tldr; I can highly recommend the Merkur Futur as a mild shaving razor on setting 1. I will try other settings in the Futur, but I may have found my new daily razor. As with all things shaving, YMMV.
I started DE shaving about 10 years ago with a Merkur 23C and I was happy. After a decade, my badger brush had seen better days and in my quest for a new brush I discovered B&B. Four months later...
I have bought, returned, and or sold about a dozen different razors, blade selections, brushes, soaps, creams, aftershaves....the list goes on. Each time I read a review I come to find out the adage YMMV is never more true when it comes to shaving products. What works so well for one, is horrible for me and leaves me looking like the latest audition for a slasher film or so burnt that it looks like I spent too much time in the sun. I enjoy a mild razor, a slick lather, and a mild scented aftershave. My quest has led me to, and past, the new Parker SoloEdge, Leaf Twig, Henson Mild, Supply SE, Pearl Flexi, Supply Pro, and some other Parker DE that didn't make it past the first WTG pass for me; and while they all have their adherents, none but the Henson have any sort of joy for me. An aside, I tried to return the Henson after first trying it with the supplied RK blades, it didn't open up for me until I tried a few others.
This brings me to my latest acquisition, the Merkur Futur. I have wanted one of these since I started shaving but couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a razor when I first started. I started DE shaving to save money after all. All the reviews I read about it discuss how aggressive it is, how dangerous it is, while the next review praises all its glories. So, two days ago, I saw a good price on one and clicked the order button. Immediately the doubt set in, buyers remorse? What if it is too aggressive, what if it is dangerous and slippery in the hand? It arrived last night. It is a quality product, good heft, smooth movement...Movement? I turned the handle and I didn't see the safety bar move. Is it broken? Nope, just "different". The adjustment is different, it seems to adjust inside the head to flex the blade more or less with a turn of the handle instead of moving the safety bar up and down. The head, hmm, not a two piece or three piece, some sort of magnetic hold. Will it be strong enough to hold the blade and not "chatter", I think I know what that means but had never heard of it before I discovered B&B. I've learned all sorts of things to be wary of since I joined up here that I never knew I should be wary of before. I cleaned up the new razor with some soap and water and a brush, dried and oiled the internals, set the adjustment to 1, and loaded up a blade. I wanted to make sure I started at its mildest setting in case it turned out to be a biter like all those reviews warned me about. I put it away for the next morning's shave. Curiosity got the better of me and I went back into the bathroom to examine my new toy and wouldn't you know, it bit me! It is dangerous and slippery! Not too bad, but don't play with loaded razors, they're sharp! A little nick on my finger tip when my hand slipped while examining the head.
So here we go, this morning, right out of the shower. Wet my face, lather up with TOBS Sandalwood, and carefully, nervously pick up this beast of a razor ready to shred my face as soon as I get close. Place the head of the razor on my face at my sideburn where I always start, cap flat on my face, roll down carefully until I just begin to feel it cut and...Wow! This is the mildest of any of my recent acquisitions. There is next to no blade feel but I can certainly hear it cutting. It sweeps away the lather effortlessly, and no irritation. WTG done, rinse, fair amount of stubble left if I feel ATG but that's with any of my razors. Relather for an ATG pass, I have been doing 2 passes lately with a touch up XTG on the cheeks. Also effortless, no irritation. Finish up with the XTG touch up, rinse, and aftershave. Results, not quite BBS but definitely DFS.
I am sure the next time I will get careless with my new found confidence and find out what all those scary reviews were referring to, but for now this is one fine razor. I can highly recommend the Merkur Futur as a mild shaving razor on setting 1. I will try other settings in the Futur, but I may have found my new daily razor. As with all things shaving, YMMV.
I started DE shaving about 10 years ago with a Merkur 23C and I was happy. After a decade, my badger brush had seen better days and in my quest for a new brush I discovered B&B. Four months later...
I have bought, returned, and or sold about a dozen different razors, blade selections, brushes, soaps, creams, aftershaves....the list goes on. Each time I read a review I come to find out the adage YMMV is never more true when it comes to shaving products. What works so well for one, is horrible for me and leaves me looking like the latest audition for a slasher film or so burnt that it looks like I spent too much time in the sun. I enjoy a mild razor, a slick lather, and a mild scented aftershave. My quest has led me to, and past, the new Parker SoloEdge, Leaf Twig, Henson Mild, Supply SE, Pearl Flexi, Supply Pro, and some other Parker DE that didn't make it past the first WTG pass for me; and while they all have their adherents, none but the Henson have any sort of joy for me. An aside, I tried to return the Henson after first trying it with the supplied RK blades, it didn't open up for me until I tried a few others.
This brings me to my latest acquisition, the Merkur Futur. I have wanted one of these since I started shaving but couldn't bring myself to spend that much on a razor when I first started. I started DE shaving to save money after all. All the reviews I read about it discuss how aggressive it is, how dangerous it is, while the next review praises all its glories. So, two days ago, I saw a good price on one and clicked the order button. Immediately the doubt set in, buyers remorse? What if it is too aggressive, what if it is dangerous and slippery in the hand? It arrived last night. It is a quality product, good heft, smooth movement...Movement? I turned the handle and I didn't see the safety bar move. Is it broken? Nope, just "different". The adjustment is different, it seems to adjust inside the head to flex the blade more or less with a turn of the handle instead of moving the safety bar up and down. The head, hmm, not a two piece or three piece, some sort of magnetic hold. Will it be strong enough to hold the blade and not "chatter", I think I know what that means but had never heard of it before I discovered B&B. I've learned all sorts of things to be wary of since I joined up here that I never knew I should be wary of before. I cleaned up the new razor with some soap and water and a brush, dried and oiled the internals, set the adjustment to 1, and loaded up a blade. I wanted to make sure I started at its mildest setting in case it turned out to be a biter like all those reviews warned me about. I put it away for the next morning's shave. Curiosity got the better of me and I went back into the bathroom to examine my new toy and wouldn't you know, it bit me! It is dangerous and slippery! Not too bad, but don't play with loaded razors, they're sharp! A little nick on my finger tip when my hand slipped while examining the head.
So here we go, this morning, right out of the shower. Wet my face, lather up with TOBS Sandalwood, and carefully, nervously pick up this beast of a razor ready to shred my face as soon as I get close. Place the head of the razor on my face at my sideburn where I always start, cap flat on my face, roll down carefully until I just begin to feel it cut and...Wow! This is the mildest of any of my recent acquisitions. There is next to no blade feel but I can certainly hear it cutting. It sweeps away the lather effortlessly, and no irritation. WTG done, rinse, fair amount of stubble left if I feel ATG but that's with any of my razors. Relather for an ATG pass, I have been doing 2 passes lately with a touch up XTG on the cheeks. Also effortless, no irritation. Finish up with the XTG touch up, rinse, and aftershave. Results, not quite BBS but definitely DFS.
I am sure the next time I will get careless with my new found confidence and find out what all those scary reviews were referring to, but for now this is one fine razor. I can highly recommend the Merkur Futur as a mild shaving razor on setting 1. I will try other settings in the Futur, but I may have found my new daily razor. As with all things shaving, YMMV.
