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Whatever happened to the Merkur Vision razor?

Some time ago I remember a razor called the Merkur Vison. It was a combination of an adjustable razor and a twist-to-open butterfly head. I was rather intruiged by it after coming across it in a Google search, but I have read somewhere it is no longer made.

To me that looked like Merkur's killer flagship razor as it offered the best of all worlds; heavy handle, adjustability and an idiot-proof blade loading mechanism. I wonder why Merkur killed it off?

Has anyone used the said razor and if so were you happy with it?

Jason.
It had various quality control issues that all but killed it.
 
I bought one from AoS in 2008 at the Pentagon Fashion Center in Arlington, Virginia, and after about four months the blade doors would not tighten down. I sent it back to Merkur in Germany. They sent me a new Vision in the gift box which to this day I have not opened. In the meantime, back then I bought another Vision and found that the bottom screw in the handle was the culprit for the doors becoming loosened. I used plumbers tape on the screw and that solved the problem of the screw becoming loosened and the doors also. I use my Vision occasionally because it gives a great shave, and is completely adjustable. I have found that the Parker Variant, Merkur Progress and Futur give equally great shaves and I tend to prefer them over the Vision. Other members have said that the Vision requires occasional tinkering, such as an expensive sports car. I agree with them and prefer the Variant/Progress/Futur which are always ready to go.
 
I had one.I didnt like its futuristic look and bulky head. Actually, it turned out to be a superb razor for me. Although I hated its weight, it gave me effortless, smooth shaves.

It has a chronic maitenance problem due to the absence of water drainage. You have to disassemble and dry the inner center rod every time you use it.
Except that, I think it is a great razor.

The fact that it had been the only adjustable modern TTO razor till Rockwell T came out is a good enough reason to mourn its death.
I would politely disagree. The Merkur 2000 has water drainage. You don't have to disassemble and dry the inner center rod after each use, but you do have to perform periodic cleaning at least once a month of daily shaving, especially if you have hard water.

The biggest caution IMO is to never store the razor empty with the doors firmly closed. It may freeze up and be difficult or impossible to open. (Don't ask.) Still, it's a great razor in spite of its quirks. I would never part with mine. It's an unique razor for the shaver who is mechanically inclined or who enjoys cleaning and maintenance (those folks do exist).
 
I will say that what I liked about it was that it had a particular aesthetic, rather bold and modern I thought. I liked it conceptually but found that the actual implementation was a poor fit for my tiny hands and hideous handsome face. The complexity didn't really bother me (more the opposite in some ways) but I suspect had I used it regularly in my typical lazy fashion I might have come to regret my inevitable lack of maintenance.
 
I had one.I didnt like its futuristic look and bulky head. Actually, it turned out to be a superb razor for me. Although I hated its weight, it gave me effortless, smooth shaves.

It has a chronic maitenance problem due to the absence of water drainage. You have to disassemble and dry the inner center rod every time you use it.
Except that, I think it is a great razor.

The fact that it had been the only adjustable modern TTO razor till Rockwell T came out is a good enough reason to mourn its death.

I would love to own one just for the engineering aspect of it.

No intention to troll, but not so sure about "modern" for the Rockwell T, unfortunately, I don't see anything in it that a Gillette Fatboy/Slim, QShave Parthenon or a Baili or a Viking's doesn't have. Or am I missing something here?
 
G

Guest2023

I would love to own one just for the engineering aspect of it.

No intention to troll, but not so sure about "modern" for the Rockwell T, unfortunately, I don't see anything in it that a Gillette Fatboy/Slim, QShave Parthenon or a Baili or a Viking's doesn't have. Or am I missing something here?


I didn't use the term to mean anything other than 'recently produced'. I don't think the term regularly have meanings like 'original' or 'innovative' when used in this forum. And Merkur Vision ,except its extraordinary design, doesn't have anything particular that Gillette or some other razors you mentioned lack.
 
I didn't use the term to mean anything other than 'recently produced'. I don't think the term regularly have meanings like 'original' or 'innovative' when used in this forum. And Merkur Vision ,except its extraordinary design, doesn't have anything particular that Gillette or some other razors you mentioned lack.
Ah... Ok my bad for misinterpreting it.
 
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