Merkur Futur Clone....My thoughts.

Discussion in 'Safety Razors' started by Rich Daverson, Apr 8, 2017.

  1. RazorDr

    RazorDr Member

    Hello to all friends who have already tried this Ming Shi razor. Pls share your personal experience on this razor aggressiveness, and comments if its suitable for newbies.

    I plan to offer this great razor Ming Shi to convert many friends still chained to Gillette disposable. But i have concern whether it will be overwhelming for newbies.

    I have been shaving with it for about 2mths together with Muhle R89 side by side for comparison, shaving both whiskers and head hair. Personally i found it very mild and gentle to my skin without any single nicks or burn so far except during 1st shave due to slippery. At 1~1.5 i feel its like gliding across my skin without blade but all whiskers are cut. At 4.5 its so effective for over 3 days whiskers and thick hair, yet remain ultra smooth and mild to my skin.

    Muhle R89 is certainly a good quality razor that i like too. But when compare to Ming Shi, its like a rough comb plough through the skin, and the blade has more vibration and audio feedback. It does give a sturdy good efficient shave with clear control and satisfying blade audio feedback that Ming Shi lacks.

    But Ming Shi is a league by itself, like skiing over the skin quietly without any vibration with its heavy 80g sturdy built, yet so incredibly effective. Some may feel such shaving lack intimate control and satisfaction, like chomping down expressway with a heavy slient auto limousine. But its another kind of ultra smooth shaving joy.

    When there is tiny pimples, R89 nicks sometimes but Ming Shi seem never. Even i tried quick long passes, XTG, it still so gentle smooth as long i don't exert any pressure. And i can negotiates tight area like Gillette without any concern of been nick by blade corners since its big rounded head cover entire blade.

    So i think its a excellent "mild" effective razor suitable for a newbie too for its:
    1. Ultra smooth efficient shave performance.
    2. So mild at setting 1~1.5 almost impossible to nick, like a Gillette. With a bit experience gain, its such a progressive joy to shave at higher setting.
    3. Impressive design and quality.
    4. Variable setting to suit everyone needs.
    5. At incredible $7 incl shipping & paypal fees, where else in this earth can we find a better razor for a newbie to not love paying for one?

    What is your opinion?
     
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  2. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    @RazorDr - If the Ming Shi was a lesser quality razor I'd hesitate, maybe suggest the Gillette Flare Tip clone ( Weishi TTO). This seems to be a well built faithful reproduction of the Merkur Futur. I'm basing that opinion from what others have said because I haven't held a Futur.

    Some might refer new DE shavers to a non-adjustable to avoid newbie technique issues. I'm still on the fence with that idea. My first vintage DE was a '59 Gillette Fat Boy. I liked it then and still use it as my benchmark for shave quality.

    So to answer your question - If you are gifting shave kits to your friends I think these ought to be a good introduction to the Wet Shave world. You might suggest they join a forum like TSD for some instruction and advice so they can avoid common errors coming from cartridge razors. Will you include a brush and soap when you set them up?
     
  3. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    This sounds like a late night sales pitch on TV.
     
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  4. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    But wait! There's more! If you order in the next 15 deciweeks, you'll ALSO receive a gen-u-wine Popeil Garden Weasel (As made in China by disaffected dissidents without regards to trademark)....
     
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  5. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    My comments or @RazorDr ? I have worked Retail Sales, and been exposed to a few decades of TV.
     
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  6. RazorDr

    RazorDr Member

    @RyX
    I only plan to gift out razor for a big group of friends, no cream or brush. So im exploring choices. Have tried & consider a good match of clone (R89 head + bulldog handle) @$10, but Ming Shi just too good to give up. Muhle R89+Bulldog Copper Handle.jpg

    I received a Baili TTO(Weishi?) recently as gift, tried once and it shaves surprisingly well. Good chrome, smooth twisting, firm grip. But feels light with hinge vibration, quite unfair to compare with refine Muhle & futur clone. So i plan to gift away but keep its fitting box for my Muhle travel use.

