Mongoose: Satin or Polished

Hi All,

I'm still a beginner so I thought I would ask here to see if any of you have an opinion on which Mongoose I should order.  I got my ordering information Friday which means I am confirmed and can place my order.  The Mongoose comes in a polished or a satin version.  The polished version takes a couple of weeks longer to fulfill because they outsource the polishing and then do additional quality checks.  It's also a few bucks more than the satin.  Mongoose seems to allude that the polishing is easily scratched and there is thread right on this very forum inquiring about polishing a scratch out of a Mongoose.  I'm inclined to order the satin.  My Feather AS-D2 is satin, shaves great and I'd guess that finish is more durable than a polished version.  I'm also guessing this is a purely cosmetic preference however I'd like to be sure before placing my order.

So to all you veterans, what are the pros and cons of each and do you have any recommendations for me?

Thanks! 

I have the satin finish and like it.  It has proved to be very durable and easy to take care of.  I would add that the Mongoose satin finish is different than the satin finish of an Above the Tie razor.  Most other satin finishes seem to leave the grain in a natural unpolished state.  Not sure how it's done but the Mongoose satin does not show the grain of the metal.  Overall, I am glad I got the satin and would order it again. 

I love my satin Mongoose, afraid I would worry too much if I had the polished head.

I've got the satin and polished Mongoose and can't tell any difference in terms of the quality of the shave but the polished one just looks purdy 

Get the polished one! 
It looks wonderful and shaves wonderful. Even cleaning it with a microfiber cloth after each shave is a joy. You won't regret.
Enjoy!

I'd say go with the satin. I started the thread on the scratch removal. The head is super sensitive to scratches. I swear I just placed it head down on my counter and picked it up and saw a light scratch. Now I'm way more careful with it but it still is kind of a pain to worry so much about it. I managed to get my hands on a satin one recently and it is much easier to maintain. The polished head is beautiful though but the satin head looks awesome in its own right. 

If you are willing to put up with the maintenance of the polished head, go for that one. Otherwise satin is a better choice. 

I have the satin and I think it looks great. 

Polished all the way!

My vote would be for the polished head.  I know this must be all in my imagination but, I originally had both heads and it seemed like the satin head didn't glide like the polished head.    Like I said, I thought this was all my imagination, but I couldn't shake the sensation, it just didn't glide for me like the polished head, so I sold my satin and kept the polished.  I have not noticed any problem with scratching.  I just wipe mine down with a microfiber cloth after use and set it on the counter, no scratching.  If you have access to a buffing wheel and metal polish I imagine the polished head could be buffed to a high polish again if it did get a scratch.  This is something that you can't do with a satin.  If it gets scratched it's scratched and you just have to live with it.  From my experience though, it's pretty tough to truly scratch stainless steel. 

(05-18-2015, 06:13 AM)merkur man Wrote: My vote would be for the polished head.  I know this must be all in my imagination but, I originally had both heads and it seemed like the satin head didn't glide like the polished head.    Like I said, I thought this was all my imagination, but I couldn't shake the sensation, it just didn't glide for me like the polished head, so I sold my satin and kept the polished.  I have not noticed any problem with scratching.  I just wipe mine down with a microfiber cloth after use and set it on the counter, no scratching.  If you have access to a buffing wheel and metal polish I imagine the polished head could be buffed to a high polish again if it did get a scratch.  This is something that you can't do with a satin.  If it gets scratched it's scratched and you just have to live with it.  From my experience though, it's pretty tough to truly scratch stainless steel. 

so it's not only me! glad to hear. I experienced the same thing with the satin finish, didn't glide so smoothly as the polished finish. And yes, the polished will get scratched no matter how careful you are with it, just placing it down on the counter will scratch but VERY minor scratches, nothing that will bother you. Now if you drop it then that's a different story! I say get the polished, it has a unique shine to it unlike any polished razor out there. makes it very special. Either way you are gonna enjoy it. good luck.

(05-18-2015, 07:42 AM)1SOAP Wrote:

(05-18-2015, 06:13 AM)merkur man Wrote: My vote would be for the polished head.  I know this must be all in my imagination but, I originally had both heads and it seemed like the satin head didn't glide like the polished head.    Like I said, I thought this was all my imagination, but I couldn't shake the sensation, it just didn't glide for me like the polished head, so I sold my satin and kept the polished.  I have not noticed any problem with scratching.  I just wipe mine down with a microfiber cloth after use and set it on the counter, no scratching.  If you have access to a buffing wheel and metal polish I imagine the polished head could be buffed to a high polish again if it did get a scratch.  This is something that you can't do with a satin.  If it gets scratched it's scratched and you just have to live with it.  From my experience though, it's pretty tough to truly scratch stainless steel. 

so it's not only me! glad to hear. I experienced the same thing with the satin finish, didn't glide so smoothly as the polished finish. And yes, the polished will get scratched no matter how careful you are with it, just placing it down on the counter will scratch but VERY minor scratches, nothing that will bother you. Now if you drop it then that's a different story! I say get the polished, it has a unique shine to it unlike any polished razor out there. makes it very special. Either way you are gonna enjoy it. good luck.

Glad to hear someone else noticed the same thing. I guess it makes sense though, rubbing a finger along them tells you there is a difference in smoothness between them.


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Had both with no preference. They shave exactly the same. 

(05-18-2015, 09:40 AM)slantman Wrote: Had both with no preference. They shave exactly the same. 

Did you get rid of both of them Jerry? 

The Satin version I had was fine, but I like the look of the polished one better. 

(05-18-2015, 08:58 AM)merkur man Wrote:

(05-18-2015, 07:42 AM)1SOAP Wrote:

(05-18-2015, 06:13 AM)merkur man Wrote: My vote would be for the polished head.  I know this must be all in my imagination but, I originally had both heads and it seemed like the satin head didn't glide like the polished head.    Like I said, I thought this was all my imagination, but I couldn't shake the sensation, it just didn't glide for me like the polished head, so I sold my satin and kept the polished.  I have not noticed any problem with scratching.  I just wipe mine down with a microfiber cloth after use and set it on the counter, no scratching.  If you have access to a buffing wheel and metal polish I imagine the polished head could be buffed to a high polish again if it did get a scratch.  This is something that you can't do with a satin.  If it gets scratched it's scratched and you just have to live with it.  From my experience though, it's pretty tough to truly scratch stainless steel. 

so it's not only me! glad to hear. I experienced the same thing with the satin finish, didn't glide so smoothly as the polished finish. And yes, the polished will get scratched no matter how careful you are with it, just placing it down on the counter will scratch but VERY minor scratches, nothing that will bother you. Now if you drop it then that's a different story! I say get the polished, it has a unique shine to it unlike any polished razor out there. makes it very special. Either way you are gonna enjoy it. good luck.

Glad to hear someone else noticed the same thing. I guess it makes sense though, rubbing a finger along them tells you there is a difference in smoothness between them.

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Could be just us! Is a preference thing I believe

Polished , I owned both but I found the blade load was little easy . Both shaves Equally .Maybe that's just my imagination but I liked polished better


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I love the look of polished but the ocd nature in me would cause scratches to drive me nuts. A tuff choice in my book.

I decided to get the satin.

Good choice! Easy maintenance. You will enjoy it

(05-18-2015, 12:34 PM)GatorFL Wrote: I decided to get the satin.

I'm sure it will be great. I've never disliked the way a stainless razor looked. Plus brushed hides soap scum better.