Merkur Finish Question
- Thread starter Radar O\'Reilly
- Start date
I have a HD slant that I use for three years now. I use it almost daily. I must say I have no problems with the plating. I soak the razor in alcohol from time to time that is used for desinfection in hospitals and the razor looks almost like new exept for a little plating lost where I dropped the razor. I have several Merkur slants from several decades even with the Hoffritz-branding and I like the chrome plating of the current one better. I used also the chessman-slant and after four weeks it shows more signs of use than the HD slant.
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- Thread starter
- #123
I understand that, but I sent pictures of my razors, and was/am willing to send them in. I would guess the barrels could be reused, so it's not like they would have been out anything. I'm not asking for something free. But when I fix a computer for someone, I stand behind my repairs for a reasonable amount of time. But when something bad happens, I don't blame the person (right away).
S
SubAtomicSpin
Well I guess this post is working. Today, I decided to look into shaving with a DE razor. I started searching and researching and Merku came up a lot. I was going to place an order for a Merkur - Vision $139.99. I will not purchase the Merkur based on what I read on this thread - I just joined today. At $140.00 I expect high quality plating and no issues from a product like this one. So they just lost a sale - almost certainly forever. Your photos and honest posts really tell the story.
I once got a microwave as a birthday gift from family. The unit was severely damaged inside the sealed box - the box was perfect. The store pushed the claim to the manufacture. I wrote the president after the normal run around and even called his office. The long and short is they would "fix it" not replace it. So heave-ho it was trashed - now the fun part. I was about to order $250K in laser welders from a division of this same company - they did not get the order. New job and guess what - more laser welders another $400k and I decide - so no business for them again. Well it's still going and 14 years have passed. I have personally diverted over $1M in business from that same company - all because they would not replace a factory damaged product. Had they done the right thing and replaced the unit I would have been a very good customer.
So thanks for the information - people do use the web to find better companies and products. I for one will be reading the posts here to find the better products. I feel alittle sorry for the small business which will not get this order so I plan to purchase some Taylor soap and tell them why I will not purchase the Merkur. First step get rid of the plastic handle unit.
Cheers,
Bob
I once got a microwave as a birthday gift from family. The unit was severely damaged inside the sealed box - the box was perfect. The store pushed the claim to the manufacture. I wrote the president after the normal run around and even called his office. The long and short is they would "fix it" not replace it. So heave-ho it was trashed - now the fun part. I was about to order $250K in laser welders from a division of this same company - they did not get the order. New job and guess what - more laser welders another $400k and I decide - so no business for them again. Well it's still going and 14 years have passed. I have personally diverted over $1M in business from that same company - all because they would not replace a factory damaged product. Had they done the right thing and replaced the unit I would have been a very good customer.
So thanks for the information - people do use the web to find better companies and products. I for one will be reading the posts here to find the better products. I feel alittle sorry for the small business which will not get this order so I plan to purchase some Taylor soap and tell them why I will not purchase the Merkur. First step get rid of the plastic handle unit.
Cheers,
Bob
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WOW! That is some story. Thank you for sharing it. I wonder if anyone from Merkur is listening?
I just bought a new Merkur 37C slant, and quite frankly, the quality of plating and workmanship do not inspire confidence. The knurled grip is unevenly applied around the handle with rough spots here and there, and there are places on the underside of the head where the plating seems very thin and dull. It does not surprise me if such a piece would corrode eventually. Now, I also have a Edwin Jagger Chatsworth and 89L. The difference in plating and fit and finish between the Merkur and the Edwin Jaggers is night and day--the Jaggers are far superior. The Jaggers I have use the Muehle head, and everyone agrees their beauty and quality escalated when they switched from the Merkur heads. I understand Merkur's QC is checkered due to inconsistent raw material and other production issues, so you probably got a razor from one of their lower quality batches.
I was going to buy a Merkur, but I ordered an 89L instead. I plan on fighting RAD as long as I can, so I may not ever buy a Merkur. I'll focus on classic razors instead when I do decide to buy a second.
i thought the 38c was brass?
Well now... for quite some time I was contemplating to purchase the Slant bar, finally this morning I decided to do so, what a thrill. But just before making the order from my favorite internet shop, I came to check out new posts on forum and bumped on this thread... You guys have to ruin everything 
I'm so glad I found out about this quality issues. No Merkur for me, I guess I will go with another Muhle or EJ.
