Yesterday, I bought a Mergress XL from Lee at Lee's Razor's.. I already had a Merkur Futur in my inventory.. What surprises me is how similar these two razors are yet, how different the reviews of both are (Mergress or Progress). The chatter about the Futur is how wickedly aggressive it, how massive and heavy, how the head is so big and how challenging it is to get a clean upper lip to nose transition. And the Progress...the razor to keep for ever, the must have, best razor around. Keeping in mind I didn't pull out the micrometer or scale, what I see is that these two razors are identical in dimension with only a few exceptions.. The Futur is about 3/8" longer than the Mergress XL, which has the longer TTO knob added post-production. The snap-off cap on the Futur is slightly longer; enough to cover the end tabs of the blade, but other wise it is the same shape and dimension as the Progress/Mergress head. The bar that rides on the skin (is that called the safety bar?) is identical in size and shape with the addition of a scallop on the edge of the bar on the Mergress.. other wise compared from above or any side...identical. The weight is too close to call without a scale. And eyeballing the gap as best as I can, it is also the same.. I'll be shaving with it for the first time this morning so can't comment on the shave yet. So, with all these similarities and understanding YMMV, how do these two razors with obvious design similarities, yield such different results and reviews? Is it the 'Futur-istic' look of the Futur? A violation of the nostalgic design? Ugly Duckling syndrome? What is it?
Good question. Further analysis is required. Please buy me one of each and I will assist you with your research.
I just like my Futur; the Vision, I am told, has some negatives. The other razors in my rotation are an atra of many years, Fatboy on 3, SS, Gold Aristocrat, Gold Fat Tech. Mostly I use the Futur on 1.5 unless traveling
I only have and love a Futur. As to your question about the difference, the only thing I can think of that may (again, I say MAY) be different is the amount the head flexes the blade, thus changing the angle of attack of the blade, even though both razor handles may be at the same angle when held to the face.
