How are Merkur getting away with the appalling QC?

Canuck

Canuck

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Hitchin, Herts
I'm a long time Merkur fan as many of you know, they make very, very good razors, but the finish is not great on their non-adjustable, sub £40 market, as most of us are aware of.
Not a massive problem as they are efficient enough, but German engineering should produce better finished pieces than this surely?

Most of us more modern DE razor fans are now used to the finish on Jaggers and Muhles, and we recognise that it's light years ahead, you get a flawless, seamless mirror finish for the same money or less. So why is the finish on Merkur plagued by poor / mottled finish, rough chrome, and raised seams?

Being an industry leader you'd expect better. I've had 5 Merkurs and still own 2, but the finish just seems to get worse, it's now getting so bad that no matter how good they are at shaving, I may never buy another new one again. If they can't be arsed finishing one well, I can't be arsed paying £30 for one either. They sure know how to destroy customer confidence.

Any thoughts on this?
 
German engineering, it has been fading for a decade.
They have been living on a reputation for many years and this defiantly applies to cars.
 
I would say that given that retailers are still buying from them then they are not going to change their ways?

What feedback to retailers actually permeates its way back up to Merkur?

Maybe they accept that their process is not 100% perfect, but the marginal cost in reducing their complaint rate is higher than the cost of actually implementing the manufacturing changes required to reduce that complaint rate.

If I was the owner of Merkur then I know what I would do.
 
Dear The Canuck,

To be perfectly serious, they sell lots of those things because people keep recommending em...especially to new DE users. That 34c is a pretty darn good example.

Usta be, 4-5 years ago there's wasn't all that many current production DE choices and Merkur was king. Now though, you mentioned the Muhle/Jagger line that is quite nice and certainly strong competition.

How's that sound?

Martin

Just for the hell of it, watch and see how many times a Merker 34c is recommended for one reason or another. I can't comment on the Merkur shave (never tried it), so maybe that's the big draw. That wasn't your question though.
 
I must admit I was very happy with my 34c until I had a chance to examine and feel an EJ89 (actually, it was the Bluebeards version, but, as far as I'm aware, the difference amounts to their logo on the head), and realised how much nicer it was. I'm probably going to get the lined version once I return from holiday, and, if it works well with the NOS Bleue Extra blades I've got purely for the Merkur, than the 34c itself may end-up on BST.
 
Yes Martin they do shave really well and yes, I'm one of those that recommends them for that reason.

I suppose I've just been looking closely at a few of them now for a year and a half and realising that they're, well, a bit shitty looking compared to say, a Muhle. If Muhle can plate something that beautifully then why can't Merkur? Looks aren't everything but they actually seem to be getting worse, they're almost amateur looking.
 
I wonder if they're actually made in Germany,or somewhere else.....India springs to mind.
I read somewhere, can't remember where offhand, that there is some quirk of German law, whereby if an article is made "abroad" but actually assembled in Germany, then that article can be said to be "Made in Germany"...Don't know if its true or not in this case, but if the razors are made "abroad"...it could account for the lack of sanding and finishing, before the chrome is applied...It's certainly not the German quality we've come to expect....I know I was disappointed at the finish of my 38c when it arrived,all the rough grinding marks visible under the chrome plating.

They're still good shavers though..but as has been said, they could, and should be better for that kind of money......once a reputations gone it will take some getting back.

That Weber is calling to me again..
 
GOLDCREST said:
I wonder if they're actually made in Germany,or somewhere else.....India springs to mind.
I read somewhere, can't remember where offhand, that there is some quirk of German law, whereby if an article is made "abroad" but actually assembled in Germany, then that article can be said to be "Made in Germany"...Don't know if its true or not in this case, but if the razors are made "abroad"...it could account for the lack of sanding and finishing, before the chrome is applied...It's certainly not the German quality we've come to expect....I know I was disappointed at the finish of my 38c when it arrived,all the rough grinding marks visible under the chrome plating.

They're still good shavers though..but as has been said, they could, and should be better for that kind of money......once a reputations gone it will take some getting back.

That Weber is calling to me again..
Click to expand...

The made in Germany thing is true it is also true for made in Britain. Nearly all component parts I use in work are made in china and India. And all we do is machine castings and then assemble all component parts into complete assemblies
 
I have had a Merkur '1904', a 38R, a Progress and borrowed a Futur. I didn;t like the fiddliness of the Futur, didn't like the handle on the 1904 and only recently got rid of the 38R (long handle 34 in red). I found I prefer milder razors with shorter handles. I do recall some lines on the casting of the alloy visible on the baseplate. Not really seen that on any vintage Gillettes.
 
German surgical instruments are sometimes made in the Indian subcontinent and then "finished" in Germany (There was a Panorama programme looking at this in relation to child labour). I don't know about razors though.
I own a Merkur Futur and a Slant and am happy with both.

Will have to buy a MÜHLE R41though.....

;)
 
Paul_D said:
German surgical instruments are sometimes made in the Indian subcontinent and then "finished" in Germany (There was a Panorama programme looking at this in relation to child labour). I don't know about razors though.
I own a Merkur Futur and a Slant and am happy with both.

Will have to buy a MÜHLE R41though.....

;)
Click to expand...

That was the programme that sparked my comment...something about the finishing of the instruments under the chrome, leaving a lot to be desired...

I have three Merkurs, and with the exception of the Futur,which is well finished, the others could have done with the grind marks sanding off, prior to the chrome plate being added.
 
GOLDCREST said:
Paul_D said:
German surgical instruments are sometimes made in the Indian subcontinent and then "finished" in Germany (There was a Panorama programme looking at this in relation to child labour). I don't know about razors though.
I own a Merkur Futur and a Slant and am happy with both.

Will have to buy a MÜHLE R41though.....

;)
Click to expand...

That was the programme that sparked my comment...something about the finishing of the instruments under the chrome, leaving a lot to be desired...

I have three Merkurs, and with the exception of the Futur,which is well finished, the others could have done with the grind marks sanding off, prior to the chrome plate being added.
Click to expand...

I think this is the Merkur standard.

My futur in Matt is spot on, my Chrome one isn't as good but it still is better than my 39C and 11C. My 38N isn't too bad but still suffers from the sanding marks.

It's a little frustrating when compared to EJ and Muhle's offerings as just a little extra time would sort these these issues out.

I guess it's just a matter of time spent on giving the extra 15-20% in finish vs cost.
 
Interesting that Countries allow for items only 'finished' in their boundaries to be claimed as being made there. Years ago I had a relative that lived in Washington State USA who on school vacations worked on Tulip Farms. Yes, you got it, she said their largest customer was Holland! Shipped there then sent from Holland all over the world.
 
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