The ADJUSTABLE SYNDROME! And other Mysteries of the Universe!

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Marc Bagwell, Jan 23, 2017.

  1. Marc Bagwell

    Marc Bagwell Well-Known Member

    Good point. You always come up with good stuff, Steve.
     
  2. Marc Bagwell

    Marc Bagwell Well-Known Member

    True, money is a bit tight, but I keep having to do four passes to get a good shave, thought an adjustable might help out and get it down to three. You're right, money is always a contributing factor.
     
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  3. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    That's because most people are not that anal about cleaning.

    SB once a month or so, toothbrush, rinse, dry. Ultrasonic cleaner once a year, rinse, dry. A five minute Barbacide soak/rinse/dry after every use keeps 99% of the soap scum off the razor. Substitute isopropyl alcohol for Barbacide if you want.
     
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  4. IDuck

    IDuck Well-Known Member

    so this may sound bad, but....I prefer the modern adjustable to the vintage (I know, I know) but getting back to my previous post this has more to do with weight/balance then anything else....with that said, I dont have a progress so I cant comment on that one but I do have a futur and a parker VA and the parker VA is easily my favorite one....mantic did a great review on the progress/parker VA compairing the two.... this isnt to say that the vintage ones arnt "as good" but I also prefer a longer handle and the moderns are not TTO's...so just some things to consider...but to answer your question I would say ANY adjustable is going to serve you well, just try to think if you prefer a TTO/long handle/weight/etc... I will say one final thing (and I dont say this to convince or persuade you one way or another) but the parker VA is IMO the best balanced adjustable razor I have ever used or laid hands on and its around the same price of the progress....I really dont think you can go wrong though.
     
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  5. KAV

    KAV Well-Known Member

    My friend Lama Rinpoche of the Los Angeles Tibetan Buddist center informed me some years past His Holyness the Dalai Lama shaves with german made stright razors. As far as 'smelly old men with long beards' are we referring to officials of the People's Revolutionary Party ? If not, have a Kata ready before posing this question, the answer for which His Holyness teaches to be flexible, openminded and forgive the deed and not the doer. MANTIC is a fan of the Merkur Progress. As Mark is the nearest to a shaving Ascended Master they are worth trying. Mine replaced all other razors.
     
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  6. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    Wow! I missed the boat on this thread! What could I possibly add?

    Yeah, once I found my setting on my fatboy and slim, I never bothered turning the dial again. I will say that I get great shaves out of both.
     
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  7. RetLEO-07

    RetLEO-07 likes his penguin deep fried, with pink sparkles

    Okay, here's my two cents. I've got a '71 SA-109. Found it at fleamarket, bought it for a buck. Cleaned it up. Did a Focus and found the blade that worked for my face(Voskhod). The settings: "9" on a two day growth, 1st pass. "7" on the 2nd pass and "6" for any touch up work. M-F(gotta shave for work) "7" 1st pass "5" for the 2nd and "4" for any touch up. It's the only Adjustable I own. Not in the market for another. What's the point? I'm already using the best there is(yes I went there). Again, just an FNG's two cents
     
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  8. jmudrick

    jmudrick Type A Man

    I don't care for them but you won't lose money on a $25 Slim if you want to stick a toe in the water, they're cheap enough and certainly shave as well as a 34c. No reason to throw money at an overpriced Fatboy without knowing why it is you need one.

    Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk
     
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  9. Bird Lives

    Bird Lives Future Root Beer King of Turkey

    I've found, that as our technique develops we can get great shaves with a variety of different razors, some that we couldn't before. We learn to make adjustments with the angle, and pressure aswell as a little j-hook there or razor buff there.

    I did learn alot from my Gillette Slim in this regard. I learned to get a great shave on every setting, Therefore I kind of make the angle ajustments; unconsiously; to compensate for the different settings.

    So the bottom line now would seem, that I'm not voting for the Adjustables.....But, it was an adjustable that I learned so much from, so in a way, I am voting for an adjustable. And also, there have been adjustables, that after I found my favorite settings on...shave in my top-tier favs....

