The Futur is such a lovely razor except...

Discussion in 'General Shaving Talk' started by Stanley Choi, Jun 10, 2016.

  1. Stanley Choi

    Stanley Choi Well-Known Member

    I finally figured out what's wrong with the Futur. I tried comparing it with my Rockwell 6S in my shave this morning at 3:00am in Vancouver, Canada time.

    I used Crabtree & Evelyn Indian Sandalwood Shaving Cream. The brush I used is the RazoRock Plissoft Synthetic 26mm. The blade that I used is the Gillette Silver.
    I used the Rockwell (plate R4) on my left side and the Futur (setting 2) on the right. I face lather with a 26mm brush on Crabtree & Evelyn shaving cream can whip up such humongous lather.

    First the Rockwell, first pass against the grain and it turned out to be a super smooth shave. Then the Futur, I kept telling myself (feather touch!!! don't push, just lightest touch possible!). First pass against the, it went okay on my face. The audio feedback on the Futur is loud. Here is the problem with Futur: considering the Crabtree & Evelyn shaving cream is very creamy and slick, you would expect the razor to able to slide back and forth in short strokes over the skin, without lifting it. YES with the Rockwell, but NOT the Futur! Using the Futur, I can only glide across the grain once or two the most and it STOPPED. (By the way, the Futur I have is a satin surface). I hate to say this again, the Futur does not give me a pleasant shave. I have to be super alert and I cannot relax shaving with the Futur. By the way, I did nick myself about lips and under my chin area. So after the first pass I decided to stop this experiment. I ended up shaving the second and the third pass with the Rockwell instead.

    I promise this is going to the last time I mention about the Futur. This is it, no more Futur (I am married with two kids so I don't expect to have a future anyway.) Excuse my lame joke.

    [​IMG]


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  2. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    Sounds like the Rockwell is the perfect match for you! :love055:

    The Futur is a unique razor both in overall feel and size. The head is oversized (especially for shaving the upper lip) compared to most other DEs, the handle can be slick to hold for some (particularly the chrome), and wide open, it is highly aggressive. In my own experience, the Futur was my favorite adjustable (vs the vintage Gillettes) and by far, the noisiest DE razor I've ever used.
     
  3. feeltheburn

    feeltheburn Well-Known Member

    Not every razor works for everybody. I really like my Futur. For me it's one of the smoothest DE's I've used and works with more blades than any of my others too.
     
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  4. Herm2502

    Herm2502 off to elf practice

    I thought it said "The future sucks" and I was worried. Glad the Rockwell works for you!
     
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  5. Robyflexx

    Robyflexx Broke the Like button

    :happy097:
     
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  6. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Same here.
     
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  7. Jayaruh

    Jayaruh The Cackalacky House Pet

    Supporting Vendor
    Time for a PIF.
     
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  8. Paul Turner

    Paul Turner outside the quote(s) now

    the "e" is silent
     
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  9. HolyRollah

    HolyRollah BaconLord

    futur = fooot'-twuh in deutscher Sprache ("future tense")
     
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  10. Eeyore

    Eeyore Well-Known Member

    Don't know the phonetic alphabet, but I would say "footoor".

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  11. hrairy

    hrairy Well-Known Member

    The Futur is my favorite razor by far. It consistently gives great shaves. I love the weight, the feel of it and I love the "audio feedback". I know that I haven't been wet shaving long, but in my case, I have found the perfect razor for me and it is the Futur.
     
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  12. SABOTEURw

    SABOTEURw Active Member

    Been using the FUTUR for about a year. I've just recently discovered I get a much better shave at lower settings than I do at 6. No nics, cuts, irritation... nothing. 1 pass and cleanup. Perfect shave. I say this because I had to learn how to use the razor correctly before I was able to get the results I wanted. If I had another choice I might have switched to another razor too. I didn't, so I stuck with it. More importantly, I always attributed the occasional unsatisfactory shave to poor technique. In truth, the FUTUR is a fine razor...it just ain't for everybody.

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  13. swarden43

    swarden43 "It's your shave. Enjoy it your way."©

    Yup. Keep mine set at 3. Great shaves.
     
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  14. Darkbulb

    Darkbulb Cookie Hoarder

    Just received my very first Futur in the mail a few days ago. It's an older West Germany one from 1984-1989.
    Haven't had a chance to try it as I'm doing a test of the Timeless Razor and next the Rocnel SE50...and then a 'secret prototype razor' that is arriving Monday.....so it might be another 2-3 weeks until I get to it which kinda sucks as I'm chomping at the bits to try it out.

    The Futur does seem to be rather polarizing razor - people love or hate them. I'm curious to see where I myself fall in that spectrum.
    Thanks for your write-up and thoughts.

    [​IMG][/IMG] [​IMG]
     
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  15. Keithmax

    Keithmax Breeds Pet Rocks

    I recall you your Vision razor. The Futur on 1 is more aggressive than the Vison wide open. Likely the Futur is too aggressive for you. Either sell it or put it away for six months and try again. The Vision was too mild for me but I get I great shaves from the Futur. I do better with aggressive razors.
     
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  16. BigMike

    BigMike Well-Known Member

    Be careful what you say about the Futur. What you say about its shave is what you say about your technique!
     
    Last edited: Jun 11, 2016
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  17. Stanley Choi

    Stanley Choi Well-Known Member

    I was simply trying to say: the Futur doesn't glide as smoothly as other razor regardless of what shaving I used. If the heading offended you please let me know and I will change it to something more pleasing.


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  18. tuxxdk

    tuxxdk International Penguin of Mystery

    I'll be darned.... a vintage modern razor. That just goes to show how little I now of the DE era of late. Never realized the Futur was an "older" model.

    Looks purdy :)
     
  19. Stanley Choi

    Stanley Choi Well-Known Member

    Merkur Futur patented 1983 so it designed way earlier... in the 80s or even late 70s.


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  20. tuxxdk

    tuxxdk International Penguin of Mystery

    It's funny, I started wet shaving in 1994 circa, but didn't really do it often, mostly used an electric. It wasn't until 2013 (!) I realized DE's existed. I mean, I had seen the razorblades in movies, but never knew what on earth they were for.

    Talk about lack of exposure on the mainstream market! :)
     

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