I was cleaning my Merkur progress post shave the other day and I must have been a bit too aggressive (pardon the pun) as the bottom dial came out of the razor. This has happened before and it took me a bit of time to get the part back in as the compression ring can be tricky to constrict and get back in place. This time I decided to just set the ring aside and I've been shaving without it in place. I have discovered it does not compromise the shave at all; just as smooth as always and I am able to adjust the setting as per usual without any issues. Only thing is you need to be careful when placing or taking out a blade as the bottom part can fall right out. I just thought I'd pass along that if the compression ring is annoying to you when cleaning your razor; it functions to keep the razor in one piece and is not important to the shave. This is intuitive I know but still wanted to mention it for those who have never tried it. Jeremy