As someone who has sensitive skin and mild to moderate beard hair, these seemed like the premium choices for me. Because of my sensitive skin, I had a suspicion that the AS-D2 would be ideal. (I had been shaving mostly with Merkur 34C and it's variants for awhile and Fusion cartridges before switching to DE). [FYI, my skin is so sensitive, that I can get facial reactions to various creams/soaps/chemicals from shaving that can get out of control, so my Doc has given me a couple of steroidal creams if this happens again.]
The Examination: Both are beautifully crafted from stainless steel. Both have a bar. Both have 0.25 mm of blade exposure (pretty mild on the B&B scale). They both bend the blade, although the M1 seems to bend/curve the blade a little more (or so it appears to me from eyeballing it). The bar of the Feather is further out -- If you look at them, you can see daylight through the AS-D2's gap looking down on the head. It's also possible that the bar is differently shaped or positioned relative to the blade as well, so there are many subtleties that can account for different shaves. Also, the AS-D2 is smooth along the edge, but the M1 still has some of the scallops that many open comb safety razors have. (I never really felt these scallops as I do with the M2, so it's hard to say if this makes much difference for the M1.)
I cannot do a left/right comparison on a single shave because the two sides of my face shave differently. My own grain goes approximately up-to-down and left-to-right and generally 80% of my rough marks, nicks, and blotches appear on the right side of my face. Therefore for testing, I just switched from day to day or, more commonly, several days with one and then several days with the other.
I initially started both razors with Feather blades. I felt that the Feather AS-D2 was designed for and deserved a Feather blade. I found the M1 was more aggressive relative to the AS-D2. After going through two blades each (about three shaves per blade), I switched to the Astra blades that came with the M1 for the M1 but kept the Feather blades in the Feather, figuring that the designers of these two razors had selected a blade to ship with their razor that they thought was best matched. So for all the subsequent comparison, that's what I did. The Astra definitely made the M1 less aggressive, but the M1 with Astra still required slightly fewer passes than the AS-D2. (I ended up preferring the Astra over Feather blades in the M1, but I never made a blade switch in the Feather AS-D2.]
I tried both with different handles, even using the 10.3 oz beast, S5, which made the AS-D2 slightly more aggressive. I tried all three ATT handles. I ultimately preferred the handle that came with the AS-D2 over all the others I tried on the AS-D2 as being the right balance of heftiness, leverage, and maneuverability. I ultimately preferred the Kronos on the M1 for similar reasons. The Kronos handle on the M1 makes for a fair and similar comparison I felt (the Kronos is a tad bit heavier but seems to feel comparable for a comparison since the M1 head is a tiny bit heavier than the AS-D2). So for the last two-three weeks of back and forth, I've used the Kronos handle on the M1 and the Feather handle on the AS-D2.
When seeking BBS, both have some tendency to end up doing so many passes over a difficult spot that you end up with red blotches and stinging alum bar -- then I would realize that I had been over those spots from multiple directions several times. Like any razor, you need to learn the balance of passes; how much XTG and ATG and where on your face you can do XTG or ATG. On average, I got fewer red blotches and next to no nicks, and no weepy scrapes on the Feather AS-D2. But by the end of the 5-6 weeks, I was getting only a few alum bar burns on my neck using either razor.
The M1 is a little smoother/efficient on that first pass when you haven't shaved for a day. But the difference is small. I'd guess that those with heavier beards might find the M1 to be more efficient depending on the blade choice.
The AS-D2 is somewhat more refined in how you feel stubble in a spot and then make that third or fourth targeted pass on your troublesome patches without getting razor burn. If you use two razors for shaving, the AS-D2 might be ideal as your touch up or later-pass razor.
The AS-D2 is more forgiving while the M1 has slightly more learning curve to get the feel of how to work it around your face. Depending on your ability to afford it, the AS-D2 might be considered as an ideal razor to start with for DE if you are coming from the world of long handled cartridges. If you just drag the AS-D2 around your face like a cartridge razor, you will, believe it or not, get a decent shave without ripping off any skin, but not nearly as good as developing proper technique.
There are a lot of subtle differences in technique with these two razors, but I find it difficult to describe technically. The angles around my face (esp jaw) required different activity. You have to use your intuition, feel your face, and use the razor to get the shave you want.
One way I'd characterize the difference is that they are similar razors, but the bar of the M1 ends up being more subtle, whereas the bar of the AS-D2 plays a bigger role. This would also account for my general observation that the ATT razors have a milder bar so that the H1 vs. H2, the R1 vs. R2, the M1 vs. M2, and S1 vs. S2 are not wildly different experiences as the differences elsewhere in the DE razor realm.
Another way to characterize the difference is that the AS-D2 is one of the finest razors ever made, but it just takes "less bite at a time."
Another characterization is that the AS-D2 might be the ideal all-purpose razor for a vacation -- vacation being a time where you end up shaving before dinner, but after having an afternoon cocktail. The AS-D2 might be more forgiving at that crucial time when your coordination is reduced. YMMV.
