Progress Tips

NNathwani

NNathwani

Joined
Saturday April 21, 2012
Hi,

Having recently received a £30 voucher for executive shaving company as a gift I pondered long and hard about what to spend it on. I've got shit loads of creams and soaps to go through so I thought, bugger it, and ordered a Merkur Progress as I've wanted one for a while.

I currently use a 34c and sometimes a slim adjustable and a slant (still can't get used to it yet).

Is the progress similar to the slim in terms of aggressiveness and do you guys have any tips for using the progress (e.g. what setting to use?)

Has anyone compared it to the 34c, as I find the 34c is an excellent razor and always find myself going back to it. Be interested to hear your thoughts.

Thanks

Niral
 
That's a difficult one ! Mine stays on two, I find two does the job for me. But, it's. Going. To be different for everyone, it really is a case of trial and hopefully not too many painful errors. Unlike with a 34c it you that determines how aggressive you want it to be. Just take your time starting from the minimum setting and work your way up through them numbers.
 
The beauty of the progress is that you can experiment, personally I like to start on 3.5 for my first pass and then reduce down to 2 for my next pass. I find it to be a more efficient razor than my 34c even on a low setting. Great purchase, I am sure you will enjoy it.
 
Thanks guys. I've heard setting it about a 2-3 is about as aggressive as a 34c, so will probably start there. Can't wait to try it. I'll let you know how I get on.
 
I bought one a few weeks ago and absolutely love it, i usually have it set to 3 or 4 depending on the blade, then dial it down to 2 - 2.5 for an ATG on my neck, just recently coupled it with gillette super thins with great results.
Unfortunately i cant give a comparison, only other razer i have is a muhle R89 which is now redundant.
 
I never venture past 2 on mine. That said, it's my daily shaver for a reason. I like being able to vary based on how my face is feeling. Shaves alot like the 34c
 
I am a vintage fan through and through. But the Progress is on the only modern razor I still own and gets used nearly every day at the moment. It's a little big and heavy, and the handle can be a little slippery (not overly though) but it shaves so well and has a huge adjustment range.
Remember to line up the notch on the side of the head with the arrow on the baseplate so that the numbers on the adjustment line up properly
 
Quite excited about it coming but unfortunately it didn't come in the post today. :-( Better hope the wife doesn't read this or I'll get the piss taken out me forever for being this excited about a razor!
 
Find that mine shaves best if I use 2 different settings. 1st pass a set at 1.5 then up it to 3.5 for my second. In the Merkur I like the Futur better. Vision I'm not that pleased with.
 
Thanks for all your replies. Some useful tips in there.

So......had my first shave with my new shiny progress and, although it's early days, all my other razors may be redundant soon.

Did my usual prep of proraso pre shave cream, loaded the progress with a new derby blade and set it at 2.5, used my Frank silvertip and arko to lather up and had an amazing shave. No cuts, nicks or irritation at all. I found the weight of the razor was just right and got a really close shave.
 
Well.... I have now been shaving with my progress for the past 2 weeks and this thing keeps getting better and better. I've used it with Proraso (white soap and green) and MWF and it's been excellent with both. Also changed the blade from Derby to 7 O'clock Yellows and it's perfect, I can't remember ever going this long without getting a single cut or irritation. Even if I shave at night (never got a good shave at night for some reason) I still get a really smooth shave, amazing.

I've got the pass around fatboy coming my way in the next week or so from Martin and it will be good to compare the two.
 
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