The Aylsworth Never Alone 6: A Thoroughbred Workhorse
The Aylsworth Never Alone 6 shares a substantial amount of DNA with the Drakkant Plus, which was discontinued in late 2024. The NA6 was produced for The Razor Company as part of its 2026 Never Alone 6 Men’s Mental Health Awareness campaign, alongside a soap, splash, and EDP from Ariana & Evans and a series of brushes from AKA Brushworxx. Although ShaveSplash hasn't tested the Drakkant Plus, the two razors share several critical specifications, including a 0.99mm blade gap, 0.125mm blade exposure, a weight of approximately 107g, and a bead blasted finish. Placing the two razors side by side makes their common heritage immediately apparent. The most obvious differences are found in the shape of the safety bar and the carve out along the top of the baseplate. Interestingly, the NA6 baseplate appears to make greater contact with the underside of the top cap, potentially contributing additional support to the blade.
Both razors share a somewhat traditional Edge Clamper design, which can also be found in peers such as the Karve Overlander and Bison, Atelier Durdan Le Maurice, Tatara Nodachi, and even the Wolfman WR1. What makes the NA6 unique is its treatment of the other dimensions that also play important roles in performance. The top cap is a very wide 20mm, revealing only 1mm of blade on each side and providing strong support to the top of the blade. In addition, the baseplate is a wide 25mm, which serves both to elongate the shave plane and expand the guard span. Although blade gap and exposure play important roles in performance, the three key architectural features that ShaveSplash has found most determinative are clamp width, reveal, and plate width, and the NA6’s combination of 17, 1, and 25mm is quite unique. In terms of razor behavior, the closest comparisons are the Overlander and Le Maurice.
Overall, the NA6 is an exemplar of well executed Edge Clamper architecture. Its 17mm clamp width and narrow 1mm reveal provide extremely strong support to the blade, with virtually no perceptible flex. Yet the substantial 0.99mm gap and pronounced 0.125mm exposure give it plenty of authority at the cutting edge. The result is raw Efficiency toward the medium to high end of the spectrum, earning an 8. What is particularly impressive is that this assertiveness does not come at the expense of comfort. Blade rigidity and the elongated shave plane created by the wide baseplate help keep Comfort exceptionally high at 9. The wide plate does, however, create a somewhat shallower working angle that can initially feel counterintuitive, making the optimum cutting angle slightly more difficult to locate. For that reason, Ease of Use and Consistency, while still very strong, are both capped at 8. The resulting Composite Score is 33 out of 40, placing the NA6 near the upper end of the high performance artisan razors tested by ShaveSplash. Across repeated shaves, it consistently delivered a BBS, 7 out of 9, on the ShaveSplash DFS to BBS+ result scale, an exceptional result.
The Never Alone 6 Razor
One question repeatedly came to mind during testing: why was the Drakkant architecture retired in favor of the Apex? Although the Apex and NA6 share the same headline specifications of a 0.99mm gap and 0.125mm exposure, their performance in ShaveSplash testing was materially different. The NA6 produced higher scores in Comfort, Ease of Use, and Consistency, along with a modestly better overall shaving result. The Apex earned a Composite Score of 29 and an average result of BBS/BBS- (6), compared with the NA6’s 33 and BBS (7). Looking more deeply at their geometry helps explain why two razors with identical gap and exposure figures can behave so differently. First, the Apex has a clamp width of 16mm. Although only 1mm narrower than the NA6, that difference can materially affect the amount of unsupported blade extending beyond the clamping structure. Under ShaveSplash’s classification system, the 16mm clamp moves the Apex into the Hybrid category rather than making it a true Edge Clamper. The Apex also uses a 24mm baseplate, 1mm narrower than the NA6, slightly shortening the shave plane.
But perhaps the most interesting difference is a dimension that receives far less attention: guard span. Guard span is the distance between the blade’s cutting edge and the point where the guard or baseplate contacts the skin. It is a dimension emphasized by experienced razor designers including Augustin Durdan of Atelier Durdan and Dawid of Nord Razors. Guard span influences how much unsupported skin lies between the guard and the cutting edge, and therefore how readily that skin can deform toward the blade.
A simple analogy is a diving board. The longer the board, the farther it can bend under the same load. In much the same way, a larger guard span gives the skin more room to deform toward the blade. The NA6 has a measured guard span of approximately 2.3mm, compared with approximately 1.4mm for the Apex. ShaveSplash believes that the combination of the wider guard span and stronger clamping helps explain the NA6’s higher Composite Score and Result, producing superior comfort, ease of use, and consistency, and ultimately slightly higher “net” efficiency.
At 3.75", 109g and machined from 316L stainless steel, the NA6 has a reassuring heft that feels substantial in the hand and helps keep strokes smooth and controlled against the face. Its bead blasted finish gives the razor an attractive satin appearance while adding a subtle texture that complements the already excellent handle knurling and improves grip. The Never Alone 6 ultimately feels every bit the sturdy workhorse: solid, predictable, highly efficient, and remarkably comfortable. For wet shavers who missed the Drakkant, the NA6 offers the opportunity to experience a refined evolution of that architecture at an exceptional value, while also supporting an important cause.
The Never Alone 6 Can be Purchased at The Razor Company. Please consider using this link to support ShaveSplash. Please also consider downloading our app, ShaveSplash: The Rabbit Hole on iOS and Android.
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What a great, accurate and complex review. Two thumbs up! I love this razor and the idea behind this heartwarming project.