    Hmmm, but at this time....my two favorites, well even if I were to open it up to my 10 favorites at this time....There are no adjustables on that list....But I came very close to dropping the hammer on a "Buy Now" Schick Adjustable just the other day....}8^D
     
  10. Carbide Mike

    Carbide Mike 9 Lives

    This is a great idea Linuxguile brought up. I have used this in 2 razors and it really gave me that sweet spot.:)
     
    Last edited: Jan 23, 2017
  11. DesertTime

    DesertTime Well-Known Member

    I use adjustable razors exclusively. For the past six years it's been a Futur. Before that, I had a Progress (I actually liked better) which I "loaned" my son six years ago. I recently got it back.

    I just bought my first razor in six years, the Parker Variant. To me, it's the best of the bunch and under $60. It's worth considering for anyone in the market for their first adjustable.
     
  12. Carbide Mike

    Carbide Mike 9 Lives

    Definitely, it is a great price ! , and, looks nice , and comes from a large company that has experience. Enjoy ! :)
     
  13. mikewood

    mikewood Well-Known Member

    Country music, western music. I like lots of different stuff. Just don't play the same song too often and it's all good.
     
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  14. DesertTime

    DesertTime Well-Known Member

    Thanks, Mike!
     
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  15. IDuck

    IDuck Well-Known Member

    agree about the parker VA.....one last tidbit, I have never heard someone say "I regret buying a adjustable", some may later sell it off as not there cup of tea but they dont regret buying it and using it.
     
  16. jimjo1031

    jimjo1031 never bloomed myself

    I have three adjustable razors ( Fatboy, Slim and Black Beauty) that I use in my rotation. Each has a different feel to them, but I always get great shaves with them. And like some said on here, if you don't like shaving with one, you can always sell it and most likely won't lose money on it.
     
  17. BigMike

    BigMike Well-Known Member

    I shaved for a decade with the 34, then amother decade with the Progress, and now I own a Futur.
    The 34 is a great razor, but a bit too mild, and it's tempting to think that the Progress will be like an aggressive 34, but it isn't, really. Nor is the Futur a more aggressive version of the Progress. They are each quite distinct.
    IMO, the 34 is a great mild razor, and the Future is a great aggressive razor. The Progress is just a good adjustable razor.
    If you want to try a great aggressive razor, I can highly recommend the Futur. But if you're looking for a slightly more aggressive 34, such a beast doesn't exist.
     
  18. PLANofMAN

    PLANofMAN Eccentric Razor Collector Staff Member

    Moderator Article Team
    The "beast" is called a blade shim.
     
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  19. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    1- Is an adjustable razor the way to go?
    Maybe, I know that is helpful.
    2- Vintage or new? (I'm really partial to Merkur)
    New, I prefer modern razors. The Futur is a great razor and I dial it down for the ATG pass, this is an aggressive razor and it's makes lots of noise. If you want to spend $$$ then the Rocnel adjustable is an impressive engineering feat in stainless steel.

    Another choice is go with an aggressive non-adjustable, they adjust by changing the angle.

    The ultimate adjustable is a straight, mild to wild and you can adjust mid stroke. You can also dial the edge you like.

    3- if Merkur, should I invest in the Progressive? Or the Future?
    I had both and sold the Progess and bought a back up of the Futur.

    4- Or should I travel to Tibet, climb a mountain and ask some smelly old guy with a long beard? I figure if he knew anything about shaving then he wouldn't have such a long beard, but hey, who am I to judge!
    Yes you must face your fears. Bring a straight and shave him clean if he still scares you.
     
  20. Linuxguile

    Linuxguile dating an unusual aristocrat

    For those of you who don't know what a shim is or how to make one let me explain. A blade shim is just a modified DE blade that you put under the blade that you are using to increase the blade gap thus making the razor more aggressive/efficient. To make a shim take an old DE blade and with a pair of scissors cut the edges off where the bevel meets the flat plane of the blade. Be careful not to cut yourself. To use the the shim place it between the new blade that you are using and the base plate and then put the razor back together. I think this only works 2 and 3 piece razors and does not work with TTO's.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2017

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