    Hope we didn't really sound like wretch salesman in Walmart trying to sell frying pans to old nanny... LoL. Im in high tech MNC marketing before retirement
     
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  7. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    Micro Touch One (MTO) and Weisi are the same in different packages. Your Baili may be another similar clone of the Gillette Flare Tip.
    Flair Tip & MTO a.gif Flare Tip & MTO b.gif
    The clones aren't as substantial as the original nickle plated brass Gillette. A Ming Shi although lighter weight does seem to carry forward the best properties of the original Merkur.
    You can't make them use the razors, but putting one in their hand ought to give your recipients a nice shot at joining the wet shaving world.
    In my upcoming Focus I'll be trying different familiar blades. So far Personna Lab Blues have given good results. I will get to Feather shortly. I also want to see how well the Ming Shi MP-036 supplied blade performs. I don't expect much from a Chinese DE blade. Has anyone tried them?
     
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  8. ilts

    ilts Well-Known Member

    Yes , This Morning And I Found The Ming Shi MP-036 Blade To Be Very Smooth.
     
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  9. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    @RazorDr ’s comments.
     
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  10. Jim99

    Jim99 Gold Water Shaver

    I think the Weishi would be the better choice over the Ming Shi for someone you’re looking to convert to wet shaving. The Weishi is simple to use, no bells and whistles, and is a basic razor. That will allow the newbies to practice technique before moving up to something else.

    Also, as @RyX said, they should also start on a forum such as The Shave Den so they can read up on wet shaving. Forums like this are great for support and information.

    I apologize about my “late night sales pitch” comment. I posted my reply before thinking. It was actually well written, but it did remind me of some sales people I know.
     
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  11. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    My father has a MBA degree, so I got spill over as a youngster. Training from an employer taught me to "assume the sale", and I've developed the tactic of winning a debate by letting my opponent agree with me. Taught my children to dissect TV commercials to understand what they don't tell you. I get a kick out of pharmaceutical advertisments. Ten seconds of what it's supposed to fix followed by fifty seconds of side effects, warnings, and reasons to not take their magic beans.

    Yes, that's the common view and I see the merit in reducing variables. It helps new shavers Focus on Technique. Have to unlearn cartridge habits like mashing the razor against the skin to get reduction. Need to learn angle of attack instead of floppy self leveling attachments. Giving an adjustable to a Newbie does introduce something to fiddle with. Joining a Forum to avoid mistakes and absorb new ideas would increase successful conversions.

    A stick of Arko and a cheap boar brush doesn't suit everyone. Having the new shaver read up on a shave forum would enlighten them to the benefits and variety of a good shave soap.
     
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  12. RazorDr

    RazorDr Member

    @Jim99
    Sorry for the late nite sales pitch.. lol. Im old dog trying to learn new tricks of wet shaving recently, after been shackled by electric shaver & Gillette cartridge for decades. Years of technical marketing dealing with complex detail in custom semiconductor kind of ingrained the salesman pitch when i write lol.
     
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  13. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Similar here - except it was a mother who was raised dirt poor in West Virginia, by a mother who was 1) Scots, 2) bit Pennsylvania Dutch, 3) raised in the depression. That woman could make Lincoln scream AND crap. Sales technique goes hand in hand with bartering, and learning "No, 19.99 is _twenty dollars" is a good start to understanding commercials. (Why does the US Treasury let gas companies sell in tenth pennies, anyway? There's never been one minted - ever.)

    I simply pass over the razor and blades, and suggest that they stick with their current shave goo to reduce variables to learn. Once they've got that down, then soap and brush are handy.
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2017
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  14. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    I realize we've drifted off topic, but Jason (jtspartan) and I were discussing the trilingual nature of North America as pertains to the use of certain less well understood French words and it's geographically centered dialects. I shared a bit about my heritage - My mother's father was Pennsylvania Dutch. We might be cousins!
    My children picked up the other half of their genes from the ex-wife. She's from West Virginia. Cousins again?
    I do understand the long range effects of The Great Depression that have traveled to present day. Father's parents instilled in him a thriftiness that persists to this day. A fair bit rubbed off on me. or it's my paternal Welsh side acting up.
    Guess that's why I never purchased a Merkur, but I'm enjoying the Ming Shi. :cool:
     
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  15. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Well, in West Virginia, I think just about everyone's related. :) Same with Eastern Kentucky.

    I haven't picked up a Ming Shi after the Uncle Ding fiasco. I've been working with a very beat up OLD, and not shaving as much. It's been ... busy.
     
