Merkur Futur equivalents

DAviator · Aug 29, 2016

Hi All,

I'm new to the forums here, and couldn't find this particular question in the archives. I've been using a Merkur Futur for about the last 1.5 years (daily). I've found a sweet spot of 3.5 on the adjust-ability scale that suits my skin and shaving style.

I'm thinking about adding some other razor with a knurled handle to my collection, and I'm wondering if anyone has familiarity with the Futur and has found a comparable shave for that 3.5 setting?

Thanks for any ideas or suggestions.

--
Dave N

doofus · Aug 29, 2016

fat boy or slim on a 6ish. Those are the only ones I have used with knurling.

santamariasteve · Aug 29, 2016

A 3.5 on a Merkur Futur is very aggressive.

I would suggest it might equate with a Muhle R-41 razor, or with other adjustable razors on their higher settings that are near their maximums.

Cumberland Sausage · Aug 30, 2016

The Rockwell 6s on a 5 or 6 setting might do the trick. The handle is certainly well knurled, and it has a good bit of heft.

dk-109 · Aug 30, 2016

Cumberland Sausage said:
The Rockwell 6s on a 5 or 6 setting might do the trick. The handle is certainly well knurled, and it has a good bit of heft.

+1

DAviator · Sep 1, 2016

Thanks all for your replies! I'll be looking carefully at those to add. I have admired the Rockwell 6s in the past.

bakerbarber · Sep 1, 2016

santamariasteve said:
A 3.5 on a Merkur Futur is very aggressive.

I would suggest it might equate with a Muhle R-41 razor, or with other adjustable razors on their higher settings that are near their maximums.

I read stuff like this a lot. :blink:

Are you sure your Futur is assembled correctly?

With no blade in it, hold the head down with your thumb the fingers of the same hand underneath the head. Twist the handle while squeezing the head down tightly and see if you can get tighter seat to the top part.

The Futur comes apart. You can disassemble it and clean it better once in a while.

I keep reading some people, like on the Amazon reviews, saying it's hyper aggressive. Mine's not.

It really confuses me too.

Please try to hold the cap and head tightly and see if you can twist the head. You can twist it backwards and see the handle will come off if you're not sure it's working. The spring is a bit tough, but you can take it in steps if your hand cramps getting it on all the way. When it's on correctly 3.5 is not like anything I see some people saying it is.

I wonder if they're leaving the factory assembled wrong. I see too many people saying this for it to be a fluke. My Futur is a bit more than a Slim or Fatboy number for number but it's not like a chainsaw.

bakerbarber · Sep 1, 2016

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4aDqsPqJr4

Like this.

hydro-magic · Sep 1, 2016

Nothing I've tried is quite like the Futur. I use my Futur on about 4 most of the time these days and the large blade gap combined with what seems to me like a low amount of blade exposure is pretty unique. Most razors seem to have more blade exposure even with a lot less blade gap. I think the closest I've tried may be a Fatip Piccolo. Not really a knurled handle but maybe the Grande handle would suit you better?

paintflinger · Sep 2, 2016

bakerbarber said:
I read stuff like this a lot.

Are you sure your Futur is assembled correctly?

With no blade in it, hold the head down with your thumb the fingers of the same hand underneath the head. Twist the handle while squeezing the head down tightly and see if you can get tighter seat to the top part.

The Futur comes apart. You can disassemble it and clean it better once in a while.

I keep reading some people, like on the Amazon reviews, saying it's hyper aggressive. Mine's not.

It really confuses me too.

Please try to hold the cap and head tightly and see if you can twist the head. You can twist it backwards and see the handle will come off if you're not sure it's working. The spring is a bit tough, but you can take it in steps if your hand cramps getting it on all the way. When it's on correctly 3.5 is not like anything I see some people saying it is.

I wonder if they're leaving the factory assembled wrong. I see too many people saying this for it to be a fluke. My Futur is a bit more than a Slim or Fatboy number for number but it's not like a chainsaw.

I prefer my R41 to my Futur. The Futur on 3.5 is on the higher side of aggressive, but I don't think it is the exposure/gap causing the aggressive feeling. I'm pretty sure it's due to how loosely the blade is held.

