The Futur is pretty unique and my opinion is it's the large blade gap combined with very low blade exposure. I really like them too. Most razors have a lot more blade exposure so finding something like it won't be easy. I'm not sure why yours don't last very long. I've had mine over 10 years and it's still in great shape. I don't use it all the time but it does get regular use.
Merkur Progress has been my go to for over 16 months and still really enjoying it. Merkur makes great razors, but lousy blades. I've enjoyed Perma-sharps, Astras, GSB, Voskhod, and many others in it. I have a spare long handle Merkur Progress I'd be willing to part with, if you're interested PM me.
My favorite category in safety razors. Modern or vintage, I enjoy them all. This particular one is a vintage Progress that is in pretty good shape. Has some quirks with blade alignment and one has to fiddle with it slightly to get equal blade exposure on both sides but, once it’s dialed in, the shaves are truly amazing & gratifying. I have a few Merkur Progress razors and all shave tremendously well. Sans the quality stuff or q/c end of it, worth the hassle. To me at least. Good luck on your search....
That's very kind of you. But I had a Progress razor in the past. I liked it, though not nearly as much as the Futur. And the Progress, too, has similar plating issues after a couple of years.
Here are two examples of the issue. The first is in the Futur clone. The second is on the cap of the Progress. Here it may not look too bad, but the flaked plating is sharp enough to cut. It always seems to occur on the tightly radiused edges.
Wow, those do look very good, and fairly priced. I've already got a Pearl coming in the mail. If it doesn't work out I'll keep these in mind. https://www.heritagecollectionshaving.com/razors
Do you aggressively clean them? Looking at those, I am glad I use vintage razors, for the most part. One of the pet peeves is modern Zamak razors, and Chrome plating.
The Heritage Gibbs is really good. It doesn't feel like a Futur but it's good. The Pearl Flexi and I didn't get along at all. It's really heavy and has a lot of blade exposure even at low settings.
No. But I tend to use just one razor for long periods of time. So, those razors saw a three pass shave, seven days a week, for a year or more. I change blades every Sunday, with a shot of Scrubbing Bubbles and a little agitation from an old tooth brush. I think it's just the result of poor base metal and thin plating.
That Progress is a pre 2016. Can tell by the triangular alignment mark for the cap. Can tell 100% for sure by the stamp on the base plate. According to Dovo they say they changed the country stamp and most likely the molds from Germany to W Germany in 1985. In 1990 German unification happened and instead of doing new molds they modified the W so it looks like a circle. 2016 they changed that and it just says Germany again also some other modifications in font size and logo on the 2016 and up versions. No wonder you are having issues with it. If it is later in the run on those molds the razors were plagued with issues due to the molds wearing out and other build quality issues. The ones made after the change addressed some of those issues like the adjustment dials not being calibrated, they also become more "modern" in the razor head design being less aggressive and more forgiving in how they shave. They still perform well but it is nothing like older models which could be downright brutal if you opened them up to the higher settings without knowing what you are doing. I know from personal experience since I learned how to DE shave on a pre 2016 Progress.