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  16. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    I saw the tee shirt, "1.83 million people, 6 last names" ☺
    How's the Houston/Harvey recovery progressing?



    Tapatalk Via Kyocera
     
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  17. Bookworm

    Bookworm Well-Known Member

    Keeping in mind that the Harvey 'impact zone' is about 350 miles wide, and over 100 tall, from Corpus Christi to Lake Charles, we're doing remarkably well. The Lake Victoria area wasn't as badly hit by the flooding, simply because they had more 'green space' for water to soak into, rather than immediately try to run away. There are still several outlying communities and cities mostly.. gone. Houston has been mostly good to go since about a week after Harvey - the heavily flooded areas weren't that large of a percentage of -area-, but many of them were the wealthier neighborhoods, and of course they've been ... loud... about wanting compensation from the City, County, State, and Army Corps of Engineers for 'being flooded'. Some saying 'deliberately flooded'.

    Eh.

    So, any good sellers for the Ming Shi on E-Bay right now?
     
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  18. RyX

    RyX DoH!

    Glad to hear that you weren't affected. Lake Charles was gifted with some localized flooding in low laying area, but the system had weakened giving us limited damage. Just a tropical storm when it passed.
    Don't know about sellers on the bay, but one of out TSD merchants has Ming Shi's for a good price. I got mine from Andrew @Linuxguile Etsy shop. Razor, NIB with two tucks of blades for $14.00, shipping included.

    Tapatalk Via Kyocera
     
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  19. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    Well, living and working in one of the "Wealthier Neighborhoods"(Kingwood), I will say, that the homes and businesses have not been put back together. But, I will say, that this neighborhood had everyone pitching in to clean up, and help one another, whether it was their property or not, the first day they could make to their flooded areas. They didn't whine about their situation, or ask for help. They just started to tear things out of the flooded structures and homes, days and nights, until it was done. Even little old ladies wearing their designer clothing worked until they about dropped. They slept in torn out homes to keep looters away, and many many confronted looters. They are still living in these stripped out homes. I still drive through the neighborhoods and businesses, and will say maybe, and I mean maybe, 3% have been rebuilt. They are fighting their insurance companies too, and maybe 1/4 had flood insurance. It just looks better around here, because the City of Houston made sure to clean up the massive debris piles, fast. Because it looks good on camera, and makes the city officials look good. I will say, this community is still wondering if some will even be allowed to rebuild, because of the massive flooding.
    Most of the city of Houston, that was flooded, still whine, and want people to do everything for them, and most of these people didn't lift a finger to clean out their sheetrock, flooring, or flooded furniture, after the flood, now the structures are unlivable, and rotting away, just like what happened in New Orleans.
    It's a work ethic, and self motivation thing, as far as the communities being rebuilt or being able to be salvaged.
     
    Last edited: Nov 3, 2017
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  20. DaltonGang

    DaltonGang Ol' Itchy Whiskers

    @Bookworm , just one more thing, there are lawsuits involving the flooded areas. I watched, up close, as the rain stopped for many many hours, and the floodwaters started to go down. I even told people I worked with, and came in contact with, in the flood prone areas, that the worse part was coming, because the floodgates hadn't been opened early on, and the massive floodwaters were building, behind known dams and reservoirs, in North of Houston. Elected officials, and city officials are notoriously incompetent, when it comes to releasing water, to prevent massive floods. All they can fathom is the water in front of their face, not what is coming, or the damage that will come when they fully open the floodgates, after the downstream areas are already flooded. We had 5-6 days warning about the amount of water coming, and where it was going to occur. If they released water, before the flooding started, much of this could be prevented. Water would have had time to flow , without damage. Most people I worked around, that have the slightest knowledge of Houston flooding, wondered when the floodgates would be opened, in anticipation of the known water th a t was coming. When officials finally pulled their heads out of their rear ends, it was too late, you either had to release the massive amounts of water, of suffer catastrophic dam failures. Officials should loose their jobs, and be exposed, for the incompetence.
    I speak on all of this, because I have seen it all, up close, and personal. I worked in and s round all of this, in all of the areas flooded out here, before during and after the flooding. I have talked with hundreds and hundred of homeowners and business owners, during this whole situation.
     
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