Merkur Futur, Progress questions

I've recently switched to a DE razor after years of using cartridges and dealing with the expense and razor bumps on my neck. It's great to be able to go out in the evenings without having to shave a second time, which really sucks if you have sensitive skin. My five o-clock shadow used to show up by lunchtime, but not anymore.

My starter was a Merkur Futur, Tabac or Proraso, and I'm still experimenting with blades but I like Feathers for their sharpness and Wilkinson Sword's because they're very comfortable. I landed on the Futur by reading a lot of posts on the forum, but now I'm noticing something about the razor that it wasn't doing before. When I first got it, on setting 2 it would just glide over my skin and I really didn't even feel the blade. Now after approximately a month of use, one side of the razor feels great, but the other edge feels like it's set several clicks toward the scary side! Visually I don't see any significant difference, and it seems to vary from blade to blade, but it's particularly noticeable with the Feathers. Is there a suggested fix for this?

I just got a Progress and used it three times this week, with Feathers. I kind of missed the weight of the Futur, and found myself applying pressure, but even being much more aggressive with it I didn't do much damage (I probably would have bled out shaving that way with the Futur!). I cranked it up to six and it was still fine, but it definitely doesn't shave as closely as the Futur does on setting 2, as my beard was coming in noticeably earlier in the day. The Progress really is a great razor though, and probably a better choice for a first DE for most in my opinion, especially if you don't have a really heavy beard.

Being as these razors are nothing terribly sophisticated, I'm just curious as to why one of them shaves so much differently than the other? Looking at them, they seem to have virtually the same blade gaps, as I use them. What is it about one razor that makes it more "agressive" than another?

Here is a really good Wiki article on razor aggressiveness:
http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/Double-Edged_Safety_Razors_Ranked_by_Aggressiveness

The Futur is known for being extremely aggressive even on its lower settings. The Progress is a much more mild shaver. At least this is what I have read, I haven't actually tried either one yet. I'm hoping to pick up a Progress pretty soon though.

I have both razors and normally use Feather Blades. I think at 3 they are fairly similar.

If your Futur is different on one side than the other, there is something wrong with the razor. Probably with the way the cap is seating. It should go on either way, but you might try flipping it 180 degrees. Also just look at it carefully and be sure the cap is all the way down.

Using a Feather in a Futur or Progress at 6 is beyond my experience. I use both razors about 3 and get BBS shaves with either one. I seldom get cuts or weepers at 3.

While many on this site don't seem to like them I am using Merkur blades and didn't start getting a good shave till I set it to a #1 AND started using a much better lather: Boco Root from Body Shop and Kiss My Face products from health food stores/sections. That made all the difference in the world for me but some people's faces/hairs are different. Good luck.

On your Futur, make sure that the blade support platform (the part the blade rests on) has been inserted correctly. To check, remove the cap and put the head on its lowest setting (usually just below 1). Looking from the sides, verify that there is no gap between the bottom of the support platform and the top of the head. If there is a gap, remove the support platform and rotate it 180 degrees and reinsert it. Recheck to verify there is not gap.

I have read that it is not supposed to matter which way the support platform is inserted, but on my 2 Futurs it does matter. If I insert it incorrectly, it will tear me up something awful.

eric.

glassmtn99 said:

On your Futur, make sure that the blade support platform (the part the blade rests on) has been inserted correctly. To check, remove the cap and put the head on its lowest setting (usually just below 1). Looking from the sides, verify that there is no gap between the bottom of the support platform and the top of the head. If there is a gap, remove the support platform and rotate it 180 degrees and reinsert it. Recheck to verify there is not gap.

I have read that it is not supposed to matter which way the support platform is inserted, but on my 2 Futurs it does matter. If I insert it incorrectly, it will tear me up something awful.

eric.

Click to expand...

Yeah he has another thread asking the very same thing. On mine it mattered too. There is still a gap but EXTREMELY slight gap. On Monday when I put on a new blade I also noticed it was crooked so I yanked on the cover a tad, heard a click and it worked. Remembering reading someone having to do that once or more. If this thing didn't shave better than my butterfly I probably would have stopped using it due to it's glitches.