I'm so glad I found out about this quality issues. No Merkur for me, I guess I will go with another Muhle or EJ.
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We should be careful not to throw out the kid with the bathwater: Some users have issues with their Merkurs, that doesn't make all Merkur razors bad. I for one have three of them and they are all in excellent shape, no problems whatsoever. I'd never claim that this proves superior quality on Merkurs side, just as the incidents stated here don't prove that the complete Merkur line is faulty.
I think you hit the mark here. Certainly, people should take into consideration what they see here and factor that into their decision to purchase a Merkur or other razor. On the other hand, to assume all Merkur razor's will self-destruct isn't a reasonable reaction. I personally own 3 Merkur razor and they've been through hundreds of shaves without issue.
Nonetheless, based on the experience on the OP, the customer service leaves a lot to be desired. I think most people are reasonable enough to know that things go wrong. However, they don't want be out their hard earned money and effectively be told "You're on your own!" when they have a legitimate complaint.
Bad customer service for sure, but also exceedingly bad quality control. Do things go wrong in the manufacturing process? Certainly. But things have to go majorly wrong to have potentially 100's of pieces cranked out with issues like this, and to have it uncaught by QC, and actually leave the facility.
To me a situation like this points to a quality control team that is asleep at their job.
I agree about not writing off all Merkur's as bad, but Merkur is supposed to be a top quality manufacturer. One shouldn't have to wonder when making a purchase, if they are taking a gamble, and hoping they will get a razor that doesn't suffer from bad quality control.
Merkur rather than assuring their customer base that this issue affects a small number of razors, has instead decided to place blame onto the customer. That doesn't create customer confidence in your product line.
I couldn't agree more with DE SHaver, and I personally think that the customer 'service' answers we read about here are totally unacceptable. But let's not forget that other users have had very good things to say about Merkur's service in other threads. Let's not over-generalize in any direction, is all I'm saying.
Edit: I should add that I have bought all my razors not online but in stores where I could have a good look at them first.
Edit: I should add that I have bought all my razors not online but in stores where I could have a good look at them first.
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Why take a chance, however small, that you will get a bad razor, a razor you can't return, when you can buy an equivalent razor from someone else? Some of the Merkurs are pretty unique, like the slant, so maybe they are worth the risk. But if I'm just buying a standard DE razor, I can't justify buying a Merkur when a Muhle head is similarly priced but better quality.
I wish I had seen this thread before I ordered my Merkur Progress Long Handle yesterday. Oh well. My Merkur HD is about three years old and I haven't had any problems with it. It gets about equal rotation with my SS and I shave every other day, so it's seen quite a bit of use. With any luck, maybe I won't have any problems with the Progress.
I was about to order a Futur Satin + a Slant (39c), now I'm just not sure.. really bad customer service. I was aware that the plating was not as good as a Muhle (have a R106), not this...
I guess I'll just invest elsewhere, vintage gillettes probably.
I guess I'll just invest elsewhere, vintage gillettes probably.
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- Thread starter
- #138
That is true. My razors are at least two years old, so not current batch. I swear I read that the molds the heads were cast in had to be remade around the time I purchased my razors. Bad molds could certainly explain my problem and the other problems people have experienced. If others are not having problems with their razors from current batches, then I take that as a good sign that they have made some improvements.
That said, the fact they had to stop making razors for a time because of problems with the heads and that is EXACTLY what I and others are having problems with, baffles me as to why they won't help some of us out.
I bought my 34C almost a year ago and had no problems with the plating yet. I ordered it online, and while it is not a perfectly flawless piece (the top cap isn't perfectly "sharp" on both ends), it shaves very well.
I am not sure if they sell Slants or the Futur, but if you live in the Porto area there are stores you can go to and at least thoroughly check the razor before you buy it. Check them out here.
Thank you. But, I'm sure I wouldn't be able to disassemble the Futur to really check what's going on inside where the spring is etc. The Slant would be no problem I guess.
I don't want to buy a product and then be "afraid" to use it, always thinking when will this go bad, one never knows........ maybe my water is also incompatible (lol). The 10 year warranty that the Merkur's carry is only good if they really stand behind it, otherwise it is just a marketing plot.
I'm a member of Barbearclassico for some time, I just haven't participated.
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