The Futur is such a lovely razor except...

You and me both - I had always assumed that the Futur was maybe 10-15 years old max.

 

I have a Futur in the polished chrome finish and never have had a comfortable shave with it. I usually start at a setting of 3 for the first pass and go down from there for the second and third pass. No matter what blade or shave cream or soap I use, it just feels like the razor is scraping rather than gliding through the hairs. Having said that, I do always get a very close and smooth shave with it, it's just not a comfortable shave for me for some reason. I love the look of the razor and will continue to use it occasionally, but my vintage Gillette Slim Adjustables give me a much more comfortable smooth shave.

 

Hi ninjack, I feel the same about how the Futur just scraping across rather than gliding through hair! No matter what type of soap or cream I used!!


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Mine is pretty smooth but it's the shiny one. I generally use setting 2 but 3 is ok.

 

Maybe the surface has something to do with it? I have the matte finish one.


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I have a matt finished Futur and I get smooth shaves from it. I usually shave with it set at 6 or 5. This is a very aggressive razor and not for everyone.

 

I have the polished chrome finished one. I wish I could get a smoother more comfortable shave with it, I love the look of it and the design, I would use it more often if I could get a more comfortable shave with it.

 

The matte finish is great.
I predict that some day, maybe many years from now, you'll become frustrated with milder razors and pick up your Futur once again. And on that day you'll understand.

 

Used my W. Germany 1980's Merkur Futur for the first time today.
Today's shave was just on the 1-2 settings butI'll try to go through the full range of numbers over the next couple of shaves to get a full sense for it.
The shave was rather good though.
The razor has a good heft and feel to it. I wouldn't say it was as smooth as maybe a Wolfman or Pils shave but in the end it was a nice close shave that I enjoyed.
Will be fun to try it out more.

 

I love the Futur, and I consider it the best DE I've ever used. I prefer aggressive razors, and I use the Futur on 5 most of the time and usually get drama free smooth results. Like any other razor, it works well for some and not others.
For me, part of it is how long the smooth feeling lasts. I can get a great shave from a mild iKon SC101, but I feel stubble 6 or 7 hours later. With the Futur my face stays smooth for 12 or more hours.