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Bringing an ugly fat boy back to life

Hmmm - that reads like my life`s story...

Anyway, thanks for a great site. Been lurking & learning for some time. Thought I might begin to contribute.

Got a really grungy Fat Boy for $19 recently. When I got it in the mail, I was shocked to see it coated beneath a layer of grime so nasty, it looked almost laquered in yuck. The head was bent a bit, with a larger gap on one side than the other, and the adjusting mechanism was very stiff.

The opening knob was catching on something and the bottom of the handle was filled with soap scum.

Oh, and there was a used blade still loaded in it. :thumbdown

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I started out by giving it a soak in hot water & dishwasher detergent. I wanted disinfection and some powerful cleaning, and I didn`t think I would need to worry much about and damage to the razor surface. I let it soak for 1/2 hour and took an old Oral B Pulsar brush to it. The top layer of grime came off, making me hopeful of things to come. I really like using a Pulsar brush. The vibration shakes dirt loose without being hard on the finish. I find it's great on knurling and good for getting into nooks & crannies.

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I boiled some water, and rubbed dishwashing liquid into the knurling. I put the razor in a coffee cup and poured the boiling water into the cup. I let it stand for 20 min, scrubbed, and repeated twice more. In the process, the carcass of a small beetle came floating out! I used tongs to raise & lower the razor, allowing it to drain & fill with hot soapy water. Plenty of stuff came out of the internals along with the air bubbles.

(continued in next post)
 

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Here's what it looked like after the boiling water & soap bath / scrubbing:

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I used Peek polish and a fair amount of light brisk rubbing with an old tee short, and then with q-tips to get into small areas. I buffed with a microfibre eyeglass cloth, and then gave a Barbicide dip. rinse and dry.

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Hard to believe it came so nice. It's really enjoyable bringing ugly stuff that others have given up on back to life.

Can't wait to use it with a Treet tomorrow.

Derek
 
YUCK! Get this off ebay? I think I saw this one... I want a fatboy, but I wasn't too interested in this one. Nice work though! Great looking razor under that filth.

Any idea how you'll fix the off blade gap? Edit, NM, saw your post below... ninja edit failed me today.
 
Holy moly! There's a razor in there!

Nice restore! It's amazing what a little work can do to these vintage razors.
 
Welcome aboard, planbee!! A very nice job, and well documented with pics, so we know it happened!

Proof once again that soap, hot water, patience, and a little elbow grease is the best way to go!

I'm sure it shaves as good as it looks!
 
First shave: I loaded up a Treet Orange blade. Doors opened and closed smoothly with no binding. There's just the slightest "dog ear" bend in the blade at one end, like it's being pressed down a bit more in a corner.

Set it on 5, then 2, then back to 5 to see if the adjustment mech still worked. Yep - 5 was like my 1952 Super Speed, 2 was certainly milder. The adjuster now turns nicely, clicks and holds the adjustment.

Showered, applied a bit of pre-shave oil (75% castor oil, 25% olive oil, trace of cologne) Lathered up with Proraso Red cream and did a WTG XTG ATG / touch up shave. The razor felt more substantial than the Super Speed, and the knurling felt good on my finger tips. I really felt the difference in weight when shaving my neck.

No nicks, although the Treet blade felt a bit rougher than normal on the first pass. That's probably attributable to having not shaved yesterday.

My first shave with a Fat Boy. Nice - I can see why people like it. The aesthetic of the razor is pretty, too.

I have some more dingy razors coming - is there interest in seeing this type of transformation, and maybe in discussing strategies for cleaning / restoring and even hot rodding "left for dead" razors?

Derek
 
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Congrats on a job well done.

At a hefty 80 g, the razor is in that sweet zone of 70 - 100 grams that glides across the face with purpose and leaving the hand knowing the experience of holding a real tool.
A tool that can be adjusted for a range of desires, from a light touch up before going out to dinner to clearing real estate that was left untouched over the weekend float trip.

Many have enjoyed the FatBoy razor. Hopefully your name will be added to that list.
 
I have some more dingy razors coming - is there interest in seeing this type of transformation, and maybe in discussing strategies for cleaning / restoring and even hot rodding "left for dead" razors?

Derek

absolutely! Love seeing a classic razor come back to life!
 
Hi @UKMerk

I did the alignment myself - even pressure with my fingers to bring the gap even - no tools used. I got kind of lucky. Wrapping in cloth, and using a vise and a lever would have been another option, but I think I may have disassembled it first to see if there was an obvious bend in a component (plus I'm a curious sort who like to take things apart).

Nice thing about brass as opposed to pot metal - it can be cold set.

http://www.copperinfo.co.uk/alloys/brass/downloads/pub-177-brass-in-focus.pdf

There may have been some gunk causing too much pressure on one side as well, which would have been remedied by the soak and scrub.

Derek
 
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