I rub my fingers on an alum block and get a great grip on my futur. I'm intrigued by your knockoff, as it really like my futur and bought it used for nearly double what you paid.
Merkur Futur Replica
- Thread starter MicBaldy
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I rub my fingers on an alum block and get a great grip on my futur. I'm intrigued by your knockoff, as it really like my futur and bought it used for nearly double what you paid.
Mine was delivered on Monday and I really wanted to like it, but unfortunately had to return it yesterday. Mine suffered from a really uneven blade gaps. I had disassembled and reassembled the razor several times but was never able to fix the issue. One nice thing about this razor was that it is easier to take apart than the original Futur. I suspect the problem with mine was the wires that hold the cap down were uneven. One side look like they were tacked down tight, white the other side seemed bent. This allowed the cap to not be completely tight on the side that had the larger blade gap. If you pushed down on the cap it got the gaps to be closer even but there was no way to have it stay.
That's really bizarre - I used a Futur for approximately 16 months, 5-7 days a week, cleaned it frequently, etc, until I picked up a Vision earlier this month and never had a problem with it. In fact, I will still use the Futur on occasion just to switch things up.
Hey guys,I just wanted to follow up on the pins. I was able to straighten mine out. You can also slide them out and replace with new ones too if needed. I've always meant to do this, but my daughter was born the day before it arrived. So, needless to say my lil girl has been keepin me a little busy. I haven't got around shaving with it yet since I fixed it, but everything feels even now.
I wish I would have thought about this before sending mine back. For the price it really looks and feels nice, but I was not sure how to fix the uneven gaps.
I used my Shaveabuck adjustable again this morning. To see how it worked at a more aggressive setting (shaved yesterday set at 6 the entire shave) I overclocked it all the way back to 1. By my eye this would be about where the 8 would be if the numbers continued all the way around. After one pass WTG at 8 I could tell that this was as much blade exposure as I would want to tolerate, very similar to my Fat Boy at 9.
For my XTG and ATG passes I dialed it back down to 6 which revealed what could be a very dangerous situation. Since you must hold the head and twist the handle to adjust this razor (or vice versa if you prefer) and at this point your hands and/or the razor are most likely wet it would be very easy to slip and slice yourself. The adjustment is stiff which is functional in keeping the proper setting for the shave, but makes it hard to move to a new level without proper grip. Having enough coffee in my system to realize this, without learning the hard way, I held the head with my towel and with a dry hand and razor handle rotated to the new setting. Crisis averted...
Back to my shave, I had a very smooth XTG pass, with the razor blade audibly cutting through every whisker in its path. Washing off the lather between my 2nd and 3rd passes I was already at what I would consider a personally acceptable shave, about a DFS on the popular scale. Having escaped a trip to the medical facility and an amazing shave shaping up my confidence was at a high level, too high, as I managed to cut myself twice on the final ATG pass, once on my neck and once above my lip. This is a very rare occurrence for me, even with very sharp blades and/or aggressive razors. I dug out my long neglected styptic pencil and got it under control quickly and made a not to myself to remember to respect thy tool.
I will continue with this razor next Monday as I enjoy using my Sam Seong and CJB razors on the weekend. I don't think I will adjust past 6 again as it just isn't necessary for me. Instead I will be playing with the lower settings and seeing how they work out. As of right now I can't think of any reason not to highly recommend this razor.
For my XTG and ATG passes I dialed it back down to 6 which revealed what could be a very dangerous situation. Since you must hold the head and twist the handle to adjust this razor (or vice versa if you prefer) and at this point your hands and/or the razor are most likely wet it would be very easy to slip and slice yourself. The adjustment is stiff which is functional in keeping the proper setting for the shave, but makes it hard to move to a new level without proper grip. Having enough coffee in my system to realize this, without learning the hard way, I held the head with my towel and with a dry hand and razor handle rotated to the new setting. Crisis averted...
Back to my shave, I had a very smooth XTG pass, with the razor blade audibly cutting through every whisker in its path. Washing off the lather between my 2nd and 3rd passes I was already at what I would consider a personally acceptable shave, about a DFS on the popular scale. Having escaped a trip to the medical facility and an amazing shave shaping up my confidence was at a high level, too high, as I managed to cut myself twice on the final ATG pass, once on my neck and once above my lip. This is a very rare occurrence for me, even with very sharp blades and/or aggressive razors. I dug out my long neglected styptic pencil and got it under control quickly and made a not to myself to remember to respect thy tool.
I will continue with this razor next Monday as I enjoy using my Sam Seong and CJB razors on the weekend. I don't think I will adjust past 6 again as it just isn't necessary for me. Instead I will be playing with the lower settings and seeing how they work out. As of right now I can't think of any reason not to highly recommend this razor.
