Merkur Futur, 1st impressions

[Leslie145]

Well, courtesy of my work colleagues, a Futur has now arrived in my life - I've read so much for & against this wee beastie that I approached my first shave pretty carefully.

1st impression - beautifully made, ergonomic & bloody heavy by comparison to most others; also, the blade gap looks huge, even at 1!

So, loaded up with a Permasharp, lathered with Erasmic & set to 1 (yes, I'm a coward ) - Was only going to go WTG initially, but that went so well, ATG/XTG followed with absolutely no problems, redness, nicks, weepers, or any nastiness at all.

This morning, dialed it to 2 1/2, blanched at what looked like a massive blade gap scared:), but went ahead anyway. C&E sandalwood soap & now the 2nd shave with the Permasharp.

Same result - no problems whatsoever, dialed down to 1 1/2 for ATG/XTG.

So... thus far, not getting quite the same close result as with the Gillette Slim, but damned close & bear in mind I'm being very careful at the moment as the weight does take getting used to.

Overall though - terrific razor & a damned fine 50th present from a bunch of colleagues who also gave me the complete 2nd Season of Game Of Thrones on BluRay

 

[shoulderpet]

Great razor , I brought one and then found I liked it so much I brought another in gold

 

[Harry Snider]

I would have to agree, one of the better razors offered by Merkur!

 

[sgreenstreet]

Wow, you've got some great colleagues.

I think you'll find that your settings will evolve over the next few months -- mine have. I currently do two passes. The first is with the grain and set to an aggressive 4. The second is against the grain and set to 2. I usually touch up problem areas at 2 also.

 

[Leslie145]

Good people definitely - we've been together pretty much unchanged as a team for nearly 9 years. The learning curve is definitely mirroring that I had with the Gillette Slim; low first, then gradual increase

 

[Facial Blood Donor]

I'm taking mine up to "2" for the next shave(which will be my 3rd 3-pass shave). I have gone from severe regret over buying one, to patting myself on the back. It really is quite the nifty little machine if treated with respect.

 

[cwnidog]

I do all 3 passes & touch up at 2 1/2. It's really a great razor, just it do its job.

 

[Lucidor]

Real men, shave on ten?

 

[sgreenstreet]

Real men, shave on ten?

Lucky for all of us that the scale only goes to six!

 

[TheEye]

thanks for the dteailed review and enjoy shaving!

 

[Woodekb]

My only gripe is the larger, wider head for getting under the nose. It's a beast!

I don't go over 2, because I went to 4 and should have known "there will be blood!" So much for getting Wiley with that. Pulled it back a bit, and I'll stick to 2/1

I just love the weight and quality feel of that thing.

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Welcome to the dark side my son--lol

Dialed my chrome one all the way up this morning--slightly past 6----my chrome one seems slightly milder than my matte one.

Its 10:30pm and my face is ALMOST still BBS after shaving this morning---with no irritation at all

Don't be afraid to dial it up---I get better shaves that way.

 

[Lucidor]

Lucky for all of us that the scale only goes to six!

If you open it for cleaning and assemble it incorrectly, it can do 16...

 

[rgraham]

Mine decided to rear up and bite me pretty good tonight. New Feather blade, and all was going well. On one of my last stokes of the third pass, full width blade slice in the middle of my cheek. I have no idea how it happened, but sure knew it when it did. Maybe I was just getting to nonchalant at the end or something. First real cut since starting wet shaving back in March. Set on 1 no less....

 

[Leslie145]

Maybe I was just getting to nonchalant at the end or something

It's usually when I get too cocky that sort of thing happens to me - as I've only been DE for about 4 months I try to keep in mind there aren't 3 blunt blades in a handy safe plastic cartridge, just one ****ing sharp one, very close to my skin (not to mention carotid artery ). What happened to you will happen to me at some point, I know...

My only gripe is the larger, wider head for getting under the nose. It's a beast!

The Merkur or your nose?

Seriously though, I'm lucky in that respect - I sport a full goatee, so all the really awkward facial contours don't get shaved... I think it's this which has made my transition from cart to DE so easy

 

[tm3]

My only gripe is the larger, wider head for getting under the nose. It's a beast!

I don't go over 2, because I went to 4 and should have known "there will be blood!" So much for getting Wiley with that. Pulled it back a bit, and I'll stick to 2/1

I just love the weight and quality feel of that thing.

Try going sideways under the nose