Merkur Futur safety razor

David7307 said:
What is better the Merkur Futur or Gillette Fatboy ,a good Fatboy will cost over $100 the Futur just on $110,
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They are differ be and so it's hard to compare -other than they are both TTO Adjustables.

The Futur is a medium-very high efficiency razor. The lowest setting is already very efficient (or "aggressive") with a large blade gap. It is heavy- perhaps a bit more than the FatBoy from memory. It's a modern razor made from alloy materials.

The FatBoy's price comes from the buyers -the price varies in sales depending on its condition. You can even find them for $10 in antique stores if you get lucky! It's made of coated brass which is more durable. The settings are from low to high efficiency. It's a popular razor due to its looks, feel and historicity.

Other adjustable razors (easily available):
Merkur Progress
Gillette "Slim" adjustable
Gillette Super adjustable (Black Beauty)

Rockwell "Model T" adjustable (in 2017 but you can buy now)

Or the "switch plates" adjustable: Rockwell 6S razor

There are other DE razors that are much harder to acquire:
Merkur Vision
Personna adjustable
Schick Krona adjustable
Etc
 
David7307 said:
What is better the Merkur Futur or Gillette Fatboy ,a good Fatboy will cost over $100 the Futur just on $110,
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You should be able to find a user grade Slim for half of that. Many, myself included, feel that (for them) the Slim shaves a little better than the Fatboy.
 
I prefer the Fatboy over the Slim by a generous margin.....and the Mergress (Progress) by the same margin again above the Fatboy.
Caveat Emptor: DSDF
 
Great write-up @filobiblic and nothing more to add, except if you want to spend even more, Above the Tie also has interchangeable base plates with various degrees for effectiveness/aggressiveness
 
filobiblic said:
They are differ be and so it's hard to compare -other than they are both TTO Adjustables.

The Futur is a medium-very high efficiency razor. The lowest setting is already very efficient (or "aggressive") with a large blade gap. It is heavy- perhaps a bit more than the FatBoy from memory. It's a modern razor made from alloy materials.

The FatBoy's price comes from the buyers -the price varies in sales depending on its condition. You can even find them for $10 in antique stores if you get lucky! It's made of coated brass which is more durable. The settings are from low to high efficiency. It's a popular razor due to its looks, feel and historicity.

Other adjustable razors (easily available):
Merkur Progress
Gillette "Slim" adjustable
Gillette Super adjustable (Black Beauty)

Rockwell "Model T" adjustable (in 2017 but you can buy now)

Or the "switch plates" adjustable: Rockwell 6S razor

There are other DE razors that are much harder to acquire:
Merkur Vision
Personna adjustable
Schick Krona adjustable
Etc
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this answered the question i was after thank you
 
shaver_joe said:
this answered the question i was after thank you
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I note that @Anthony is selling a Merkur Progress (short handle) on the BST. That's a highly recommended modern adjustable (and would easily serve you until the Rockwell Model T is released next year). [emoji6]
 
filobiblic said:
I note that @Anthony is selling a Merkur Progress (short handle) on the BST. That's a highly recommended modern adjustable (and would easily serve you until the Rockwell Model T is released next year). [emoji6]
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You would go with the merkur progress over the futur? Also with the Rockwell model T got any links that I can check out?
 
shaver_joe said:
You would go with the merkur progress over the futur? Also with the Rockwell model T got any links that I can check out?
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The Merkur Progress is cheaper, lighter and less "aggressive". You've got more of a chance of enjoying it. (Although I know that for most of those who get the Futur they enjoy the efficiency. I wasn't one of them.)

The Rockwell Model T is available on pre-order here on Indiegogo. And the Rockwell website has their current "adjustable" (more a variable) razor - the 6s. It's worth considering as it is a high grade stainless steel and you are highly likely to enjoy at least one setting. (Note that it's not a continuous adjustable razor.)
 
filobiblic said:
The Merkur Progress is cheaper, lighter and less "aggressive". You've got more of a chance of enjoying it. (Although I know that for most of those who get the Futur they enjoy the efficiency. I wasn't one of them.)
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This exactly. I have been using a Progress for a number of years.

I used a Futur for a few months, it was ridiculously aggressive (efficient) even on 1 or 2 and keeping the adjustment dial operating smoothly was a major hassle. From my extensive reading across the forums on the Futur the extremely aggressive nature of the razor and the tendency for the adjustment slider to jam up are very common problems.

I also find the futur quite ugly, it really did not suit my aesthetic tastes whatsoever - just my personal, subjective opinion.
 
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shaver_joe said:
You would go with the merkur progress over the futur? Also with the Rockwell model T got any links that I can check out?
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I have used the Merkur Progress (Long handle) for a number of years. It is an excellent adjustable razor that works particularly well and allows significant variability and adjustment to the efficiency or "aggressiveness" of the shave. I use Feather blade in mine and get excellent results, I am sure any number of other blades would also work well but the consensus is generally Features suit particularly well for the Progress.

I highly recommend you give it some serious consideration, particularly the long handled version that I have found a lot easier to handle and manoeuvre around the tricky areas of the face. Additionally the 'gullies' below the blade on the Progress are nice and deep, they allow a significant amount of hair and cream to accrue before needing to be cleaned which is something I regularly appreciate.

Some people don't like the bakelite knob on the progress, and prefer the retrofitted brass/chrome 'mergress' razors - myself I quite like the imitation bakelight look as it sits well with the other wet-shaving kit I keep.

Just my 0.2 being a long time user of the Progress, the other members here (particularly @filobiblic ) have already covered in depth and with learned accuracy the pros and cons.
 
I'll need to get hold of a progress one day to try out, but believe that the Rockwell 6S will still be my fave :)
 
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