Considering a Merkur Progress

I'm considering picking up a Merkur Progress short handle razor, or rather, my fiancée is considering it as she knows that I love razors, and this would be my gift from her.

I've read on old threads here that the Progress has been known to have some problems with alignment and the adjustment knob not lining up very well, or something to that effect. Do these problems persist in one that I would purchase today, new from a vendor? Should I perhaps pick the razor up from West Coast Shaving as I know many of you have mentioned that he's willing to answer questions and even look over a razor in person for you before shipping? What should I know before deciding on this razor, as I've never owned a Merkur razor? I do know that Mantic59 really favors this razor, as do many of you here. I would greatly appreciate any information or advice that you can give me.

I bought one several weeks ago new. Blade alignment is great and it sits exactly on 1 with and without a blade. I love it. Goooo get you one!

I had one last year and had no alignment issues. There's a line on one side of the top plate and a triangle on one side of the adjustment plate that need to be on the same side in order for the blade gap to be correct.

WHOA!! Before you buy a plain Progress think really hard about spending a few more bucks and get a MERGRESS. The Mergress is a custom modified Progress that fixes the main problem (That cheapie plastic knob) plus 100% check/fixes all/any factory mistakes.

The Mergress is a one time investment in the best shave for the rest of you life. Believe it or not!

(Note: The Megress is a one at a time hand modified Merkur Progress razor. Availability is limited to stock completed. The wish list is a used to get in line for your Mergress. )

http://www.leesrazors.com/razors-and-blades/safety-razors/mergress-safety-razors/

OK, let me get to the bottom of your questions.

1) The issue with the adjustment has not been solved, therefore it persists. The issue, however, is not an issue for a single owner of the razor. The issue is that what constitutes the number "1" or "2" on the dial of one of these razors is not necessarily the same as what constitutes the same number on another razor. So if one guy says, "I use it on 3 and it's awesome," his "3" might be "2.5" for you or "2" for somebody else. Does it matter? Not to the individual owner it doesn't. If you find a setting that works for you, it will work for you tomorrow and the next day, too. The setting is CONSISTENT in any one razor, just not consistent BETWEEN any two razors, or AMONG any number of razors. (Oh, and not all the razors "zero out" at the same place [this is probably just another way of saying the same thing, though]. Again, this doesn't matter to an individual user.)

2) Blade alignment can be slightly finicky. Sometimes, you put the head down upside down on the countertop, load the blade, put the bottom part of the razor on there, tighten it up and take a look, and Voila! it's perfect. But other times, it can load with more exposure on one side than on the other, or it can actually load slightly crooked, so that blade exposure is uneven on both sides of the blade. It's not particularly hard to tweak the blade and re-tighten it, though. If you get one, you should always inspect after you load to make sure the blade is loaded straight and evenly from side-to-side.

As for getting one from Lee's, I don't think that makes any difference whatsoever, unless you order a Mergress. The Mergress is the Progress with an upgraded metal knob. As part of the process of upgrading, the razors are all zero'd out the same way, so all Mergresses are consistent and they zero out at the correct place. The blade loading problem is not solved by the Mergress upgrade.

I hope this has been helpful.

I've had mine for a few months now and it's my favorite shaver. The Mergress is certainly nicer, but I just have a standard short handle Progress and it works great for me.

The Progress or Mergress are among the best razors out there. To fix any alignment issues go to this thread and go down to Post #8 for the easy fix.

Yeah, I think the Mergress is a little bit too much for a Christmas present for me, and I believe the standard Merkur Progress will serve me well. Since we have a couple of birthdays to see to before Christmas, and then Christmas itself, I think I'll just ask for the standard Merkur Progress short handle with travel case. I think that will be really nice, and the case will give it a classy feel for the future. Maybe it will be as well regarded as a cased Fatboy, who knows?

With a well cared for Merkur Progress, what is the life expectancy on the razor? They are solid zamack, aren't they? Handle and all, save for the adjustment knob?

Hello,

I really liked the Progress, now I love the Mergress! I had my Progress converted to a Mergress.
I liked the conversation route so I could see if there was a noticeable difference. There is.

The adjustment seems smoother and I like the balance with the heavier knob. As far as the adjustment repeatability goes I think it was good before conversation and better after.
Remember as with any type screw adjustment there is always backlash to contend with. Never make small adjustments back and forth.

