the Blackbird in SS and Ti. I agree with your feedback. Apex is more fun to me because of the wider effective angle. I have only used the plus plate. Plus plate is same efficiency as the Blackbird without having to ride the cap. No issues finding a BBS with the Apex plus.

I think Apex is a lot of razor for the price. Ymmv as always but I think the Apex is a more refined Blackbird at a better price.


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Thanks, Gus and Hogger. I appreciate both of your inputs.

I have been using a SS Apex, and I am enjoying it very much.

Hi all,
         I to have the Aylsworth Apex SS its top shelf in my opinion.
I recently got a blackbird SS satin finish.
I have only used it once so need to get it dialled in before I can make a fair comparison with the Apex SS.
Even after the first pass it wasn't is the same ball park as my first pass with the Apex.
Cheers.

Marius & Gus, how do the efficiency and shave of the Apex compare to the Blackbird?
Thanks.

From my experience celestino 
, Apex-Ti is very different than Blackbird Ti. Apex is more silent and has high level efficiency but Blackbird has even more efficiency, think of Apex-Ti like a 7 meanwhile Blackbird Ti is a 9. Apex-Ti is smoother for me and also more silent during the shave. I also like both razors for their light weight maneuverability. To me, Apex-Ti surpassed the Bird Ti, because to my skin it feels like a familiar friend, it’s more natural to my shaving angles and it just clicked from the moment I shaved. Blackbird Ti is no slouch and I can get a BBS in 2-passes with it easily. It is one of my favorite razor designs ever and it’s very very close to the Apex-Ti. Shaving angles are different for both, but both can be easily found. If you like blade feel, Ti-Bird has more. Apex-Ti is for consistency, no nicks cuts irritation and an excellent daily driver. Go figure, because I didn’t get along with the Apex+ Ss or Apex Alu razors. But the Ti-Apex just works for me. With a sharp blade, its smooth sailing and shaving bliss from there. Ps Apex-Ti is a buffing machine, probably top 3 in my den. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

I reached out to Aylsworth and asked when the APEX-Ti would be available again. Here's their response:

Any news on Ti Alysworth if it would be back in production?

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Marius & Gus, how do the efficiency and shave of the Apex compare to the Blackbird?
Thanks.

From my experience celestino 
, Apex-Ti is very different than Blackbird Ti. Apex is more silent and has high level efficiency but Blackbird has even more efficiency, think of Apex-Ti like a 7 meanwhile Blackbird Ti is a 9. Apex-Ti is smoother for me and also more silent during the shave. I also like both razors for their light weight maneuverability. To me, Apex-Ti surpassed the Bird Ti, because to my skin it feels like a familiar friend, it’s more natural to my shaving angles and it just clicked from the moment I shaved. Blackbird Ti is no slouch and I can get a BBS in 2-passes with it easily. It is one of my favorite razor designs ever and it’s very very close to the Apex-Ti. Shaving angles are different for both, but both can be easily found. If you like blade feel, Ti-Bird has more. Apex-Ti is for consistency, no nicks cuts irritation and an excellent daily driver. Go figure, because I didn’t get along with the Apex+ Ss or Apex Alu razors. But the Ti-Apex just works for me. With a sharp blade, its smooth sailing and shaving bliss from there. Ps Apex-Ti is a buffing machine, probably top 3 in my den. I can’t recommend it highly enough.

Thank you for your impressions, Marius. 
I'll consider the Apex in the future.