Vintage or Modern Adjustable?

C

ChopperHarris

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Hi all,

The truth is that I have no need of any more razors. I have had an EJ DE89 since early February and have only tried Derby and Gillette 7 o'clock yellow blades. I am getting great shaves out of it. There is definitely no need to buy anything else.

But... I am an avid reader of the BST messages and find myself really liking the idea of an adjustable razor. There have been a couple of vintage Gillettes sold recently (one still for sale) and a couple of modern Merkur's too. Any / all would be a nice way to waste my money!

So, before I decide to take the plunge I thought I'd ask the question on here. Which is 'best' - modern or vintage?

I have a feeling that the answer will be that they offer different experiences and so both are best, but that doesn't help me to decide where my money goes.

So over to you more experienced gentlemen (and ladies if applicable)!

Stu

P.s. not adding a poll as I'm interested in qualitative views rather than quantitative statistics.
 
My only adjustable experience is with my Gillette Slim, but I am a huge fan of it. It tends towards the milder end of the spectrum, though on 8 or 9 it's fairly aggressive, but my understanding is that modern Merkur adjustables are more aggressive. Really there's only one potential downside to the Slim which is that the silo doors need to be loosened a touch before you adjust the blade exposure, otherwise the mechanism can be damaged. If you do find yourself trying to adjust it without loosening the doors, you'll find the dial very hard to turn, which should act as a reminder that you're being a clot.
 
The Merkur Progress isn't just the best adjustable razor I've ever used, it's the best DE razor I've ever used.
 
I have a birth year J3 slim adjustable and a Merkur Progress.

I have only just, today got the Progress from Vinny via BST. After the first use my preferred choice would have to be the Progress.

The J3 suffers from the common problem of one side giving a closer shave than the other. Its not something you can see so there are perils to buying vintage gear. But it is something you can feel while shaving. The Progress makes a lovely noise cutting through the stubble, it has quite a bit of weight to it and the handle is nice and short, which I tend to prefer. Two passes with a yellow 7 o'clock dialed on 2 and I was done.
 
The first razor I ever bought was a Merkur Futur, which is adjustable, that was about 5 weeks ago.

I have been getting on well with it and thought it was a great razor. I bought an Ikon classic which tore my face apart first time I used it so I still thought the Merkur was excellent.

Then I fell to temptation and bought a '61 FatBoy and a '59 Super Speed.

As a none adjustable razor the Super Speed is fantastic, the FatBoy is also fantastic. Which do I prefer, I'm not sure.

What I do know though is that I have no desire to pick up the Merkur Futur again, it's just too bulky. The FatBoy beats it hands down.
 
Only ever used Gillette vintage adjustable and find its the only razor I need. It's also made in the quarter of my birth year which gives a great feeling of shaving with something that's as old as me and still going strong, even if I'm not! :)
 
I have a Fatboy, slim adjustable and super adjustable. These are all great. I have only tried one modern adjustable - Futur - and the shave itself was very good, but hated the clip on and off head, heavy adjustment ring and (chrome model) slipperiness of it. Wouldn't buy one. But it's clear which side I'm coming from.

I recommend trying to ponse a loan/swap one of yours from someone here...
 
A nice set of opinions! Thanks for taking the time!

I'm kind of glad to hear the comments about the Futur - I don't particularly favour the style so hearing that the clip head puts people off eliminates it from my list. That still leaves the Progress vs the Gillettes. I doubt I'll buy a fatboy yet - they aren't cheap and I've heard as many people favour the slims as favour the fatboy.

So probably looking at Progress vs Slim / Super adjustable. I like both of the Gillettes... the all metal appearance of the slim possibly edges it but I quite like the contrasting materials of the super. As supers are a bit cheaper (I think) maybe that makes it a good choice - but you're only talking £35 for a new Progress so it's tight on price.

Still undecided! Will wait for more opinions I think :)

NotTheStig said:
I recommend trying to ponse a loan/swap one of yours from someone here...
Click to expand...

That's a nice idea, but I don't have anything to trade at the moment and I don't think I've been around long enough / made personal relationships that I'd feel comfortable asking for a loan.

I guess there's no rush! Maybe I'll put myself on the list for the circular for when it starts moving again.
 
I've been DE shaving since last December with a Merkur 34c HD. Really like the weight of the 34c which is why I bought the progress this week as its a similar weight.

Meant to be my travel razor (I travel most weeks with work and wanted a complete separate shave set) but having tried it out very tempted to put the 34c as my travel razor as the shave was great.

Not tried any others so can't comment further.

Cheers,
Geoff
 
Not much in it between the slim and progress, for superior build quality I'd go vintage, they have survived 50 + years already.
 
I'm in the Vinny camp and I vote Progress. In fact there's only 1 reason I don't own one any more, and that's simply because I don't need an adjustable any longer, I know what setting I need and I have 4 fixed head razors that cover the gamut (including 2 Merkurs).

I actually think the Progress has way better build quality than any vintage, but that's at odds with Antdad and you'd just have to judge yourself. He's right that Slims have been around for 50+ years, but the Progress models you see today will do exactly the same, they're just as solid, if not better plated.

Feel wise, I MUCH prefer the weight of a Progress, I find the slim is a bit lightweight.
 
Canuck said:
Feel wise, I MUCH prefer the weight of a Progress, I find the slim is a bit lightweight.
Click to expand...

That's interesting... one of the things I like best about my DE89 is the weight of it. It feels reassuringly heavy in my hand and I don't feel that the odd jitter will knock it out of its stride. I haven't had a nick from it yet.

To my (inexperienced) mind, something lighter would be more likely to react to twitches and therefore be more likely to bite - but this is all supposition.
 
Yeah I have a DE87 and the weight is quite nice. I like heavy razors and I think you'd appreciate the Progress for that reason, solid is the word, they're much heavier still than a Jagger DE8* series.

Here's the weights:

Edwin Jagger DE87/89: 69 grams
Gillette Slim Adjustable: 71 grams*
Merkur 34 C Heavy Duty: 77 grams
Gillette Fat Boy: 78 grams*
Merkur 37 C slant: 79 grams
Merkur Progress: 88 grams

* = Figures quoted from B+B published tables.
All other figures weighed on my own scales.
 
I have the Jagger DE89L and like you find it an excellent razor. I have just today received a 'birth year' Gillette slim (purchased from frenchblade) and my initial impression after the first shave is that it is every bit as good as I was expecting. I got a really good close shave from a 7 O'Clock yellow blade and the dial set to three. Of course I'm going to experiment with different blades and settings over the next few weeks but it really is a fine razor and I think I'm going to be quite happy using it!
 
Just because it's adjustable doesn't mean you need to adjust it during a shave once you've found a setting that works for you. The Progress is certainly weightier than the slim but it isn't that light (69g??) however the adjustment mechanism on the Progress is pants whereas the Slim/FB are works of engineering art and I still own mine. ;)
 
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