What would the logical progression in razors be for a rookie

ARenaissanceMan · Post by **ARenaissanceMan** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 6:25 am

Im not exactly a newb but Im still on my first razor, a Merkur DE long handle. Its been about 2 months and Im starting to notice a decrease in blade responsiveness and overall shave. I think my face is starting to adjust. Im thinking about moving up a level but Im not sure which one to choose so I thought I'd ask the experts. I'd like to make it up to that cockeyed thing Joel is using but if I tried that now I'd probably end up bleeding to death. Any suggestions?

razor_boy · Post by **razor_boy** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 9:23 am

Clark,

I have heard very good things about the Futur. But may I suggest the Merkur Progress. I it is heavy while being very simple & straight forward and adjustable. The Progress was the first DE I used and is still the one I use most frequently.

I think QED has the best price at $39.50.

Paul.

ARenaissanceMan · Post by **ARenaissanceMan** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 2:16 pm

Wow thanks for the great responses guys. Especially you Chris. That's a fantastic explanation with the pictures and really helped me understand the differences between the razors.

Joel - where can you get that slant bar? Both Charles and Classic don't seem to stock it.

razor_boy · Post by **razor_boy** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 2:21 pm

Clark,

The only place I know to buy a new Merkur Slant Bar is:

http://www.leesrazors.com

Paul..

fisherc · Post by **fisherc** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 10:00 pm

You can also get the slant bar at http://www.coolshaving.com.

bernards66 · Post by **bernards66** » Sun Apr 10, 2005 10:28 pm

Clark, A....I know this isn't what you asked, but I couldn't help wondering, what exactly is going on? In forty years of using DE razors, I've never had one just up and loose it's effectiveness. I don't understand what could cause this. Usually, as a man's face gets used to the DE cut, and as his skill increases, the shaves get better, not worse. I don't recall anyone else reporting this phenomenon. Regards, Gordon

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 2:35 am

Chris,

Eureka! My apologies if this sounds too enthusiastic, but those pictures are what I've been looking for forever. After reading posts and posts about the aggressiveness of the Vision and Futur, and trying to discern what that means from the visually appealing but analytically inadequate pictures on various vendors' websites, I can finally see the definition in your pictures. Not only that, but you have finally given a reasonable and substantial answer to a question that has heretofore gone essentially unanswered, as far as I have yet read: namely, what is the difference between the Vision and the Futur in terms of actual practical application? Usually, responses to that question go along the lines of, "Well, the Vision is heavier." Yet another masterful contribution to our understanding of razors. First your straight shaving guide, and now this. Very nice work, sir.

~ Nathan

blackgrass · Post by **blackgrass** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 8:42 am

Very nice photos! One thing I would say about the Merkur razors is that some folks say they have a hard side and a soft side. Now that is fancy language for one side of the razor having more blade exposure than the other. Some folks like this, as they can get a bit more aggressive by flipping the razor around and using the side with more blade exposure. I HIGHLY doubt that Merkur intended to manufacture them this way! I'm not a big fan of Merkur for this reason. After all who wants to worry about what side of the blade your using and trying to keep track of how many shaves you get out of each side of the razor? You can look at the head of the Merkurs and see more blade showing on one side than the other. I know this is the case with the HD and Progress but not sure about the Vision and the Futar. Maybe somebody can take a look and report back in? The photos are a bit offset in this post or you would probably be able to see it for yourself. If you look closely at the pic of the HD you can see more blade exposure on the left hand side of the razors head. I know this is very anal on my part but hey.....Give me a good old classic Gillette with all the mojo included and I'm happy! I'm about to post on the new one I found this weekend! A heavy-duty model!

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:55 am

Blackgrass, this topic was much discussed a month or so back on WetShavers, and one canny individual decided get the word straight from the horse's mouth by writing Merkur and asking them about this. Merkur claims that their engineering tolerances allow for a slight variation between the sides, but that the variation is not an intentional part of the design. However, Merkur also states that the variation should have little-to-no practical effect on the shave quality itself. If any difference is to be felt between the sides, it would be on the razor's least aggressive settings; once the razor is opened up slightly, it shouldn't make any difference. This is the company's official stance on it. YMMV. (I wish I could find the original post, which contained the actual response from Merkur, but since WetShavers does not have a search function, I could be looking for hours.)

The difference has been noted in the Vision as well. I can't recall if I have read of any differences in the Futur, but I would not be surprised if there were.

~ Nathan

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 10:56 am

Chris, I forgot to ask: why the Futur over the Progress?

~ Nathan

blackgrass · Post by **blackgrass** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 11:04 am

Nathan,
I remember reading that post as well. I think it may have been Corey that wrote in to Merkur. Interesting...sloppy manufacturing from the Germans!

JackieMartling · Post by **JackieMartling** » Mon Apr 11, 2005 12:44 pm

Chris,

Fair enough.

~ Nathan