If you like the Fatboy you'll love the Progress, same size and weight.
Attn: Merkur Fans
- Thread starter heynetboy
- Start date
Have many gillettes and Merkur Futur. The Futur gives best, closest shave by far and blade in it lasts far longer than any of gillettes. I don't seem to have any problem with slipping out of hands (hold it at fulcrum where handle is indented) or changing blades or fact that it has large head as others complain of. Always get close, smooth BBS shave without irritation. Only get a nick once in a great while if I get sloppy. Tame it, and it's a puppy in your hands. Highly recommended. PS: just ordered Merkur barberpole slant; we'll see if it supercedes the Futur.
+1 Get a Progress.
I love my Barberpole, but lately I have been smitten by the wonderful shaves from my Progress. It is a very close second.
I'm a Gillette fan, but I also have a Slant, Classic and Progress. The Progress is by far my favorite Merkur, better than the Gillette adjustables. It feels much like a Fatboy in the hand, but shaves me much better. I like the shaving angle, and it sounds great as it cuts.
I liked the standard HD and the slant version but after I tried the vision, I got rid of all the other DEs, including the gillettes.
It's big, it's pricey and I have to disassemble it to fully clean it every once in a while but the shave is amazing every time I pick it up. I barely get any sting splashing on the velva and I am still reasonably smooth after 12 hours - still visually clean shaven 24 hours later if I use a feather blade.
It's big, it's pricey and I have to disassemble it to fully clean it every once in a while but the shave is amazing every time I pick it up. I barely get any sting splashing on the velva and I am still reasonably smooth after 12 hours - still visually clean shaven 24 hours later if I use a feather blade.
Even if you don't like the fatboy get a progress. They are unreal.
i tried a couple of slim adjustables, the merkurs are just better razors, atleast in my humble opinion,
Love my slant (a 37G), and would recommend them to anybody. I also have a 39C "Slant Sledgehammer" on the way, I love big heavy razors. Perfect combination.
The slant felt very natural to me from the start. Something about the very angular head shape, and more widely set skin contact points, seems to actually assist me in maintaining proper angle with less conscious effort. The aggressiveness lets me use very light pressure and get a very close, gentle shave. After using a slant, I find my technique is improved when switching back to shave with my vintage Gillettes. It's almost a training razor for me. Maybe I just approached the slant more carefully to start with.
The only downside I've found with a slant is that they require very sharp blades to be effective, for me. A dull blade will skip or even slide over whole sections of beard worse with a slant than any other razor I've tried. If I dig in to try to compensate, I get cut. But a sharp blade just glides through like an assassin.
Have no probs with the Futur. Love it. It gives BBS shave with no runs, no drips, no errors and outperforms all my gillettes. My IP's last seemingly forever in the Futur....only 4-5 shaves in the gillettes. Have just ordered and awaiting the Merkur slant on a barberpole (sledgehammer); it just may eclipse the Futur. Stay tuned....news at 11.
I love my 38C baberpole, but then again, it's the only DE razor I have ever used, so I have no basis for comparison. But I love the heft, I know I would not have like the HD, compared to its big bro the barberpole. Depends of course on whether you want more heft in the razor or not, I think it helps me lay the hell off an not use pressure (otherwise I would).
I'm a big fan of the Slant. Nice weight, nice cutting action. I'm looking forward to getting the Sledgehammer next
I used a Merker Futur for the first 7 months exclusively (as my first DE). Love it, and I'll keep it forever. I still use it fairly often as my go-to closest safe* shave.
*safe meaning I can crank it up to the most aggressive setting and get sick close shaves in 1 pass if I need to look good for more than an hour and a half
- without taking off half my smile!
*safe meaning I can crank it up to the most aggressive setting and get sick close shaves in 1 pass if I need to look good for more than an hour and a half
- without taking off half my smile!
I have a Merkur HD and a Gillette superspeed. I like the feel of the superspeed in my hand better than the HD, but the HD gives me a better BBS shave. I wonder if there is a razor that has the feel of the '53 superspeed and the closeness of the HD shave? Those are the only DE razors I own.
as usual YMMV, with that aside, I learned about DE shaving 7 months ago and my first razor WAS in fact the Futur. I keep the adjustment at 1.5 and I get awesome, close shaves.
Have NOT tried any other Futur's but I might get the HD next.
The Futur does need a few weeks learning curve however and the head is large and bulky which can interfere with getting very close shaves in spots like right under the nostrils.
Have NOT tried any other Futur's but I might get the HD next.
The Futur does need a few weeks learning curve however and the head is large and bulky which can interfere with getting very close shaves in spots like right under the nostrils.
I have a VISION 2000 and a Futur. I love both of them but not for a daily shaver. When I'm in the mood for that bbs and really want to take my time and mow the lawn, I go to the Vision. I sometimes throw the Futur in there to spice things up a bit. I love these razors becase they give a totally different experience, in my opinion, than any other razors that I have tried. I have to use a different technique with each one than I would with , say, any of my daily gillettes. The Futur is probably the weirdest one for me. I find that it is somewhat difficult to tell where the blade is on my face, especially my upper lip, because of its massive head, and the angle that I use with it. Many ppl complain about the Vision's head being too bulky to shave their upper lip, but I find that it expoises so much blade and is so agressive that I can feel exactly where the blade is, and have never had that problem. Love them both. I have the slant, progress and 38c on my wishlist.
Wow. A feather in a vision? You either have no feeling in your face or leather for skin. Either way I worship you. That's about as agressive as it gets.
I'd recommend the Progress with a Feather blade. You can make it as aggressive as you want.
From what I've read, the Progress is far and away the best Merkur adjustable and also the cheapest.
From what I've read, the Progress is far and away the best Merkur adjustable and also the cheapest.
