Merkur Progress

I have been DE shaving for around a year now. I am 48 years old, and learned how to save the right way from watching videos made by mantic59.

Here is the link to his site by the way: "http://www.youtube.com/user/mantic59"

I began with a Merkur Solingen Heavy Duty Safety Razor 34C that I still use often. I have various Antique Gillette TTO like the Super Speed, English Rocket, Ball Bottom Tech, and the very best of all of them, the Adjustable 1-9 Fat Boy. (That is now my number two "go to razor") I also have a very nice TTO Parker 22r. And yes I have RAD. Can't help it, and don't want to cure it either... I have to say that for me the Progress shaves the best out of all the razors that I have tried.

Price: I gave this an 8 , it is a bit more expensive then I think is should be priced, but for an adjustable the price is more than fair.

Quality: A solid 10+ This thing is built great! Blade lines up perfect every time. Super nice finish, and perfect weight. I don't have a problem with blade replacement. It locks down to the left of the 1, so I think this is the perfect spot to begin from. Like a zero I believe. I use the Gillette Super Thin made in India I believe. Works like a match made in shaving heaven for me.

User Friendly: I find it incredibly easy to find the right shave angle every time.

Grip: I like the feel of the grip handle. I don't have a problem with slippage. Just rinse your fingers, and the handle if you get to much shave soap or cream on the handle.

Blade Replacement: As easy as any DE razor that I own.

Agressiveness: It's adjustable. You can shave anyway you like. 1 is very mild, and the 5 setting is not super harsh, but use 4 and 5 with care and respect. I like it set to 2.5 personally.

Balance: The weighting and balance of this razor provides great shaves.

I know that shaving is very subjective, but I would recomend to anyone this razor. From the new first time user to the old timer, I feel you would get a great shave from the Progress. My RAD has taken me through various Gillette, Parker, and Merkur razors but I now use the Progress 95% of the time.

Hello Fellow Wet-Shavers,

I had joined awhile ago and have been lurking around on this forum and others enhancing my knowledge base about wet-shaving. I must admit I fall in the category of individuals which were not shown DE shaving in my youth. I remember only that my father used Trac II Razors. However from my join date to now I had acquired a Gillette Super-Speed 73 short black handle model and have been happy thus far with my results. I just wanted to kick it up a notch. Anyway I placed an order last week on Monday from Phil at “Bullgoose” shaving supplies. The man was patient and helpful in dealing with me. His shipping is superb and very fast. I ordered the Ikon-Short handle Progress. The only difference between this model and the regular Progress is that you get to keep your original spindle and flute, and you also get the stainless steel modified version. The only drawback is that you don’t get the numbers on the modified spindle flute. That doesn’t really bother me because as previous posters have indicated when changing a blade it does not zero out. I loaded this razor up with a Shark Blade. WOW!!! This razor is great I took my time and used the Kyle method, and Mantic method of prepping up as usual and had wonderful results with less passes than with my Gillette SS. Don’t get me wrong I do love my little Gillette SS. The Progress is a nice and hefty instrument to maneuver over my face. For me it has a great grip and balance. I agree that there are flaws with this razor but it is livable for me. All in all I can comfortably recommend this razor to anyone who would be interested with a current production Adjustable. I had 4 shaves with the Shark blade and 3 were great the last shave was decent.

This is the first and only DE razor I have used, so disclaimer there.

I like the weight and balance of the razor a lot. The adjustability is great, you can dial in just the right amount depending the type of blade, the condition of your skin that day, etc. Overall it's a quality product that I'm happy with.

My biggest gripe is that the blade gap is often uneven between the 2 sides of the razor! In order to make them even I have to unscrew the razor and lean to one side or the other while tightening it back down. Because of this I gave medium scores for Ease of Blade Replacement and User Friendly, and a lower Quality score than I otherwise would have.

This 'feature' can be both annoying and good and I'm still on the fence about which will prevail for me. It's annoying that it is inconsistent and that I have to take this extra bit of care to make it right each time. It's sometimes nice to have one side a little more aggressive than the other: when working on more delicate areas or for various pass angles you can quickly switch sides. But you have to keep track of which is which, otherwise you can forget and do the switcheroo on yourself!

