Closed Merkur Futur Pass Around

What a disappointment this razor is, get an adjustable they said, you get the best of both worlds they said. Well I just received it today and luckily I needed a shave so I put it to the test. First of all it took me a bit of time trying to figure out how to use this razor, where the blade goes, why the numbers don't match when screwed up, but eventually I loaded “sharp edge” and left it at 6. Honestly after switching from 6 to 1 and did each half of my face, I felt hardly any difference, the lack of feedback from this razor didn't help either. I could only feel it cut through the stubble on the first pass, but after the main bits were gone I couldn't tell how well it's doing. The reason I switched to 1 is because I thought 6 is mild lol. After I realized 6 is the “better” option I did an entire 3rd pass shave and they way I can describe it is, it felt like the shaves DE89 gives me, not baby smooth, especially under the chin.

The way it thought this works from people describing a Futur is you can have it as aggressive as R41 and milder than a EJ89. Wrong! In fact it made me laugh when somebody said they left it at 2.5 as 6 was too harsh haha. Before my next try can somebody tell me if I can get past 6 and crank it to 12 (doing another 360 turn) or will that make the razor not function somehow? I won't hold this razor for long, most likely it will be sent off next week. I appreciate the opportunity to try it but at the same time I'm surprised people use to recommend me this as a replacement for Edwin Jagger.
 
I'm absolutely amazed that you didn't notice a difference when dialling up to a six, apart from which you can visibly see the gap widening. Not having seen this particular Futur I don't know if there's something wrong somewhere. I have my own Futur which I got after my EJ89 and noticed the difference immediately. For me it works extremely well and I was very pleased with it, but maybe this is an extreme case of YMMV?!
 
Wanderlust167 said:
I'm absolutely amazed that you didn't notice a difference when dialling up to a six, apart from which you can visibly see the gap widening. Not having seen this particular Futur I don't know if there's something wrong somewhere.
Click to expand...

Amazed me too and thought similar. Futur was my first buy when using DE and tried loads of razors since. If you aren't hearing the 'Rasp' when cutting then maybe the angle isn't the best it could be. I tried 6 with a feather once...just the once. Now I rarely have it above 2.5 for any blade

This could be worth a watch.Drop or two of 3in 1 oil for a clean and lube while you're in there maybe?
 
I'm glad to hear it matty. Just to let people know that after another couple of shaves, I did get better results. I can't put my finger to why since I didn't change blades, settings, shaving creams etc. but it gave me a smoother shave on 6 this time. Never the less I still think there are better razors out there, plus I had a quick look and I was shocked at the ongoing price for these. It's definitely overhyped and overpriced. EJ89 with couple of shims is going to achieve what this razor did on setting “6”

p.s There is definitely something wrong with the mechanism being stiff as Norfolkdick already mentioned, but it does not affect the shaving in any way. You can see where people have tried to grease/oil it to no difference. When it tightens it's suppose to stop at 1 but it goes past and fully tightens at 4 so you need to back off to 1 and go to 6 if you desire. Easiest way is just to see how the head raises and figure it out visually.
 
It arrived yesterday morning, not had a chance to try it yet as I've been feeling pretty ill, feeling dizzy like the 1st time you ever got drunk on cheap cider as a kid and I don't drink alcohol anymore.

It did feel ridiculously stiff though so I took it apart and cleaned up the internals, including the screw threads and re lubed it with a drop or two of clipper oil and it seems quite a bit smoother now and easier to turn.

Just wanted to ask Dick what the go was with the settings on this as the numbers don't line up. do you tighten it up as far as it will go and then turn back to 1 or just calculate each setting from the tightest point?
 
Greetings Charlie

The reason it will not line up seems to be caused when you reassemble the razor after taking it apart.

I think this is caused because you can start the thread at more than one place and thus it affects the position the numbers line up. When I first broke off the little stop that is supposed to stop it completely unscrewing I disassembled it and had the same problem, I put it back together several times and on about the third attempt it lined up perfectly so I surmise this can be the only cause, if it is not I can't think of another.

Regards
Dick.
 
Hi Dick,

Thanks for that, so for future participants if this happens, fully tightened up should be 1 then? It didn't line up when it came to me so I just assumed it was to do with the stop being broken off.

Charlie
 
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