Just got a Futur and.

[luvmysuper]

Factual representations of a members experience is welcomed here.
If any member has a problem with that policy, please PM me and we can discuss it.

Members are free to disagree with someones opinion of a product, but we welcome people providing an explanation of a bad experience as long as it is truthful and done in a civil manner.
Posts chiding a member for sharing their experience will not be tolerated.

 

[Kramerica]

I think the prospect of such poor workmanship in a razor just put everyone in a bad mood.

 

[luvmysuper]

I think the prospect of such poor workmanship in a razor just put everyone in a bad mood.

Having experienced a similar incident with another brand, I can understand that entirely.

 

[HUF]

I thought "Made in Germany" meant quality?

Not for Merkur. Got one a few months ago and was horrified with the quality. Returned to the seller and just out of curiousity bought another Merkur from a different seller. Another ***. No Merkurs for me.

 

[Sir Lurkalot]

Merkur's new slogan: Mekur...the best pot metal money can buy

 

[ArNav]

Or: "Merkur - we sell it, you return it".

 

[breadstick]

I guess I got lucky from them. My first safety razor was a Merkur and it didn't have any defects that I'm aware of. My second Merkur I can't comment on because it was sent from the seller straight to Mer for his treatement. The third was a slant that seemed fine, but just didn't work for me so it was PIF'd to my brother who didn't like it either. My last was a Futur from a member here and you'll have to pry it out of my cold, dead hands since, if I have my way, I'll die using it for my morning shave.

 

[Rothman]

I have 2 Merkurs, the quality on both is terrible. I have a 37C that was very poorly finished and the chrome didn't even stick in a few spots during plating. I also have a Vision that was purchased used in "broken" condition. It needed a thorough cleaning but was and is mechanically fine. The Vision IMO is the biggest let down, the finish is decent enough but the zinc pot metal started to corrode under the satin chrome and the tolerances are freakin horrible. One side of the blade is at least 2 full adjustments more aggressive than the other. I have torn it apart and rebuilt completely 3 times now. There is no fixing this issue. It's like having a feather ASD1 on one side and an R41 on the other. I am absolutely gun shy on Merkurs now. From what I have seen, read, and experienced, They make sub par razors. Heck, my Cadets are better than my Merkurs.

 

[VerbaVolant]

...
2) Merkur Bakelite, looks awesome but it too has the same sloppy blade guide...

These pictures are painful.

I owned a Bakelite for a day and returned it. On my dime of course, like all Merkur related "mishaps"
Never used this, so I cannot tell you how they shave:

Lost too much money only to pay for someone's BMW or Mercedes.

My latest stupid mistake? Bought a Dovo Shavette and will soon post pictures of yet another marvel of German engineering.
I am still disputing this purchase with my vendor.

Never again.

I must say that I do use a Merkur open comb and a solid bar, the heads from a Merkur 15C and 23C, that I was lucky enough to get in an acceptable finish. The top finish of those razors is excellent, no flaking, just rough and weak plating under the top plate. Other than that, the ones I have and use are excellent shavers. No doubt about it, the Merkur solid bar design is one of the best.

 

[plywood99]

Sad to say it, but I'm glad to see it wasn't just me getting "unlucky."
VerbaVolant that bakelite looks like something a serial killer would use. Just wow...

 

[ArNav]

I think I got lucky, because my 34c and 11c are okay.

 

[plywood99]

I'm wondering if they have had internal pressure to lower costs or some such. I've seen it happen many times with private companies that go public, but I've no clue about Dovo and Merkur.
Has there been a change from Merkur products produced years ago?

 

[chongo gordo]

I had an older Merkur slant, the handle had a chalky white substance in the knurling. I'm pretty sure it was sub-par plating flaking away from inferior metal. From what I've seen on ebay, it happens a lot.

One and done.

 

[Joezamboni]

I have a 12C open comb barber pole and 23C closed comb 3 piece. On both a tiny bit of attention needs to be paid to blade adjustment, but nothing like a vintage new improved or old type and you have to actually try to make the alignment noticeable uneven. There are a couple of minuscule visual flaws in the 12C, but nothing I would feel like I would have to leave out to a potential buyer.

I will agree that they need to clean up their act though. I will not risk buying a progress just due to the amount of adjustment issues I've read about. It'll only be a matter of time before people who do research start considering Mühles or EJs better investments, especially the booming newb market when posts such as this one become more common.

 

[Sir Lurkalot]

Or: "Merkur - we sell it, you return it".

With a little extra kick in the jewels; "At your expense"

I have one Merkur open comb razor. It's a vintage one that I found at an antique store. It was originally marked at $20 and then marked down to $6 so I bought it. Once cleaned up, it looked great. The cap is pot metal and has minor flaws but the rest of the razor is perfect. Nice handle. Shaves great, can't complain. With that being said, I would never buy a new one. I had the opportunity to borrow a Futur and while it was impressive looking and quite heavy, I did not like the shave. The one I used was in perfect condition with no problems in blade alignment, plating issues or that loose top cap. Too bad you guys that own them are having these problems. I think Merk is definitely dropping the ball.

 

[Joe_Karp]

Maybe my problem with Merkur isn't with my four razors with their name on them. After a year of ownership I'm used to the tubes on my Mergress (I own two) being off-centered, and the F&F isn't what I expected. There's no blade gap or or actual plating issues. (Although Not bad, but not great either.) In the advertising I read these have an "Industrial" look about them compared to the EJ models, and certainly any of my older Gillettes; No, that's not my problem.

What IS my problem? Poor customer service that should be there to support their products. (And maybe their customers??) In at least three cases, and early on before I knew better, I wrote the company with questions that were either not returned or disputed. I actually had the owner of a very well known online dealership suggest I live with my problematic razor.

So, I read a lot about QC issues from many of us regarding Merkurs. Some seem to be lucky, I'm in there somewhere, but in looking at the photos in previous posts in this thread the alignment of razor and blade are far enough out of alignment to cause injury. And it looks like, for the most part there's nowhere to turn to since the company (Merkur) itself seem to care a little more than less-than.

Well, I have a 37C on the way this week, because I want to try the slant design, and I suppose if there was any luck this razor will be a good one; the seller has his own small business and at least he is backing up a promise to take it back if there's any problems.

So - we seem to have two problems, first is an overall lack of QC in final production before these things ship out, and second - and even worse, is a serious lack of customer support, WHEN and not IF there's an issue with their product.

How does a company stay in business during these hard times for so many with these problems? It can only be in the sheer numbers of razors they pump out.

 

[TacticalPanda]

After looking at some Merkurs in person at an AoS store, I can't say that I may ever buy one. They aren't cheap by any means and the plating is so far below what Muhle and Edwin Jagger offer. I really only shave with my vintage Gillettes at this point anyways. It's a shame that they are made the way they are, I would love to have a really high quality Progress.

 

[01HDFXD]

Wow, QC sure seems to be an issue at Merkur. I guess buying one is something of a crap shoot. I lucked out: just got a 38 HD long handle, and it was perfect out of the box. I think it will be a long time before I think about rolling those dice again...

 

[3LeggdFox]

If I had that Red Bakelite as my First Razor, I'd be Sliced up bad.

 

[Aristeros]

Maybe they could market them as 'starter slants.'

Seriously, reading about all these QA/QC issues has me concerned about recent purchases!