To the OP, I'd look into a Fatboy.

kluber · Sep 2, 2016

If you don't mind the price, an ATT R or H plate would be a nice addition. H is a bit too aggressive for me for daily shaves but R plate is very good. Then again I only dial my futur up to a 2.5 for daily shaves vice 3.5.

Good luck. Keep us apprised of you pick up another razor!

gvw755 · Sep 2, 2016

bakerbarber said:
I read stuff like this a lot.

Are you sure your Futur is assembled correctly?

With no blade in it, hold the head down with your thumb the fingers of the same hand underneath the head. Twist the handle while squeezing the head down tightly and see if you can get tighter seat to the top part.

The Futur comes apart. You can disassemble it and clean it better once in a while.

I keep reading some people, like on the Amazon reviews, saying it's hyper aggressive. Mine's not.

It really confuses me too.

Please try to hold the cap and head tightly and see if you can twist the head. You can twist it backwards and see the handle will come off if you're not sure it's working. The spring is a bit tough, but you can take it in steps if your hand cramps getting it on all the way. When it's on correctly 3.5 is not like anything I see some people saying it is.

I wonder if they're leaving the factory assembled wrong. I see too many people saying this for it to be a fluke. My Futur is a bit more than a Slim or Fatboy number for number but it's not like a chainsaw.

I fond on Amazon that someone was selling a Chinese clone of the Futur and they reviews were saying that it was very aggressive. Finally one reviewer realized that during assembly, the head was put on backwards (or 180 degrees off) and so the adjustments were taking the head from very aggressive to guillotine. When he took the head apart, turned it 180 degrees, it actually came out shaving like most other Merkurs.

gvw755 · Sep 2, 2016

Okay, so I took out my *** Futur Clone from the boneyard and looked it over again and loaded a blade. My instructions above was only partially correct. If this clone is anything like the real Futur (and not owning a real Futur, I am only guessing), you should be able to start from 1, continue screwing the handle past the numbers until you come around to the 1 again and continue on until the head screws off. You might want to screw it downwards until you go as far down as you can go and then set the mark to 1, and that should be the correct setting where things will go from very mild to mid aggressive.

paintflinger · Sep 2, 2016

Real Futur's stop at 6.5 naturally. You can keep twisting after that, but it takes some serious effort.

mc57 · Sep 2, 2016

santamariasteve said:
A 3.5 on a Merkur Futur is very aggressive.

I would suggest it might equate with a Muhle R-41 razor, or with other adjustable razors on their higher settings that are near their maximums.

The Muhle R41 2011 is more agressive then Merkur Futur on 6,5.

paintflinger · Sep 5, 2016

mc57 said:
The Muhle R41 2011 is more agressive then Merkur Futur on 6,5.

They're pretty difficult to get. I'm thinking he was talking about the 2013 R41, which I use daily and much prefer to a Futur on 6.5.

DAviator · Oct 22, 2016

Hi All,

Thanks so much for the very helpful replies. Since I really like the looks of the handle as well as the adjustability in the design, I've been looking closely at the Rockwell Razors. I decided to become a SuperBacker on the new Rockwell Chrome series. That means I'll get a White Chrome 6C for testing in the next month or so, and early next year, a gunmetal full-production version. It was the looks of the gunmetal that I really liked.

I will be trying out the different settings on the razor, and I'll report back on my comparisons.

DAviator · Oct 22, 2016

Thanks [MENTION=33552]bakerbarber[/MENTION]! I followed your steps and was able to confirm that indeed mine is set up properly. I am shaving with a 3.5 or 4 (more 4 lately) setting on the Futur that should match calibrated values.

Not only is it nice to be able to confirm the settings, but also, I really like how nicely that comes apart for cleaning. Many thanks!

bakerbarber · Oct 22, 2016

Cool.

Glad to hear!

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Merkur Futur equivalents

DAviator

doofus

santamariasteve

Cumberland Sausage

dk-109

DAviator

bakerbarber

bakerbarber

hydro-magic

paintflinger

kluber

gvw755

gvw755

paintflinger

mc57

paintflinger

DAviator

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