There seems to be much polarity on this forum. One one hand, you have those that love more "aggressive" razors such as the R41, the Joris, The Fatip, the Slant, and on the other those that love more mild razors such as the 40's Superspeed, EJ DE89, the TECH, the Feather.
For, there is no question to which "camp" I belong too....I prefer the most effective efficient razors I can find. When I go to "mild" I have to do more passes and get irritation, period. Regardless of blade choice, they simply don't do the same job as a more aggressive razor.
To those that make claim "it's all in the hands of the user" I say Hogwash!! Get behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta.....now get behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 ....same maker...but both cars drive and react to the driver very differently! The makers of these razor, from the beginning have designed them with different characteristics to appeal to various beard types, face shapes, etc.....it isn't one size fit all.
What surprises me the most is some of the anger and comments I hear from the mild crowd toward us that love the more aggressive razors....from we are trying to prove some macho thing, to we just have more technique. ...
This is my opinion the Fatip Grande...what many would consider a fairly aggressive razor
The overall build quality seems solid, well designed and thought out well....this is not a new design as this head was used on the past incarnation of the 2008 Muhle R41 as well as many believe on the Joris. The Grande uses a different handle then the Muhle in the Grande...longer but less weight....come in at 65grams.
The quality of the plating is closer to what I would expect from Merkur than I would expect from Muhle or Edwin Jagger.....small pin dot dumps on handle, and the head had swirl marks from improper buffing.
In my hand the Fatip felt balanced and comfortable. Just the right feel with slightly more weight toward the head.
I have only now used the fatip for two shaves, loaded with a Polsilver Super Iridium.
Shave 1:
Shaved a few hours post shower. Face lathered using a Vie-long Horse hair brush , loaded with VDH and C.O. Bigelow for a superlather. Fatip Loaded with S.I blade.
I had two days of growth....hadn't shaved waiting for this to arrive!
First pass.....WTG It was as smooth as silk for me and my face. At first I wondered if I was getting any stubble removal even though I was getting audible feeback. I rinsed my razor and noticed all the stubble in my lather...nice.
Second pass....ATG.....used short quick strokes and again smooth as butter....rinsed face to check for stubble for pass three and was shocked at how close to BBS I already was.....face was BBS, neck needed some work.
Third pass XTG used longer strokes on this pass and again very smooth...rinsed and checked...some small touch uos still needed under chin area mostly.
Touched up. rinsed and used alum block....no sting...nice. used Nivea AS balm.
Today I did notice I appeared to have more stubble than if I had shaved with the R41 the previous day....
Second shave:
Shaved as soon as I got out of shower.....used AoS Silverip brush, bowl lathered AoS Sandalwood cream.
First pass;
Let's skip this as the shave was identical to the previous days....no better or worse, just a nice BBS shave
My overall shaving impression:
For me this fits in nicely somewhere in between a Gillette NEW and a Muhle R41. For someone looking for something more aggressive and more forgiving, this may be your cup of tea.
It is not for every body.
For young men, those with thin beards.....this will be too much. For those of Italian, Greek, Middle eastern, Heritage, or those who are more mature ( Ok...us older guys!!) with thicker dense gray beards...this may be perfect for you.
I did not have one nick, weeper or cut and found the shave very smooth and rewarding. On a scale of 1-10...I would give this razor a strong 8 on its ability to give a great shave.
"What we hold to be right, and good, and true IS right and good and true for all men." Sean Connery as King Arthur, Motto of the BOTOC
For, there is no question to which "camp" I belong too....I prefer the most effective efficient razors I can find. When I go to "mild" I have to do more passes and get irritation, period. Regardless of blade choice, they simply don't do the same job as a more aggressive razor.
To those that make claim "it's all in the hands of the user" I say Hogwash!! Get behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta.....now get behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 ....same maker...but both cars drive and react to the driver very differently! The makers of these razor, from the beginning have designed them with different characteristics to appeal to various beard types, face shapes, etc.....it isn't one size fit all.
What surprises me the most is some of the anger and comments I hear from the mild crowd toward us that love the more aggressive razors....from we are trying to prove some macho thing, to we just have more technique. ...
This is my opinion the Fatip Grande...what many would consider a fairly aggressive razor
The overall build quality seems solid, well designed and thought out well....this is not a new design as this head was used on the past incarnation of the 2008 Muhle R41 as well as many believe on the Joris. The Grande uses a different handle then the Muhle in the Grande...longer but less weight....come in at 65grams.
The quality of the plating is closer to what I would expect from Merkur than I would expect from Muhle or Edwin Jagger.....small pin dot dumps on handle, and the head had swirl marks from improper buffing.
In my hand the Fatip felt balanced and comfortable. Just the right feel with slightly more weight toward the head.
I have only now used the fatip for two shaves, loaded with a Polsilver Super Iridium.
Shave 1:
Shaved a few hours post shower. Face lathered using a Vie-long Horse hair brush , loaded with VDH and C.O. Bigelow for a superlather. Fatip Loaded with S.I blade.
I had two days of growth....hadn't shaved waiting for this to arrive!
First pass.....WTG It was as smooth as silk for me and my face. At first I wondered if I was getting any stubble removal even though I was getting audible feeback. I rinsed my razor and noticed all the stubble in my lather...nice.
Second pass....ATG.....used short quick strokes and again smooth as butter....rinsed face to check for stubble for pass three and was shocked at how close to BBS I already was.....face was BBS, neck needed some work.
Third pass XTG used longer strokes on this pass and again very smooth...rinsed and checked...some small touch uos still needed under chin area mostly.
Touched up. rinsed and used alum block....no sting...nice. used Nivea AS balm.
Today I did notice I appeared to have more stubble than if I had shaved with the R41 the previous day....
Second shave:
Shaved as soon as I got out of shower.....used AoS Silverip brush, bowl lathered AoS Sandalwood cream.
First pass;
Let's skip this as the shave was identical to the previous days....no better or worse, just a nice BBS shave
My overall shaving impression:
For me this fits in nicely somewhere in between a Gillette NEW and a Muhle R41. For someone looking for something more aggressive and more forgiving, this may be your cup of tea.
It is not for every body.
For young men, those with thin beards.....this will be too much. For those of Italian, Greek, Middle eastern, Heritage, or those who are more mature ( Ok...us older guys!!) with thicker dense gray beards...this may be perfect for you.
I did not have one nick, weeper or cut and found the shave very smooth and rewarding. On a scale of 1-10...I would give this razor a strong 8 on its ability to give a great shave.
"What we hold to be right, and good, and true IS right and good and true for all men." Sean Connery as King Arthur, Motto of the BOTOC