SMF

Does the Futur give "better" shaves than the Progress? Smoother or closer? I know a lot depends on the adjustment, but I'm looking for a very close shave that isn't harsh on the skin.

brothers wrote:Does the Futur give "better" shaves than the Progress? Smoother or closer? I know a lot depends on the adjustment, but I'm looking for a very close shave that isn't harsh on the skin.

The Futur is a far more aggressive razor than the Progress. If your concern is for the level of harshness, the Progress would be your better alternative.

I used the Progress today, set at 2.5. I'm in the process of moving up the scale one or two shaves at a time, to try to find the sweet spot on the dial. I'm wondering if I might eventually have it modified to become a Mergress.

What a timely thread! I adopted a Progress for myself this afternoon. I have owned them in the past and cannot really remember why I sold it. After rediscovering the Merkur 34C, I have high hopes for this little oddball razor.

Gary, I bought a Progress and a Futur at the same time a while back. I never used the Futur (I never could get past a minor blade misalignment problem that apparently all Futurs have) and then sold it. Mostly becasue the Progress locked tight up every time and I liked that.

So already I favored the Progress. But when I shaved with it all bets were off. Man do I love that razor. Something about it just works for me. Now I understand why in one of Mark's (mantic) old videos, he says something when mentioning his Progress like "...but you'll have to pull this razor out of my cold dead hands." Or something like that.

I should add I have the Long Handled Progress and that I set it to "four" for my first shave and it hasn't moved since.

I love the Long Handled Progress!

A separate point that I forgot to add is that the Progress paired with a Personna Hospital Use blade is a match made in heaven.

Nate wrote:A separate point that I forgot to add is that the Progress paired with a Personna Hospital Use blade is a match made in heaven.

That's my favorite blade!

I haven't used my Progress in a while but use my Futur on a regular basis. Myself, I prefer the Futur set at 3. It gives smooth shaves with hardly any irritation.

I have never used a Progress, but my wife bought me a Futur in 1985. For me, the Futur set on 1.5 with a new Feather blade is as good as shaving gets.

brothers wrote:

Nate wrote:A separate point that I forgot to add is that the Progress paired with a Personna Hospital Use blade is a match made in heaven.

That's my favorite blade!

I, too, really like this blade.

- Murray

"I'm looking for a very close shave that isn't harsh on the skin".....well Gary, aren't we all? ( chuckle ). Of course how each of us arrives at that goal ( if we do ) varies considerably. If it didn't we wouldn't have much of a forum afterall. I can't speak directly to your question as I've never tried the Futur. I've handled them and I didn't like their 'feel' or their bulk and the gist of many of the posts here regarding them only reinforced the impression that the Futur was not for me. FWIW, the Progress is the only Merkur razor I've tried that worked well for me; all the fixed blade models were just too aggressive for my taste. But the Progress could be set down low and that way it worked about as well as the Gillettes that I normally use. The build quality didn't seem to be in quite the same league as the vintage Gillettes that I use, however, so I let the Progress go. I could certainly live comfortably with one as my only razor though if I had to.
Regards,
Gordon

Hahaha, Gordon, you got me there. Yes, I've crawled out on a limb, hoping to catch a glimpse of perfection. Treadmill....Carrot and stick....So sad....

gary, i thought your cobra was the creme de la creme?

I have some Gillette Adjustables - Fatboy, Aristocrat Adjustable (gold-plated Slim Adjustable), and a Super Adjustable - but I have never even tried them. Gordon preferred the Gillette Adjustables to the Progress. Do any others here have comparative experience between the Gillette Adjustables and the Progress?

- Murray

PS. I should note that I favor a mild razor.

I have owned both and can confidently state the Progress was the better razor - by a country mile.

I liked the shorter handle and more 'nimble' head.

I used to start off with a new blade and the Progress set at 1.5 and as the number of shaves increased and the blade dulled I would work up in 0.5 increments every other day.

If I was to be tempted away from cartridges it would only ever be to use a Merkur Progress.

gil3591 wrote:gary, i thought your cobra was the creme de la creme?

Gil, the Cobra Classic SE has that position for life, unless someone creates an even better one. The Barbasol floating head is the best of the double edges. It meets my expectations consistently. That's two. Right now there are 3 contenders for third place, '39 Gillette Tech triangular holes in the base plate, Progress if I can get it dialed in, and the R41 is still hanging on by it's fingernails (claws) because it still bites and brings blood if my I lose my focus for even a split second. When I get the technique perfect with the Muhle, and it decides not to bite, those shaves are remarkable, almost as smooth and long lasting as the Cobra, but the face feels like it's been sandpapered afterward.

joe mcclaine wrote:I have owned both and can confidently state the Progress was the better razor - by a country mile.

I liked the shorter handle and more 'nimble' head.

I used to start off with a new blade and the Progress set at 1.5 and as the number of shaves increased and the blade dulled I would work up in 0.5 increments every other day.

If I was to be tempted away from cartridges it would only ever be to use a Merkur Progress.

Vinny, I've been trying to remember the reasons I got rid of my own Futur a couple of years ago before I ever owned a Progress, and I think there were two reasons. Primarily it was the only razor that made my hand feel fatigued trying to hold it while wet, which was really annoying. Secondly, I think I just didn't form a high degree of appreciation for it. It just wasn't my cup of tea. A purely subjective opinion, but a strong one, as we all know.

joe mcclaine wrote:I have owned both and can confidently state the Progress was the better razor - by a country mile.

I liked the shorter handle and more 'nimble' head.

I used to start off with a new blade and the Progress set at 1.5 and as the number of shaves increased and the blade dulled I would work up in 0.5 increments every other day.

If I was to be tempted away from cartridges it would only ever be to use a Merkur Progress.

Thanks for the feedback, Vinny.

I was thinking I was done buying razors, but a Progress might be worth some serious consideration.

- Murray

i'm on my 4th futur. only because i loved how they look and feel but the shave always irritated me. switched to a progress and thought it was the best razor when used at a max. of 2.0 to 2.25 setting. then i discovered i needed to use the futur at a very shallow blade angle and now i like it better than a progress.

gil3591 wrote:i'm on my 4th futur. only because i loved how they look and feel but the shave always irritated me. switched to a progress and thought it was the best razor when used at a max. of 2.0 to 2.25 setting. then i discovered i needed to use the futur at a very steep blade angle and now i like it better than a progress.

Gil, are you referring to the angle of the blade within the razor, resulting from a more or less aggressive setting, or are you referring to the external blade angle, resulting from the positioning of the razor?

My concern is that any adjustable razor I consider must have a very gentle setting, and I don't understand the Futur to have it.

- Murray