Example. I put a blade in and set it to 4 and find it too aggressive. Don't just back it down to 3 go past 3 significantly then come back to 3. This minimizes the backlash and is common practice on many thread adjustments.

I have noticed varying degrees of backlash in all of my adjustable razors such as Progress/Mergress, Futur, Vision 2K, Fatboy, Slim,etc.
Some are better than others but backlash occurs in all.

I would highly recommend the Progress. You can alway convert to a Mergress after for about half the cost of a Progress and it only takes a couple weeks.

Cheers
John

Grandpa Pipes said:

WHOA!! Before you buy a plain Progress think really hard about spending a few more bucks and get a MERGRESS. The Mergress is a custom modified Progress that fixes the main problem (That cheapie plastic knob) plus 100% check/fixes all/any factory mistakes.

The Mergress is a one time investment in the best shave for the rest of you life. Believe it or not!

(Note: The Megress is a one at a time hand modified Merkur Progress razor. Availability is limited to stock completed. The wish list is a used to get in line for your Mergress. )

http://www.leesrazors.com/razors-and-blades/safety-razors/mergress-safety-razors/

Click to expand...

This!!!!

Progress is a great DE razor. Finest shaver out of the DEs I own.

Is Leesrazors the only current source for the Mergress?

I upgraded mine with a knob from IKon that I purchased on eBay. It was half the price and I didn't have to send my Progress off and wait for it to come back. I did the calibration myself following the instructions in this mantic59 video.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FZvMmuX_GE&ab_channel=mantic59

At one time, there were several craftsmen that were producing enhanced knobs for the Progress ... I know that cooncatbob (RIP) made them, and there were others I can't recall. But AFAIK, mer is the only one still producing them, although there is certainly a market for more.

BTW, I am not a fan of Adjustable razors, but of all the adjustables that I've tried, the Progress is the only one that I still use. Even so, it only comes into play a couple times a year, when I'm in the mood for something different.

The best way to get a Mergress is direct from Mer. If you already have a Progress, you send it to him with an order form and check. He returns the completed Mergress in about two weeks. This can be the least expensive route as well.

I did this about 10 months ago and love my Mergress.

I've had mine since the beginning of 2014 and the adjustment knob has loosened to the point that it goes past the 1 around to the 5 when I load a new blade.

I have had the mergess a couple of month‘s no problems great razor.

I actually had to look around to find a link for his profile, but the option to send him a PM isn't listed. Is he no longer a member here? Also, how do you find the options for the adjustment knobs? I found a link for that, but the link appeared to be dead. Any help would be appreciated. Also, does he have a website that you can visit for more information?

I think that I'll do a regular Merkur Progress for now as my recommendation to my fiancée for Christmas, and I can look into modifications later on. It also appears that Razors Direct has the best price for the Progress. Does anyone know of a better price, especially if you use the coupon code?

http://www.razorsdirect.com/catalog/item/7409126/9394677.htm

Penknight said:

I actually had to look around to find a link for his profile, but the option to send him a PM isn't listed. Is he no longer a member here? Also, how do you find the options for the adjustment knobs? I found a link for that, but the link appeared to be dead. Any help would be appreciated. Also, does he have a website that you can visit for more information?

Click to expand...

I think I read something a while back that mer is no longer accepting individual custom orders and is only producing pre-made razors, with Leesrazors being the exclusive distributor.

I wonder if ordering a Mergress from Lee's you also get the original plastic knob included in the package?

With all the hype that's been talked about the Mergress in the last few years, you'd think that Merkur would make this simple change at the factory level ... of course, we're also still waiting for Semogue to fix the paint-chip problem on their 1305 model.

Maranello said:

I purchased two Mergress razors through Lee, neither was packaged wth the original plastic knob...I wonder where all those little knobs end up, come to think of it

Click to expand...

Did your purchase(s) include the Merkur clamshell case? Either included in the price or ordered a-la-carte?

I have a case for my Progress that I got separately in a BST. I've been thinking about sending it off on a round-the-world pass-around box and calling the adventure "Pilgrimage of the Progress."

I think that every Mergress owner should be entitled the original white knob, if only to compare the vast difference between the shaving using the original and the upgrade version.

dpm802 said:

I think that every Mergress owner should be entitled the original white knob, if only to compare the vast difference between the shaving using the original and the upgrade version.

Click to expand...

You know that the razor has to be taken apart to switch knobs????????????????