Why was the Fat Boy discontinued?

[BigJ]

... reality is that back in the days when these were daily use commodities rather than hobbyist tools, Average Joe probably didn't spend a whole lot of time adjusting his razor once he settled on a setting that worked to his satisfaction.

+1! Most just wanted to get done and get out the door!!

 

[Joshua223]

It is kind of funny to think that the now sought after Fatboy razors weren't that desirable back when they were in production. I've read the same thing said about straight razors with the really big chopper blades.

 

[tonich]

Once discontinued it becomes sought after.
Applies to many products.

 

[BigFoot]

The Fat Boy or 195 Adjustable as it was called at the time was the first new razor I bought when I started shaving. It did not look like any other razor at the time. In fact, the Rexall Pharmacy where I bought the razor had an ample supply of these razors. I recall the Gillette marketing when the Slim was introduced just a few years later. The words "new and improved" were prominent. I bought the Slim at the same Rexall Pharmacy. The pharmacist, a neighbor, said he was selling more of the Slims because in his words men thought they looked more like a razor should look. Apparently, some thought the FB was stubby and ugly. At the time I bought the Slim the store still had some Fat Boys in stock even though production had ended. [If I knew then what I know now I would have bought a few and stored them!] However, the Slim sold much better than the FB. The marketing materials said it was light, maneuverable, and "new and improved." I realize that this is only one store and I don't know whether it was true elsewhere.

I paid $2 for each of the razors.

This is from Investopedia on King Gillette.

The Razor/Razor Blade business model owes its name to one King Gillette, founder of the namesake razor-blade company. The story goes that Gillette's idea for creating disposable razors stemmed from his personal experience with a straight razor so worn it was rendered useless.

What Is the Razor Blade or Razor Model
Gillette reasoned that if he could offer consumers a sturdy, permanent razor supplemented by cheap, easily replaceable blades, he could corner the men's facial grooming market and create a massive, repeat customer base. Although some consider him an adoptive father of the model, he was the entrepreneur who developed the idea of selling the razors themselves cheap, capitalizing on the repeat business of replaceable blades.

King (his given name) Gillette made an absolute fortune from his business model. He broke down the initial sale into the parts, deconstructing the idea of a consumer only buying a good product once. What he did was make a cheap product that was disposable. This allowed for two things to happen. First, the consumer would not mind that they had to replace blades since they were cheap to being with and provided good value. Secondly. the model itself would hook users on the product, ingraining the buy, dispose, then replace model as routine. This led to lifetime users of the product.
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Hell Jim you are older than you look.

 

[ackvil]

Hell Jim you are older than you look.

77 years old but act like I'm 45!

 

[psfred]

The FatBoy got caught up in the "jet age" stuff, where "longer lower wider" was king, along with fake fins and rocket flame taillights and all sorts of other idiocy.

Boeing introduced the 707 into transcontinental and trans-atlantic service in 1956, and suddenly everything had to be streamlined and slick and long and skinny. Look up some pictures of 1958 vs 1962 automobiles for a hint. The 195 was just out of fashion -- nothing wrong with it per se.

Personally I don't like the Slim as much as the FatBoy, although the differences are slight and since I haven't shaved under my nose since 1976 the taller head doesn't bother me much. I like the fatter, shorter handle (I can't stand the long handled Black Beauty, handle gets in the way all the time) and the weight of the FatBoy, but then I have pretty big hands.

I don't think there's a large difference in the way they shave, nor between FatBoy and Black Beauty for that matter, at least for me. Strictly ATG at very shallow angle, set on 7.

 

[kingfisher]

I like the adjustables, and prefer the Fatboy to the Slim and the SA, but that's just me.

Do I fiddle with the adjustment settings? Sometimes. 7 is my preferred setting. Sometimes I'll dial it down to 4 or 5 for the second pass or for clean up.

 

[Bad Badger]

I used my Fatboy this morning.

I usually set it to 7 as well.

Wonderful Razor!

 

[apastuszak]

I’ve never used an adjustable above 5.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[psfred]

The rational for the adjustable razor was to make one razor that would satisfy the shaving needs of the vast majority of people. Approximately 95% of people can find a setting between 1 and 9 that works for them -- the vast majority seem to prefer 4-6, but every face is different.

If I use less than 7, I can make any number of passes and still not remove all the stubble. Same deal with a SuperSpeed, takes more work to get a good shave, probably need to find a red one eventually.

 

[tipster_621]

I usually keep my adjustables on 4 or 5. About the only time I'll change the setting is if I'm in a hurry, and only have time for one pass. Then I'll jack it up to 9 and get a very close WTG shave.

 

[tzinc]

The Fatboy is the best DE razor ever made. I have no issues manuvering it around my face even under my nose. It has the perfect heft and grip for shaving. Sometimes things are hyped and not worth it, but sometimes they are and this is. I have sensitive skin and never had an issue.

It was discontinued as was the Slim eventually because it made the company more money to do so. Each move they made increased profits why just make money off blades lol?

The point of the settings was to find the one right for you not to switch back and forth all the time but it is nice to be able to switch depending on what you need. More options is always better than less options.