I had mine modified by Mer (Eric). It appears he stopped making them and I have no idea where he got them.
Could a Gillette Slim or Fatboy give me a close shave like Merkur Progress?
- Thread starter Vincentchou
- Start date
I had mine modified by Mer (Eric). It appears he stopped making them and I have no idea where he got them.
It's all about technique, prep, and how many passes you're comfortable doing. The reason many of us get into aggressive razors is that we want to do more removal with fewer passes. As I've gotten better, I believe I can get a BBS with anything. It's just how long do I want to be standing in front of the mirror. If it's a lazy weekend, I'll load up a bunch of cushiony soapy lather and do three passes with a multiple touchups and blade buffing with a milder razor. My Fatboy with Feather will shave me just as well as my BBX guardless DE with a Feather.
As others have said, absolutely as close a shave with a Gillette adjustable as a Progress. The difference, at least on my neck, is razor burn: I can easily get BBS with a Progress / Feather and no rash. Not so with a Gillette adjustable, and I have both types which are basically the ones that move the safety bar (red dot) and the type that just lifts the edge of the blade (basically all the others- fat boy, slim, etc.). I can either leave some scritch behind after shaving or have a red, irritated neck but either way, a Merkur Progress is the much more comfortable shave for me.
I have also been looking at other razors but am wary exactly because of the different experience between the adjustable Gillettes and Progress; as I am not sure what the difference is, I am wary that I will spend several hundred dollars getting the 'Gillette shave'. After reading a bit about gentle, kind shaving razors here, I have a Gillette New on the way and am anxious to try it out.
This experience with the Gillettes is too bad too as they are iconic, American razors, local to me and kind of a cornerstone of American industrial history. The adjustables were the top of the line and the last of the breed but they just do not work for me. Well, they do not work for shaving, they work fantastically well sitting on my shelf as an icon of the past.... right next to the Progress and Merkur 34C that I shave with.
Brian
I have also been looking at other razors but am wary exactly because of the different experience between the adjustable Gillettes and Progress; as I am not sure what the difference is, I am wary that I will spend several hundred dollars getting the 'Gillette shave'. After reading a bit about gentle, kind shaving razors here, I have a Gillette New on the way and am anxious to try it out.
This experience with the Gillettes is too bad too as they are iconic, American razors, local to me and kind of a cornerstone of American industrial history. The adjustables were the top of the line and the last of the breed but they just do not work for me. Well, they do not work for shaving, they work fantastically well sitting on my shelf as an icon of the past.... right next to the Progress and Merkur 34C that I shave with.
Brian
I think you can still get a Digress. IIRC, the guy who does the Digress modification uses a variety of different knobs, as well. He's located in Europe, and the prices both for shipping and for the modification are higher than they were for the Mergress, but I've heard several people say that the Digress is actually a fair bit nicer than the Mergress.
It seems to me that other guys who are capable at metalworking could easily step into the void and make their own Progress modifications if they wanted to. Fixing the adjustment is the easy part; that can be done even while keeping the plastic knob. Maybe somebody should ask Triad if he'd be interested in doing some Progress modification work.
Just a thought.
I so totally agree with you. I have the same problem when using the Gillette adjustables. The Progress gives me smooth irritation free shaves every time and the Gillettes just dont. I also felt let down that the Gillettes were not getting the job done in regards to shaving, as I so wanted to use that brand, and in a way I feel most here would feel that to do de shaving the right way, like our fathers and grandfathers did, you must be using a true vintage Gillette razor, the biggest and best producer that ever made razors and just like you said they are so iconic and hold so much ground in history. I still have many Gillette razors, and they are so beautiful and they are here to stay thats for sure. I love the Merkur Progress the most though, and I like the vintage ones the best, so I would say I get the best of both worlds, I get the great shaves, and still get to hold a piece of history in my hands.As others have said, absolutely as close a shave with a Gillette adjustable as a Progress. The difference, at least on my neck, is razor burn: I can easily get BBS with a Progress / Feather and no rash. Not so with a Gillette adjustable, and I have both types which are basically the ones that move the safety bar (red dot) and the type that just lifts the edge of the blade (basically all the others- fat boy, slim, etc.). I can either leave some scritch behind after shaving or have a red, irritated neck but either way, a Merkur Progress is the much more comfortable shave for me.
I have also been looking at other razors but am wary exactly because of the different experience between the adjustable Gillettes and Progress; as I am not sure what the difference is, I am wary that I will spend several hundred dollars getting the 'Gillette shave'. After reading a bit about gentle, kind shaving razors here, I have a Gillette New on the way and am anxious to try it out.
