SMF

I've lately been very interested in the Progress/Mergress. Then almost simultaneously with losing favor with the Futur, and selling it to Dave in Australia, I became the proud owner of a Gillette Super Adjustable, long handle. I came close to selling it without even using it first, but you guys here on SMF persuaded me to try it. Now I really am enjoying some excellent shaves with it. The fact, in my case, might just be that I don't need a Progress as long as I've got the Super. Does this make sense to you?

no! you need the progress too!

Gil, how did I know you were going to say that? I was about to buy one, then it struck me that maybe the Super was the equivalent of a Progress. Someone has a thread going here to the effect that he thinks his Progress is more aggressive than his Gillette adjustable. I don't mind aggressive razors, but I can make my Super more aggressive just my adjusting it up a bit.

Makes a lot of sense Gary, the Gillette long handle Super is among the top notch razors of all time and I've tried a bunch.

I agree with Squire. I used a Gillette LH Adjustable from 1964 until the late '90s almost exclusively and it is indeed one of the best all around shaving instruments ever made, IMO. Now, mind you, to me the Progress is the best razor Merkur offers, but I think the Gillette is better. If you're into using a lot of different razors ( which I'm personally not ) then the Progress is a good one to have, but between the two it would be the Gillette for me, unquestionably.
Regards,
Gordon

what's the difference between the LH adjustable and the slim adjustable? a pic , if someone has one

gil3591 wrote:no! you need the progress too!

Agreed! In fact you need two! Besides, I dispise the Long Handle Adjustable...

well it appears to be shaping up into two camps as usual the gillette group and the merkur group. for me, gillettes always seem to leave my face slightly irritated for the same amount of closeness as the merkur.

My nearly new Merkur Progress XL arrived in yesterday's post.
Suggestions for initial blade usage would be most appreciated.
My blades of late have been Iridium, Gillette Super Platinum; just finished
shave #3 with a Feather (so no longer a virgin there). Go milder till I learn
care and feeding of this bad boy?.

tony, use the iridium with the progrerss on 2. i usually adjust up for each additional pass. after a shave or two on the iridium you can go up to 4-4.5 before it gets dicey remember to keep the notches on the head and blade table on the same side

brothers wrote:I've lately been very interested in the Progress/Mergress. Then almost simultaneously with losing favor with the Futur, and selling it to Dave in Australia, I became the proud owner of a Gillette Super Adjustable, long handle. I came close to selling it without even using it first, but you guys here on SMF persuaded me to try it. Now I really am enjoying some excellent shaves with it. The fact, in my case, might just be that I don't need a Progress as long as I've got the Super. Does this make sense to you?

What I am most concerned about is you falling out of love with the Futur.

My Futur and I are inseparable.

gil3591 wrote:what's the difference between the LH adjustable and the slim adjustable? a pic , if someone has one

I don't have photos at this moment, but the Super Adjustable is the one with the black handle, and was made in short and long handle versions, also, the base plate of the head came in two versions, depending on the year of manufacture, either black plastic or metal. The Slim adjustable is the one that is often mistaken for the Fat Boy by the uninformed. All metal construction.

m3m0ryleak wrote:My nearly new Merkur Progress XL arrived in yesterday's post.
Suggestions for initial blade usage would be most appreciated.
My blades of late have been Iridium, Gillette Super Platinum; just finished
shave #3 with a Feather (so no longer a virgin there). Go milder till I learn
care and feeding of this bad boy?.

I've not used the Iridiums with the Pogress yet, but had great results with Feathers & Derbys. I go backwards on successive passes - i.e. 3.0 - 2.5 - 2.0 - I get close, very comfortable shaves day in and day out...

brothers wrote:

gil3591 wrote:what's the difference between the LH adjustable and the slim adjustable? a pic , if someone has one

I don't have photos at this moment, but the Super Adjustable is the one with the black handle, and was made in short and long handle versions, also, the base plate of the head came in two versions, depending on the year of manufacture, either black plastic or metal[/b]. The Slim adjustable is the one that is often mistaken for the Fat Boy by the uninformed. All metal construction.

...That's the one I loathe... Long black handle, black plastic backing... uughh... From day 1, I've never managed to get a comfortable from it... On the other hand I also have the short handle metal version which performs very, very well...

Well, since they're all old stock, no one should get the last ones...the ones with the plastic plate. They still shave well but they are not the razor that the earlier all metal ones were. That first one, the one I bought in 1964, I beat to hell, never took care of, abused practically, and it just kept on tickin'. Extremely tough and well made piece. The Merkur Progress I had felt 'hollow' and vaguely flimsy by comparison. The long handled adjustable I currently have is of 1969 manufacture and it seems equally well made.
Regards,
Gordon

If you like it, you like it.

I like my Slim more than the Super Adjustable, although I think I have a short-handled Super Adjustable.

For whatever reason, the Super Adjustable often feels to me like there's too much flex on the blade or something, and like the head is too big.

There is a teeny itsy bitsy slant to the razor that I didn't notice at first (my wife got it for me as a gift)--it's relatively subtle and, without any obvious signs of damage, I wonder if it came out of the factory that way.

merkri, I've no idea what that oddness is in the head that you describe. I've never noticed anything like that, so I assume that it shouldn't be there. Part of what makes the 'Super Adjustable' what it is is that longer handle. This is a big part of why Squire is so fond of it. The head geometry is a tad different from the Slim, and I think that, setting for setting, it's a slightly milder shaver.
Regards.
Gordon

bernards66 wrote:merkri, I've no idea what that oddness is in the head that you describe. I've never noticed anything like that, so I assume that it shouldn't be there. Part of what makes the 'Super Adjustable' what it is is that longer handle. This is a big part of why Squire is so fond of it. The head geometry is a tad different from the Slim, and I think that, setting for setting, it's a slightly milder shaver.
Regards.
Gordon

Yeah, I'm sure that slant isn't supposed to be there, so I assume most SAs wouldn't be the same. It's not like the whole head is slanted; it's like there's this very very slight slant to the top of the razor, like the top is ever so slightly closer to the bottom on one side than the other. Or something like that. I've tried to figure it out and I get confused, to be honest .

I've had a hard time telling how much that's related to how it shaves sometimes. The slant is really mild, and it's difficult for me to figure out how the slant would make it feel like the blade was flexing.

Oh well.

It could be that it was dropped or stepped on, something along those lines, at some point in the past.

brothers wrote:It could be that it was dropped or stepped on, something along those lines, at some point in the past.

Yes, definitely.

Anything is possible. I sort of think it's a lemon because it's hard for me to imagine how an external force could produce the situation. It's difficult to explain without seeing the razor itself--some parts of it look shorter than they should or something, rather than just being smooshed or bent.

I still do like the razor quite a bit. I just have to be more careful with it than my other razors (except maybe my Superspeed, which requires just as much, if not more caution).