Just got mine in today and had a couple questions... Dialed all the way down, mine 'zeroes out' at 6. Having a Progress, I get that these aren't always perfect, but does everyone else's not start at 1? Also, the adjustment mechanism is really tight - so much so that it's too dangerous to adjust while the blade is in it (as proven by my bloody sink). Is this similar to everyone else's experience?
The adjustment is tight and should be adjusted while the razor is dry or using a towel to provide grip. Mine zeroes out at 1 with a blade installed. If you unscrewed the head all the way then it can be installed 180 degrees off which I did myself trying to figure out how to install a blade.
Welcome to the world of copy razors. My real Futur lines up. I bought a used one from the BST that didn't line up correctly because the seller had taken it part to clean it and didn't get it put back together correctly - it worked, but the numbers were off. My guess is whoever is making the copy doesn't really care about the razor build enough to do it right. Likely not much QC going into the razor. Build it quickly and get it out the door to turn the best profit.
As for adjustment, it's tight, but not dangerously so.
The issue ended up being that I flipped the top cap when I was messing around with it - it zeroes out now. The adjustment is still pretty tight and the plating isn't perfect, but for less than half price, I'd say this is a pretty darn good copy of it's original and was worth it for me since I wanted to at least try it.
Ordered one of these last week, and I'm excited to give it a try. In most of the canadian websites, the Futur is arounf $95 dollars, so I wasn't willing to drop that much coin in order to try a razor out. At this price it is definitely worth it, even if it's a little off from the original. For $40 shipped, this seems like an excellent deal. I will post my shave results when it comes in.
merkur cant sue the company in china, the laws don't exist. what they can do is try to convince shaveabuck from selling it. i think they should stop selling it personally. clones and the like are rampant in the guitar world where i spend the other half of my life
For me, I wouldn't have ever dropped 80 bucks to try the Futur, so it didn't take my business away from Merkur. I expected to not love the Futur, but for 30 bucks I figured I'd give it a whirl. As expected, this razor isn't for me, but instead of being out $80, I'm only out $30. If I would have loved the knockoff, there's a decent chance I probably would have 'upgraded' and bought the real thing.
Being very price sensitive myself, I was intrigued when I first discovered the Chinese Futur knock-off while simply googling around Chinese shaving product sites, back in March/April. They wanted too much for it as a "sample" to a distributor. Then Shaveabuck offered it, although when I inquired here it started a small ****-storm of invective. In the interim I found a Futur Satin for only $50, shipped, here on the BST. That was close enough to what I'd have to have paid for the Shaveabuck shipped. I've been delighted by my Futur. Love it. But, I'd have happily gotten the Chinese knock off from Shaveabuck.
I'm a tuba player, and some of the top models (Miraphone, Yamaha, Meinl) for for $8-12,000. They all knock each other's designs and innovations off, just not as exactly as the Chinese do, who simply try to clone as closely as they can, with lesser materials and production methods. So, the Chinese tubas are produced with thinner metal, are more prone to denting, and less durable -- they probably won't last the 50 years that the better European and American models typically do. But, then again, the best of the Chinese models actually make some small improvements on the designs they're ripping off, so, for instance, they've corrected some of the intonation problems on their knock-offs of the Miraphones. They sell in the US through US distributors and under brand names designed to sound American or German, for about $1,800 to $3800, or about a quarter, eg. 75% off the price of the tubas they're knocking off. I've recently discovered that if you travel to Tianjin, the city in which the Jinbao factory is located, about an hour via bullet train from Beijing, you can buy the same models at the factory for about half of what they're sold for by the American distributors. $1000 for a tuba, plus $700 round trip NYC-Beijing airfare, and let's say $500 other expenses, and I've still saved $1000+ than had I bought the same tuba through a US distributor, or saved $9,500 off the cost of the original model from Germany. And, I h have the benefit of having a much larger selection of horns to to choose from at the factory -- which is a benefit, if you know what you're doing. One of the first things that you lose when cutting production costs so dramatically is consistency. The Chinese knock-offs vary wildly in quality, from so crappy that they're garbage, to very close to the quality of the instruments they're modeled on. Furthermore, I hear, if you have a Chinese friend come with you, and they buy the tuba, they'll get an even better deal.
I've played some of these knock off Chinese tubas, and they're great: 95% of the quality of the European original models, at 25% the cost (or 15% if you buy in cash from the factory). While I'm poor, this is the only way I'm going to be able to play a tuba that good. Once I'm back in the black, then I can save up for trading up to the original, full quality originals.
Yeah, there are a lot of other reasons to buy the originals. Which I buy, when I can.