This experience with the Gillettes is too bad too as they are iconic, American razors, local to me and kind of a cornerstone of American industrial history. The adjustables were the top of the line and the last of the breed but they just do not work for me. Well, they do not work for shaving, they work fantastically well sitting on my shelf as an icon of the past.... right next to the Progress and Merkur 34C that I shave with.
Brian
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #26
Hi BDF,
Didn't irritation and burn vanish even at a milder setting in a Gillette Slim (or Fatboy)?
Thanks a lot~~
Didn't irritation and burn vanish even at a milder setting in a Gillette Slim (or Fatboy)?
Thanks a lot~~
As others have said, absolutely as close a shave with a Gillette adjustable as a Progress. The difference, at least on my neck, is razor burn: I can easily get BBS with a Progress / Feather and no rash. Not so with a Gillette adjustable, and I have both types which are basically the ones that move the safety bar (red dot) and the type that just lifts the edge of the blade (basically all the others- fat boy, slim, etc.). I can either leave some scritch behind after shaving or have a red, irritated neck but either way, a Merkur Progress is the much more comfortable shave for me.
I have also been looking at other razors but am wary exactly because of the different experience between the adjustable Gillettes and Progress; as I am not sure what the difference is, I am wary that I will spend several hundred dollars getting the 'Gillette shave'. After reading a bit about gentle, kind shaving razors here, I have a Gillette New on the way and am anxious to try it out.
This experience with the Gillettes is too bad too as they are iconic, American razors, local to me and kind of a cornerstone of American industrial history. The adjustables were the top of the line and the last of the breed but they just do not work for me. Well, they do not work for shaving, they work fantastically well sitting on my shelf as an icon of the past.... right next to the Progress and Merkur 34C that I shave with.
Brian
I have a slim, and it shaves just as close as anything else
I do get some irritation on my neck - but I get that same irritation with all the TTO razors. I think it's because the taller / more domed head of the TTOs work best if you hold them at a slightly different angle than the flatter 2 and 3 piece razor heads.
I can minimize the irritation on my neck by dialing the slim up to the 5-6 range. The milder settings give me more irritation. I initially thought this was because the milder settings were leaving longer whiskers for the XTG and ATG passes. But adding an additional WTG pass didn't reduce the irritation. So now I think it's mostly due to the angle - which is something I should be able to compensate for.
However, since I get the correct angle automatically with 3 piece razors, I haven't spent much time trying
I do get some irritation on my neck - but I get that same irritation with all the TTO razors. I think it's because the taller / more domed head of the TTOs work best if you hold them at a slightly different angle than the flatter 2 and 3 piece razor heads.
I can minimize the irritation on my neck by dialing the slim up to the 5-6 range. The milder settings give me more irritation. I initially thought this was because the milder settings were leaving longer whiskers for the XTG and ATG passes. But adding an additional WTG pass didn't reduce the irritation. So now I think it's mostly due to the angle - which is something I should be able to compensate for.
However, since I get the correct angle automatically with 3 piece razors, I haven't spent much time trying
Yes, absolutely. But I cannot get a BBS shave- no matter how many passes I did, there was still scritch left on my neck with the razors turned down below 3. I need to set a Slim to at least 3 to get all the tips of the hair and then the irritation sets in. Higher settings only get worse; the razor burn goes up pretty fast and I can only do one pass on my neck, which will not get all the last of my beard (the hair on my neck grows out like a fan from the middle to both sides; it takes 3 passes at slightly different angles, all toward the center of my neck, to get all the hair).
Just to be clear, I only use a DE to shave my neck, and then only after two passes with a straight razor first. I shave with a straight but as I have a full beard, I cannot shave from earlobe to Adam's apple with a beard if using a straight (with no beard I can by turning the razor upside- down). So I use a DE for three passes in that general direction.
My Progress is pretty loose and the cap (and blade) offset by 0.010" so I end up with a mild side and a more aggressive side. I shave with the Progress on the mild side only, with the razor closed all the way down. I can use the more aggressive side but it sometimes results in a little razor burn.
Brian
Just to be clear, I only use a DE to shave my neck, and then only after two passes with a straight razor first. I shave with a straight but as I have a full beard, I cannot shave from earlobe to Adam's apple with a beard if using a straight (with no beard I can by turning the razor upside- down). So I use a DE for three passes in that general direction.
My Progress is pretty loose and the cap (and blade) offset by 0.010" so I end up with a mild side and a more aggressive side. I shave with the Progress on the mild side only, with the razor closed all the way down. I can use the more aggressive side but it sometimes results in a little razor burn.
Brian
Similar threads
