Fatip Piccolo Mk1 & Mk2 differences.

[Cal]

My new present to me — a Mk2 Piccolo (Yay!) — arrived today.

I took a few measurements to satisfy my curiosity and thought I’d share them for the benefit of any other detail freaks who may be interested. The most obvious differences are the cap depth (+ 1mm) and the Fatip logo (stamped on the underside of the baseplate).

All pictures are smartphone quality, sorry. All weights are grams and all dimensions are millimeters. In general Mk1 is shown on the left and Mk2 on the right.

Notwithstanding the photo quality, there’s a fair bit of difference to be seen:

View attachment 665781

View attachment 665782

PART	Weight		Ø		Width		Depth		Height
Handle	41.4	42.2	10	10					75	75
Baseplate	15.3	16.5			42.1	42	24.2	24.4	6.2	6.4
Cap	14.2	14.3			40.9	40.8	18	19	4.2	4
Cap Pins			4.6	4.8
Complete Unit	70.8	73.1			42.1	42	24.2	24.4	80.5	79.9

The cap height doesn’t include the bolt or the locating pins.

Two of my favorite things are the slim teeth, and the good sized gaps (width and depth) for draining the cut beard hair and lather:

View attachment 665783

I’m really looking forward to my first shave with the Mk2 tomorrow.


NB
The Baseplate and Cap information will apply to all Fatip open comb razors.

 

[matwho]

I'll be looking forward to your shaving review tomorrow.

 

[danbuter]

Looks like the Mk2 will be a little less aggressive, so I might finally buy one.

 

[nuclearblast]

Cal, that's interesting.

But I believe you could measure a 3rd example and the numbers would again be different.

I'm not sure if we should expect tight dimensional tolerances on such an inexpensive stamped razor? I'm definitely not an expert on this subject, though. Just a thought.

Please keep us posted!

 

[Cal]

... I believe you could measure a 3rd example and the numbers would again be different.

I'm not sure if we should expect tight dimensional tolerances on such an inexpensive stamped razor? I'm definitely not an expert on this subject, though. Just a thought.

You're absolutely correct Edgar!

I was just so surprised at the visual and felt weight differences that I had to check I wasn't imagining things. I have no idea what Fatip's tolerances may be, but I think the measurements I've taken should be fairly representative of the general differences between Marks 1 and 2.

Quite a few people have mentioned better blade alignment with the Mk2s. I checked that out and, with mine, it is indeed much better (of course that's helped by the thicker cap pins).

 

[TobyC]

I didn't know there was Mk2, has this been discussed here?

 

[Cal]

I didn't know there was Mk2, has this been discussed here?

Mk2? I suspect that I've just Christened "the latest" Piccolo, i.e. the one with the bigger cap depth (19mm Vs. 18mm) that comes in the prettier box.



Nomenclature apart, yes, there's been plenty discussion about it.

 

[nuclearblast]

When did you buy your first Piccolo?

 

[Cal]

When did you buy your first Piccolo?

Just before Christmas (2015). But there's still plenty of the older stock around.

Before purchasing I asked the supplier if he was stocking the latest version, and did it have the Fatip logo stamped on the baseplate. (Being a Piccolo lover himself) he confirmed this, adding that it came in the new branded Fatip box.

 

[nuclearblast]

Just before Christmas (2015). But there's still plenty of the older stock around.

Before purchasing I asked the supplier if he was stocking the latest version, and did it have the Fatip logo stamped on the baseplate. (Being a Piccolo lover himself) he confirmed this, adding that it came in the new branded Fatip box.

I purchased my Piccolo in March 2015, it came in the new box and has the logo stamped on the baseplate.

 

[nemo]

Great info, thanks for the measurements. I do like my old FaTip much better with another, wider top cap (or "depth" in your table -- I probably would have used length and width).

 

[nuclearblast]

Using this extremely accurate measuring device (aka ruler), I determined that my cap isn't 19mm wide.

 

[shave/brush]

Since quality control seems to be Fatips problem, I believe as Edgar said, you could pick up any 2 razors and they would probably measure different. I had 3 of them, the Piccolo, a Grande in nickel and a Grande in gold. The blade alignment in the Piccolo was so far off I ended up giving it away. The nickel Grande was slightly off but the gold Grande is perfect every time.

 

[schmalgausen]

MK7 or MK9 maybe.

 

[shave/brush]

MK7 or MK9 maybe.

What are you saying? Please explain.

 

[TobyC]

With the razor assembled, measure from the top of the baseplate to the top of the cap, the new one is "thinner" much like when I put an OLD cap on mine.

 

[Zeppelinkarte]

I do not know all the mm and so forth but do know that switching a Fatip Gentile cap on a Fatip OC improves the shaving experience of both razors immeasurably....for me anyway. Also works by putting a Muhle or Jagger D89 cap on the Fatip OC baseplate. The wider caps just smooth out the shave. The Gentile is too gentile even for me without the change.

 

[dkeester]

My Piccolo is the newer version and I love it.

Thanks for the comparison [MENTION=106012]1Cal[/MENTION]. Let us know how the shaves compare.

 

[kingfisher]

Blade alignment on the old one was a pain in the butt. Certainly the thin pins didn't help; there was a ton of wiggle room there.

Beyond that, though, I think that some of the old caps weren't even "square" (using the term in the carpentry sense), if you know what I mean. In other words, if you put the top cap down and measured the distance from the left lower corner to the right upper corner, it wouldn't necessarily be the same as the measurement from the right lower corner to the left upper corner. And that's a HUGE problem.

 

[shave/brush]

On the Piccolo I had, when I put the blade in it would be much more exposure on one side than the other. Useless to me.