Aylsworth Atelier AC Razor: Satin Finish First Impressions
Hello everyone. I’m checking out the brand new Aylsworth Atelier AC, and this is my first time with an Artist Club razor. I’ve been curious about AC razors for a while, so I was excited when Kaleb reached out and offered to send me one.
What comes out of the box is a warranty card, which I set aside, and then the razor itself. That satin finish is gorgeous, in my opinion. The mirror polish version dropped about a month before this one, but the satin looks even better to me. More refined. And as always, I’ll tell you if there’s something I don’t like.
Design
If you follow Aylsworth, you know Kaleb has a background in digital arts and design. The first Aylsworth razor I saw on their website was the Apex, and that thing is still one of the best-looking razors out there, in my opinion. The Atelier carries the same sensibility. Clean, minimal, every detail considered.
Usually I’m not a fan of engravings on top caps. But Kaleb keeps it so simple here, just the logo, very restrained. I genuinely don’t mind it at all. The cutouts on the side of the head are a nice touch too. Kaleb mentioned during the Canadian Mafia show, when he first revealed this razor, that those openings introduced extra machining challenges. He kept them anyway. I respect that.
Three-piece construction. Fit and finish feel exactly right throughout.
Specs
316 stainless steel. Total weight is 55g, which sounds heavy until you hold it. The handle is hollow, and that changes everything. Hold it with your thumb at the knurling and it balances perfectly. If the handle were solid, the bottom would be too heavy and the balance during the shave would suffer. Hollow handle is the right call.
Gap is 0.50mm. Blade exposure is 0.1mm. Handle length is 95mm. And the key spec for an AC razor is the angle: Kaleb built in a native 30-degree geometry. That was one of the harder design problems, since AC blades can’t bend. He spent a lot of time iterating to get there. That 30 degrees makes the razor intuitive right out of the gate. You don’t have to figure out the angle. It guides you.
Loading the Blade
AC blades are new to me, so here’s how it works. The Feather Professional blades come in a dispenser with “push” and “pull” engraved on the top. Push from the side, and the blade slides out cleanly. Easy on the first try. Just watch the cutting edge.
AC blades are thicker than DE blades and don’t flex, similar to GEM blades in that way. Designed for more shaves per blade. The head has alignment pins on both sides. No center post like on a DE. The blade seats cleanly across those pins. Thread the handle on, check the alignment, and you’re done.
Kaleb recommends Feather Professional blades as the balanced option for this razor. Not too aggressive, not too mild. Feather blades in DE format have a reputation for sharpness that some people find rough, but AC Feathers are a different experience. We’ll see how it goes.
Lather Setup
For soap I went with the Northman, a soap collaboration Kaleb released with MacDuff’s Soap Company. Beautiful evergreen scent. If you don’t have it, I feel sorry for you, because it’s unobtanium. Maybe it’ll come back someday.
I lathered it in my Brousseau & Dov bowl using a cream soda synthetic brush. Well-hydrated lather, two and a half to three days of growth ready to go. Fun fact: this razor arrived a few hours after I’d shaved, so I had to wait two days for enough growth to run a real test. Worth it.
The Shave
Right away you notice the head is wider than a DE. AC blades are longer, so that’s expected, but the first time you pick it up it feels like a big squeegee compared to what you’re used to. The angle guides you naturally though. I didn’t have to think about it.
First pass, with the grain: mild but efficient. Very minimal blade feel, just a touch. Under the nose, which is always my trouble spot, the access was excellent. Smooth.
Cross-grain pass: the wider head feels unusual for detailing at first. But I was more confident and comfortable defining my beard lines than I expected. For precision work, I’d put the Atelier ahead of my experience with GEM-style single-edge razors.
Third pass, against the grain: different feel with the bigger surface, but still smooth. I had to be a bit more careful along the jawline. No blade chatter at all. AC blades are thick, and the Aylsworth clamping is solid. I buffed several trouble spots without soap, just on residual slickness. It was so comfortable to buff that I was already skeptical about what the alum block was going to say.
The Result
Baby butt smooth. The alum block showed zero reaction. Nothing under the nose where I pressed harder than I should have, nothing on the spots I’d buffed without soap. Absolutely zero.
I honestly didn’t expect to be this impressed on a first shave. I didn’t expect Aylsworth to deliver an AC razor that hit the way the Apex hit me when I first saw it. But wow. Mild enough to be forgiving for a first-timer with the format, efficient enough to take down three-day stubble cleanly. I’ll be trying more AC blade options, but Feather Professional is a strong starting point, exactly like Kaleb suggested.
Pricing at time of recording: $249.99 CAD for the satin finish, $299.99 CAD for the mirror polish. Kaleb has an affiliate link and code in the description. Use code ShaveAndTell on your first Aylsworth order for 10% off.
Thanks for watching, hope this helps. See you in the next one.