I'm a tuba player, and some of the top models (Miraphone, Yamaha, Meinl) for for $8-12,000. They all knock each other's designs and innovations off, just not as exactly as the Chinese do, who simply try to clone as closely as they can, with lesser materials and production methods. So, the Chinese tubas are produced with thinner metal, are more prone to denting, and less durable -- they probably won't last the 50 years that the better European and American models typically do. But, then again, the best of the Chinese models actually make some small improvements on the designs they're ripping off, so, for instance, they've corrected some of the intonation problems on their knock-offs of the Miraphones. They sell in the US through US distributors and under brand names designed to sound American or German, for about $1,800 to $3800, or about a quarter, eg. 75% off the price of the tubas they're knocking off. I've recently discovered that if you travel to Tianjin, the city in which the Jinbao factory is located, about an hour via bullet train from Beijing, you can buy the same models at the factory for about half of what they're sold for by the American distributors. $1000 for a tuba, plus $700 round trip NYC-Beijing airfare, and let's say $500 other expenses, and I've still saved $1000+ than had I bought the same tuba through a US distributor, or saved $9,500 off the cost of the original model from Germany. And, I h have the benefit of having a much larger selection of horns to to choose from at the factory -- which is a benefit, if you know what you're doing. One of the first things that you lose when cutting production costs so dramatically is consistency. The Chinese knock-offs vary wildly in quality, from so crappy that they're garbage, to very close to the quality of the instruments they're modeled on. Furthermore, I hear, if you have a Chinese friend come with you, and they buy the tuba, they'll get an even better deal.
I've played some of these knock off Chinese tubas, and they're great: 95% of the quality of the European original models, at 25% the cost (or 15% if you buy in cash from the factory). While I'm poor, this is the only way I'm going to be able to play a tuba that good. Once I'm back in the black, then I can save up for trading up to the original, full quality originals.
Yeah, there are a lot of other reasons to buy the originals. Which I buy, when I can.
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Merkur patented the original Futur back in december 1983. That was 13 years before Dovo bought that company.
The patent for that razor exceeded about 10 years ago.
I might be wrong, but from what I understand the chinese manufacturer is not the owner of the patents, nor shaveabuck nor Dovo/Merkur themselves anymore so what is wrong in producing and selling that razor made in china?
If the original Futur is better built than the knockoff than I would pay the higher prize. If the chinese knockoff is better built than the original, then I would save my money.
I read that the chinese razor is made out of brass, can anybody confirm that?
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as i said, legally there is nothing to be done.
personally, i am not a fan of knock-offs or clones and the idea of them.
personally, i am not a fan of knock-offs or clones and the idea of them.
When they see a good product they will copy it. I know we are just talking a 30 dollar razor, but what about a 30K pickup? Truth be told, I wish I had a full size truck with a 1.8 diesel. They might be on to something, like improving upon a really good design?
http://wot.motortrend.com/copy-past...ac-to-launch-ford-f-150-lookalike-164303.html
http://wot.motortrend.com/copy-past...ac-to-launch-ford-f-150-lookalike-164303.html
My company makes computer games. We pour our heart and soul into the work, literally for years at a time. It is soul-crushing to see it copied wholesale by someone out to make a quick buck - people who don't do the work, don't suffer the long hours, don't take the professional and personal risks - they just copy it. For this reason, I won't buy knock-offs for the most part. I know it's a little different with a patent-expired razor design where you still have to manufacture them instead of just copying the digital source, but I just can't stomach it. Why can't they just make a Futur-inspired razor? The could easily put their own spin on it - maybe a knurled handle at least.
Personally, I have too much respect for the creativity and engineering prowess that it takes to make a successful product of any kind. I've come to the point where I only want to buy items from people who pay a living wage to their workers, too. I don't want to benefit from someone else's slave labor. It's not worth it. I admit I'm perhaps overly sensitive to this whole issue because of my particular industry, where copying and stealing are just a mouse-click away.
Personally, I have too much respect for the creativity and engineering prowess that it takes to make a successful product of any kind. I've come to the point where I only want to buy items from people who pay a living wage to their workers, too. I don't want to benefit from someone else's slave labor. It's not worth it. I admit I'm perhaps overly sensitive to this whole issue because of my particular industry, where copying and stealing are just a mouse-click away.
I've been on there site plenty, guess i just looked at the picture and figured futur without reading. That is interesting though.
Personally I see nothing wrong with buying the Futur clone, I may end up buying the clone but after my less than stellar experiences with Merkur razors I will not be buying another Merkur, I think it speaks volumes that I have more faith in the company making the knock off than I do in Merkur, no offense meant to anyone, just my honest opinion
