I wanted a progress so I bought one, well the infamous merkur QC issues were there. I bought a shavecraft 101 and hmm I see a few blemishes. I am done wasting my money.
Well I am done wasting mine, actually I am throwing every thing out that is terrible quality. the ikon and the merkur.
Buy Above The Tie..... Top notch! Super quality! 30 day warranty! Stan the owner will let you trade the razor in for another one if the one you bought isn't right for you. Who else stands behind their product like that? No one.
I think that is a good situation to be in. Now you can finally start saving money =P if you are throwing away your ikon, you can throw it into a small box and throw it in the postoffice with my name and address on it =P it a perfect place to get rid of shave gear ;P
Merkur has quality control issues? That is unfortunate. I would have thought that a German made product would be top quality, like the Muhle razors.
Yes they can, but during PIF month(March) many members dig deep and usually PIF a lot of great gear. And I mean a lot =P go over to the market place and take a look =)
Mark, to be honest, this frustrates me too. My 37C is a great shaver, but it certainly has visible cosmetic flaws. I wish it was a plated brass razor, too. Just look at my SOTD photos, and you'll see what I mean. I enjoy it for what it is, a tool that will eventually get "used up." Seeing the old, well-loved vintage razors reminds me that most folks back then probably only had one razor. For them, it was another tool to be used and then passed on to a son, etc. So, in the spirit of my new wetshaving "hobby," I'm trying to adopt that same attitude and just have fun with it. I struggle with the temptation of always wanting the next new thing. I have a handful of razors and brushes. I could pare my "collection" down to a couple of razors and brushes, and it would be just as much fun in the long run. Maybe God is showing you and me through this great hobby of ours that "things" are not all that important.
I'm being serious, I understand how you feel Mark, when I bought my RazoRock Stealth Slant I said that would be my last razor, I found my razor! Well guess what? It's aluminum, the cap threads are starting to show signs of wear. I'm really careful when I put the handle on so I don't cross thread. My only solution was to go with something that was made of high quality stainless steel. With ATT warranty and customer service I knew I couldn't go wrong. Spend a couple bucks more, and get quality. Remember. You get what you pay for.
Great post. I have what I would call novelty razors. Blackbeard Revenge, Merkur, but I only buy vintage Gillette now. They give me the best shave and they are made in America.
We should do a mass mailing from TSD to Merkur Manufacturing plant and express our concerns. Marines have only one tactic, frontal assault. IMHO.