The grip is just ok as well, which I why I rated it a 5. As others have said, as long as your hands and the razor are both dry there are no issues, but it quickly becomes slippery.

A great sturdy razor which delivers good shaves each time, nice weight, good adjustments available and gives me no rash or red skin after a shave, dont have a problem with the line up either as its easily done with the marks having to match up, works well with the merkur blades and just about every blade you throw into it, a great razor to enjoy the de experiance, though mine did develop a crack up the stem after about 6 months but was changed without fuss, 1 of the best on the market today.

I rate this razor No.1, then my Vision, then my Futur.

If I had known that this razor was going to work out for me the best, I wouldn't have bought the Vision or the Merkur first. But, trying all these different razors is half the fun of this hobby.

Its priced at around the same as the Futur, a little cheaper, but I think it should be around $30-35 rather than $45+. I like everything about, yes including the plastic rotating dial. But for $45, I think they should have upgraded the plastic. If they made this razor with the same finish as the Vision and Futur, it would be the perfect razor for me, in looks and performance.

I feel more comfortable shaving with the progress because it was lighter compared to my other two merkurs so I felt more confident in shaving with it. It never really slipped out of my hands, although I did dry it after every pass.

Replacing the blade is easy...un screw it, slap on the blade and tighten it up. Just be sure the head is attached lining up the arrows. You can get this razor to be as aggressive as you want it to be. 2 is enough for me for now maybe i'll go higher after a few weeks but right now, 2 is great.

All in all, this will be my new weekly razor. I'm actually thinking of selling my Futur and Vision. I was all about the Vision just last week and now...The Progress has taken over the throne.

Because of the kindness of a fellow member, I was fortunate enough to receive a 'Mergress' for the cost of a Progress.

As such, this review is for a Mergress fitted Progress...


At first impression, I was overwhelmed. The shiny piece -with navy blue dots and coloring- was just begging to be used, and my 3 days of advanced stubble was sure in need of some discipline! After throwing in a fresh blade and lathering -the blades / shaving cream used is inconsequential, the razor's what's on display here!- I took the piece in hand and was immediately aware of the weight to this sucker. To be honest, I almost botched the shave up because my hand was used to lighter de razors; to compensate for the increased weight, i instinctually pushed, instead of just 'control the fall' for the glide of the blade. No nicks or weepers resulted, but they sure could have!

(I recommend anyone using the Mergress to take a quick 'dry run' for a practice stroke or two, just to get the feel of the piece'...beyond the slight learning curve, the SHAVE IS AWESOME!!!! SO SMOOTH, SO CLOSE!!!! )


The aesthetics are also quite impressive. Both beauty and function meet in this piece - which is available at lee's razors...get the Mergress; you won't be disappointed

I love the look and feel of this razor but I cannot get on with it at all!

Initially the razor was supplied with a cap that looked to me as though it was askew/twisted. I contacted customer services at Merkur who despite the original cap being "within tolerance" replaced the cap for me with a minimum of fuss and what appeared to be a genuine wish to help. That aspect is now perfect. Thank you Jens Zeitvogel of Merkur.

Despite this I still find it fiddly to get the blades straight and have nicked myself once or twice even at the lowest settings.

I have gone back to my Futur which strangely enough, despite its reputation for being an animal, I find easier and safer to use? A real shame!

This was my second DE razor. I started out with a cheapo gillette drug store DE and moved up to this. Served me well for about 12 years until the female end of the shaft (inside the handle) finally snapped in two. My only complaint really is that as the threads needed constant cleaning if you were to be able to adjust the knob all the way down to setting #1. I prolly used it for around 12 years and was pretty happy with it. I upgraded to a Futur and am in heaven.

First off Ill say that i really wanted to like this razor. It is attractive, sleek, solidly built, and feels great in the hand. For a new, beefy adjustable it isnt too expensive either. I even like the plastic knob.

