Safety Razor of the Month, March 2013 - Merkur Progress

[MacDaddy]

March of Progress​

This month let's take a look at Merkur's workhorse adjustable, rather inscrutably named from the German word for "progress" -- it's the Progress. It may not be as glitzy as its younger siblings, the Vision and Futur, and some might say it could benefit from a little plastic surgery. But you know you love it, so share it with the rest of us.

I'm particularly interested in any history anyone might have, and how it relates to the other similar German adjustables from back in the day. But I also know that there's a bunch of you out there who just got your paws on a new batch of Mergresses, too, and would love to hear some first impressions, not to mention some tips and tricks from the old-timers.

 

[studdmstr]

I'm patiently waiting for the Mergress XL handle to get back in stock so I can bring my progress up to mergress spec.

 

[Foyle]

I bought my Progress at a local milliner's shop called The Brass Rooster. I paid a little more, but I also believe in supporting local businesses when I can. I know a lot of gents opt for the Mergress upgrade, but I like the cheesy little plastic knob and the little Merkur guy on the bottom.

I keep mine set very low: about 1.5 or 2. I find the razor set this way to be very mild and forgiving but also very efficient--just the way I like it.

​

 

[DEW]

Got one coming from the Goose (here Monday extremely excited so please sing her praises), the bay had a vintage one some idiot was asking 400.00+ buy now starting bid 300.00+, are their people actually stupid enough to pay that for a progress?

Got mine today the forth of March, and I can say it is absolutely gorgeous, had a Dr. Apt this morning so shaved for that, I have to wait till tomorrow to use it.

 

[Hen]

Here's a quick snapshot of my Mergress that I got from Lee's a couple weeks ago. I'm still playing around with which settings work best for me, but I've gotten a few DFS out of it so far. The thing I like about it the most is how well it "sings".

 

[dellbarnes]

The Progress' guard has a lot of the advantages for me as an open comb, minus the disadvantages of a bar. Keeps lather on and no bar chatter or scraping. Could only get better if the top surfaces were teflon coated or equivalent.
The Progress is the only razor I can use for cleanup above/around the lip. Sometimes I get that area right on with the OC, but if its not perfect the first round, forget any second passes. The Progress, at 1-1.5 is perfect for mop-up.

 

[BotSpanx]

I bought my Progress at a local milliner's shop called The Brass Rooster. I paid a little more, but I also believe in supporting local businesses when I can. I know a lot of gents opt for the Mergress upgrade, but I like the cheesy little plastic knob and the little Merkur guy on the bottom.

Just FYI, Merkur is German for Mercury..AKA the little guy on the bottom

 

[vferdman]

I got my Progress back in September. Mine is a vintage gold one with a chrome handle. I got it in a trade. Previous owner had the razor sent to Merkur for handle repair and Merkur put a new chrome handle because they no longer stock gold parts. The razor works perfectly and has a very lovely two tone look to it. The knob is of different material than the modern ones. I think it's Bakelite. It is slightly different in color and the part where the retaining ring goes (inside the handle) is also plastic as opposed to metal in modern ones. Once I tried this razor I pretty much shaved with it exclusively for about 4 months or more. I just had no use for any other razor save for trying one here and there and happily going back to Progress. It is pretty much a perfect safety bar DE razor. There is no razor I have tried in this category that shaves better. None. I tried Weber ARC, which is wonderful, but not as versatile as far as blades that work in it, I have tried a Barbasol (both a fixed and floating head), also a wonderful old razor, but Progress is better. I have pretty much gotten rid of all of my vintage Gillettes that are not open comb. Open comb is the only DE razor category that can compete with Progress. If it's not OC, Progress pretty much wins. I have yet to meet a razor that can unseat it. I have not tried the Futur or Vision, but at under $70 Progress just fills the need perfectly and pretty much takes away any desire to try any other razors except OC, which just feel differently.

 

[MacDaddy]

I got my Progress back in September. Mine is a vintage gold one with a chrome handle. I got it in a trade. Previous owner had the razor sent to Merkur for handle repair and Merkur put a new chrome handle because they no longer stock gold parts. The razor works perfectly and has a very lovely two tone look to it. The knob is of different material than the modern ones. I think it's Bakelite. It is slightly different in color and the part where the retaining ring goes (inside the handle) is also plastic as opposed to metal in modern ones.

Wow. I dig that two-tone look, too. It'd be great to see a pic of the bottom knob taken out of the razor, if you've got a sec to snap one.

 

[vferdman]

Sure, here you go.

​

 

[Zeppelinkarte]

Vladimir Ferdman

I got my Progress back in September.

I wonder if the person who traded this to you has had second thoughts. Two tone is unique among Progress. All those vintage components with the new handle. Old head even looks great. The Merkur logo of Hermes looks better without the ring around it. More punchy. You are a lucky guy Vladimir.

 

[Zeppelinkarte]

The Progress stable. Left to right:
BRW Bulldog, BRW, Mergress Long Handle, Mergress, Mergress XL, Ikon Progress, Ikon Progress and in foreground a vintage gold Progress

 

[vferdman]

Vladimir Ferdman

I got my Progress back in September.

I wonder if the person who traded this to you has had second thoughts. Two tone is unique among Progress. All those vintage components with the new handle. Old head even looks great. The Merkur logo of Hermes looks better without the ring around it. More punchy. You are a lucky guy Vladimir.

Gary, the old Progress is great as are the new ones. They are just wonderful razors. Now If I could get my hands on another vintage one for backup...

 

[coolbus18]

Cool thread. As I will have a Progress eventually , I subscribed to the thread. Yes, I have a Slim Adj. so it will be interesting to see(at least in words) how the two compare.I do enjoy shaving with an oc also. Nice to meet all of you.

 

[VolpeVerde]

I really like my Progress, but one thing I did'nt like when I first got it was that the adjustment dial felt real gritty when turning it. So I stripped it, took some Shave Secret I had in the cabinet and put a drop of the shaving oil on the threads and smeared a bit on the area above the dial where it meets the grip barrel and also a little on the adjuster retainer ring and the adjuster shaft itself. Now the adjustment is nice and smooth. It's just a well made, well thought out design.

 

[urkel]

I just put my Mergress thru it's first bath having two day's worth of stubble. I dialed it in to about 1.5 and it was pretty darn smooth, even using the merkur blade it came with. I liked the weight of the razor and on the second pass I dialed it up to #2 and kind of think I'll be liking that setting tomorrow to start off with, but I'm going to use a better blade to my liking, Gillette Black or Yellow maybe. I'm really happy with the feel of the razor but I need to put some hours in first. I've been using a Razorock little bastone for about 2 months and on the 2 setting the Mergess sang about the same tune. Music to my ears

 

[Attila]

Keep your slant. They are both razors worth having!!

 

[Invicta]

Can anyone tell me how long the Progress has been in production? It would be great to hear from anyone who has had one for a few years and how well it is standing up to use.
Thanks

 

[vferdman]

Can anyone tell me how long the Progress has been in production? It would be great to hear from anyone who has had one for a few years and how well it is standing up to use.
Thanks

I have a vintage one that is way older than any of the modern ones. It has a little flea bite broblem on the top plate, (gold plating), but other than that it is perfect and I prefer it to the new ones. Not sure how old mine is, but it is definitely slightly different from modern ones. I really like mine. Want to get my hands on another vintage one. I think Merkur had much better production values in the older days.

 

[Mick]

At one time I had 5 custom progress razors.

Now I am down to just 1.