Despite all the above discussion, both are fantastic, beautiful razors. Either can give you whatever type of shave you are looking for. There was no "knockout" for me. Both remain in my "rotation."
[Will try putting the pics in next message]
AJ
The Examination: Both are beautifully crafted from stainless steel. Both have a bar. Both have 0.25 mm of blade exposure (pretty mild on the B&B scale). They both bend the blade, although the M1 seems to bend/curve the blade a little more (or so it appears to me from eyeballing it). The bar of the Feather is further out -- If you look at them, you can see daylight through the AS-D2's gap looking down on the head. It's also possible that the bar is differently shaped or positioned relative to the blade as well, so there are many subtleties that can account for different shaves. Also, the AS-D2 is smooth along the edge, but the M1 still has some of the scallops that many open comb safety razors have. (I never really felt these scallops as I do with the M2, so it's hard to say if this makes much difference for the M1.)
I cannot do a left/right comparison on a single shave because the two sides of my face shave differently. My own grain goes approximately up-to-down and left-to-right and generally 80% of my rough marks, nicks, and blotches appear on the right side of my face. Therefore for testing, I just switched from day to day or, more commonly, several days with one and then several days with the other.
I initially started both razors with Feather blades. I felt that the Feather AS-D2 was designed for and deserved a Feather blade. I found the M1 was more aggressive relative to the AS-D2. After going through two blades each (about three shaves per blade), I switched to the Astra blades that came with the M1 for the M1 but kept the Feather blades in the Feather, figuring that the designers of these two razors had selected a blade to ship with their razor that they thought was best matched. So for all the subsequent comparison, that's what I did. The Astra definitely made the M1 less aggressive, but the M1 with Astra still required slightly fewer passes than the AS-D2. (I ended up preferring the Astra over Feather blades in the M1, but I never made a blade switch in the Feather AS-D2.]
I tried both with different handles, even using the 10.3 oz beast, S5, which made the AS-D2 slightly more aggressive. I tried all three ATT handles. I ultimately preferred the handle that came with the AS-D2 over all the others I tried on the AS-D2 as being the right balance of heftiness, leverage, and maneuverability. I ultimately preferred the Kronos on the M1 for similar reasons. The Kronos handle on the M1 makes for a fair and similar comparison I felt (the Kronos is a tad bit heavier but seems to feel comparable for a comparison since the M1 head is a tiny bit heavier than the AS-D2). So for the last two-three weeks of back and forth, I've used the Kronos handle on the M1 and the Feather handle on the AS-D2.
When seeking BBS, both have some tendency to end up doing so many passes over a difficult spot that you end up with red blotches and stinging alum bar -- then I would realize that I had been over those spots from multiple directions several times. Like any razor, you need to learn the balance of passes; how much XTG and ATG and where on your face you can do XTG or ATG. On average, I got fewer red blotches and next to no nicks, and no weepy scrapes on the Feather AS-D2. But by the end of the 5-6 weeks, I was getting only a few alum bar burns on my neck using either razor.
The M1 is a little smoother/efficient on that first pass when you haven't shaved for a day. But the difference is small. I'd guess that those with heavier beards might find the M1 to be more efficient depending on the blade choice.
The AS-D2 is somewhat more refined in how you feel stubble in a spot and then make that third or fourth targeted pass on your troublesome patches without getting razor burn. If you use two razors for shaving, the AS-D2 might be ideal as your touch up or later-pass razor.
The AS-D2 is more forgiving while the M1 has slightly more learning curve to get the feel of how to work it around your face. Depending on your ability to afford it, the AS-D2 might be considered as an ideal razor to start with for DE if you are coming from the world of long handled cartridges. If you just drag the AS-D2 around your face like a cartridge razor, you will, believe it or not, get a decent shave without ripping off any skin, but not nearly as good as developing proper technique.
There are a lot of subtle differences in technique with these two razors, but I find it difficult to describe technically. The angles around my face (esp jaw) required different activity. You have to use your intuition, feel your face, and use the razor to get the shave you want.
One way I'd characterize the difference is that they are similar razors, but the bar of the M1 ends up being more subtle, whereas the bar of the AS-D2 plays a bigger role. This would also account for my general observation that the ATT razors have a milder bar so that the H1 vs. H2, the R1 vs. R2, the M1 vs. M2, and S1 vs. S2 are not wildly different experiences as the differences elsewhere in the DE razor realm.
Another way to characterize the difference is that the AS-D2 is one of the finest razors ever made, but it just takes "less bite at a time."
Another characterization is that the AS-D2 might be the ideal all-purpose razor for a vacation -- vacation being a time where you end up shaving before dinner, but after having an afternoon cocktail. The AS-D2 might be more forgiving at that crucial time when your coordination is reduced. YMMV.
Despite all the above discussion, both are fantastic, beautiful razors. Either can give you whatever type of shave you are looking for. There was no "knockout" for me. Both remain in my "rotation."
[Will try putting the pics in next message]
AJ
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