However, I really think this design is a failure when it comes to function. The way the aggressiveness setting is incorporated into the twist to open mechanism makes changing the blade more difficult than it needs to be, and the cap has issues with blade exposure. While the closure seems snug, it has a very imprecise feel to it (did i line everything up right? did it close properly? did it really cinch down the way it was supposed to? is the blade even? Should I hold the cap on the razor while i screw it shut?). It really shouldnt be necessary to clamp a razor against a counter to make it close right. I think that the Fatboy and Slim adjustables are superior when it comes to the (separate) adjustment mechanisms and the twist to open knobs. I also like the feel of them more. Lastly, this is a very aggressive razor. Even on the lowest settings I found it to be more prone to nicking than my classic.

It seems like merkur found success with the classic and tried to make it adjustable, failed with the progress, and were in the process of working out the kinks but decided it was a lost cause. So they moved on to the futur. If the significant issues were addressed id give it another shot, but until then ill take my fatboys and my slims and forget this worthless thing.

This is my first Safety razor, however, I would buy it all over again as a first DE.

The progress, my first what a baby, real treat to start with such a fine instrument like the progress great over all, I also got mine converted to Mergress which gave it more heft. I rated affressivness as 0 for the reason that you can control that feature

One of the best adjustables (of Merkur). Easy to use. But sometimes the adjustment needs a little correction.

For me as a newbi to the D/E shaving,6 month now,this is an amazing razor
i just dial up for every new pass and the result is really close shave
The only thing i have to complain about is the handle grip,getting
slippery,but i can live with that coz this is the best razor i tried so far

This is my first 'new' DE razor and I love it. The size is a little small but it still feels balanced. My only complaint, if you could even call it one would be that the finish is not as good as a Vision or Futur. However, the positives far out weigh the negatives and this is my primary razor now. By far the best shave I have gotten in a long time, if you are on the fence go ahead and get it you won't regret the purchase.

JP

What would be an example of an "aggressive" setting?

Jim

I've put my HD away and I don't think it will ever come out again. Echoing much of what has been said above about the modified Mergress it a step above everything else I've tried. Pesky neck irritation that I had encountered is gone and the adjustment can be used to fine tune for any situation or blade. The balance is vastly improved due to the mod.

The negatives: Poor chrome finishing from Merkur, the shaft of the handle has what look like nicks, minor but not perfect. As mentioned by many above one has to take care to make sure the blade is under the cap straight, easy to do but an additional step. Others have complained about the grip but not a problem for me. Great razor.

Of the two safety razors I own, this is the best

Price: One cannot get a brand new adjustable razor for less.

Quality: Not the best plating. Only a problem if one is bothered by it.
I also have to position the blade to keep it straight as I tighten it down.
Not something that I have to do with my Merkur HD.

User Friendly: Not very hard to use except for problem mentioned above.

Grip: Not a very good grip. Only a problem if one is bothered by it.
I do not shave in the shower. The razor has never slipped from my hands.

Ease of Blade Replacement: Very easy. The same as the other Merkur 2 piece razors.

Agressiveness: All one would want and more.

Adjustability: Fully adjustable. Twice the range of the Gillette Fatboy.

Balance: Perfect balance. More explained below.

This razor shaves very well with little practice. I would recommend this razor as a first one to buy. Just keep the settings low at first and progress from there. Some complain about the plastic knob. The knob was made plastic to keep the razor balanced with the more shallow angle that is required to shave. Also, plastic has some give to it. When you twist the knob the stress is going to the knob instead of the internal mechanism.

IMHO, the progress is the best DE razor under all aspects of wet shaving.

Price: At ~USD$45 ($85 for it's "Mergress" cousin), it's a steal.

Quality/Balance: Provides the closes, most comfortable, no irritation shave of any DE out there. It's built like a tank, and the balance is only outdone by the "Mergress" modification.

User Friendly/Ease of Blade Replacement: It's got two parts. The only "trick" is to recognize the "triangle line-up" to ensure the adjustable numbers remain aligned with the selection dot.

Aggressiveness: It can be dialed down to be as gentle as a silk glove, and dialed up to be as aggressive as a Bushido sword. This razor gives me the confidence that I could put a rusty saw blade in it, and still get a BBS shave.

The only weakness is the grip. The handle on it has no serrations compared to other Gillette models, so one must be careful is there is soap on it. However, I've never found this personally to be a problem.

Hands down, the Progress/Mergress are my "Deserted Island" razors. I own both, and both are magnificent purchases.