Fatboy Adjustment Video

[mmack66]

Just in case anyone wants to see what happens when you turn the adjustment dial on a Fatboy, the following video shows it in a detailed closeup. The adjusting part starts at around the 0:25 mark in the video.

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOfGrbgyXo4&NR=1[/YOUTUBE]

 

[squirrel_nut_zipper]

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Oublik]

Awsome!

 

[LiveOak]

Bizarre deja vu! I swear I looked at this exact commercial on youtube today and even showed my son that it was a fatboy they were advertising for.

 

[michiganlover]

Interesting advertisement. A bit misleading, since on the mass production Fatboy most of us are familiar with, the safety bars don't move when the razor is adjusted.

The adjustment on a standard Fatboy is accomplished by moving the blade itself up, and down (the adjustment dial pushes against a metal plate, which the blade sits on top of. Moving the adjustment dial moves this metal plate up, and down, thus moving the blade, and increasing or decreasing the blade gap.).

However, the Red Dot Fatboy (and the Toggle) actually do adjust by movement of the safety bars.

 

[mmack66]

The safety bar doesn't move on the Fatboy in this video.

 

[slpknt10l03]

sweet video - i love old ads

 

[OV1kenobi]

Love the old commercial.

25 Shillings selling price? How quaint!

I took it upon myself to do a bit of research. So, assuming the commercial was made in 1960 and those were British shillings, the razor would have cost 1.20 British pounds sterling at 20 shillings to the pound prior to the decimalization in 1971.

Also, assuming the exchange rate in 1960 was somewhere around $2.80 U.S. dollars to the British pound, that would mean that the razor would have cost approximately $3.36 in U.S. dollars.

Based upon an average annual inflation rate of 4.1% that would mean that the razor would have cost somewhere around $24.00 U.S. dollars in 2009.

I haven't even figured in what the average American blue-collar wage was in 1960, but then, those "young gentlemen" did not appear to be a couple of Sheffield steelworkers out and about on a "working stiff" weekend!

Might have been an expensive razor even back then. At least in came with some blades.

Thought you might find that interesting!

My apologies in advance if I buggered the math.

Warmest Regards,

David

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

The safety bar doesn't move on the Fatboy in this video.

+1 the head and base plate are moving. It does look a litte funny on screen though.

 

[Haiku]

Misleading advertising. Maybe even false advertising. The razor does not function this way. Not at all.

What they did was to turn the silo door control at the bottom of the razor just a bit to make it look like there was movement when the adjusting ring was turned. This is as false as could be. I think they probably even glued the blade to the top of the silo doors so that the blade moved as well.

What actually happens when you adjust the razor is that the blade gets pushed up by the internal mechanism. It's pretty much invisible to the eye. It looks nothing like what is depicted here.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Misleading advertising. Maybe even false advertising. The razor does not function this way. Not at all.

What they did was to turn the silo door control at the bottom of the razor just a bit to make it look like there was movement when the adjusting ring was turned. This is as false as could be. I think they probably even glued the blade to the top of the silo doors so that the blade moved as well.

What actually happens when you adjust the razor is that the blade gets pushed up by the internal mechanism. It's pretty much invisible to the eye. It looks nothing like what is depicted here.

This looks exactly like the way my Slim works. I don't know what you mean by "the blade gets pushed up by the internal mechanism," but the blade stays locked between the base-plate and the doors, and the whole head moves up and down, moving the blade farther or closer to the safety bar.

 

[mmack66]

Misleading advertising. Maybe even false advertising. The razor does not function this way. Not at all.

What they did was to turn the silo door control at the bottom of the razor just a bit to make it look like there was movement when the adjusting ring was turned. This is as false as could be. I think they probably even glued the blade to the top of the silo doors so that the blade moved as well.

What actually happens when you adjust the razor is that the blade gets pushed up by the internal mechanism. It's pretty much invisible to the eye. It looks nothing like what is depicted here.

+

Are you guys watching the video I posted?

 

[Haiku]

+

Are you guys watching the video I posted?

Yes, and thank you for posting it.

What's actually happening in the video is that off camera they are turning the knob on the bottom of the razor. That's what makes the head appear like it's moving up and down. It actually isn't.

What's happening is that the silo door assembly is moving. The bottom plate of the razor which is attached to the handle, is not moving, nor are the adjusting plates that actually move the blade up and down and which are controlled by the adjusting ring.

Take a non-adjustable TTO razor like a superspeed in your hand, put a blade in it, and hold it in front of you like the razor in the ad is set up, turn the knob on the bottom of the handle and you'll see for yourself that the head moves exactly like the razor in the ad. It isn't the adjusting mechanism that's being shown in the ad. The ad therefore misleads.

I need to correct something I posted earlier though. If you partly close the silo doors on a 195 fatboy, and you turn the adjusting ring, with a blade in the razor you will be able to see the blade move up and down on the internal mechanism. The difference is very small between 1 and 9, but it very easy to see. I completely mis-spoke in my last post on that issue.

The ad that Gillette made however is intended to show that the razor is adjustable but what they actually show is the normal movement of the silo door assembly on any Gillette TTO razor, and what they show has nothing to do with the way that the 195 "fatboy" actually works when you move the adjusting ring. The ad misleads because they are showing the adjusting ring turning on the left side of the screen and they are showing the head assembly moving on the right, but they aren't showing what's actually moving the head assembly which is the bottom know being turned.

I have no doubt that today that ad would result in the authorities compelling Gillette to pull the ad and they might even get it into their heads to prosecute for misleading advertising.

 

[Haiku]

This looks exactly like the way my Slim works. I don't know what you mean by "the blade gets pushed up by the internal mechanism," but the blade stays locked between the base-plate and the doors, and the whole head moves up and down, moving the blade farther or closer to the safety bar.

See my post just above this one. Yes the slim works the same way.

The adjustment plates move the blade into a different position and when the the silo doors are tightened down on a 1 position that's closer to the safety bar than on the 9 position. That's not what's being shown in this video. What's being shown is the normal movement of any Gillette TTO silo door mechanism. They are not showing the way that the adjusting mechanism works.

It's a shame and a pity that they did this. I guess they thought it made for a more dramatic ad than if they showed the reality of how their product actually works. The shame and the pity using an approach like that toward their own customers.

 

[Brush_with_Fame]

That was one of the coolest vids I've seen in awhile.
Makes me want to time-travel.
Thanks for posting.
Alan

 

[the beav]

Great video. Thanks for posting it.

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

See my post just above this one. Yes the slim works the same way.

The adjustment plates move the blade into a different position and when the the silo doors are tightened down on a 1 position that's closer to the safety bar than on the 9 position. That's not what's being shown in this video. What's being shown is the normal movement of any Gillette TTO silo door mechanism. They are not showing the way that the adjusting mechanism works.

It's a shame and a pity that they did this. I guess they thought it made for a more dramatic ad than if they showed the reality of how their product actually works. The shame and the pity using an approach like that toward their own customers.

I'm sorry, I just don't think you're correct. When adjusting any Gillette razor (that I have used) it will look exactly like what is depicted. If they were tightening silo doors you'd see the blade change angles as it bends while locking between the doors and the 4 risers on the base plate. I think you get the impression that the silo doors are being used because the action seems dramatic when viewed so closely, but there is no reason that I can see that you'd question that the adjustment mechanism could move the head up and down in that fashion. In fact, that is the only fashion in which it would move had it been moved by the adjustment mechanism. Again, this video looks like every Gillette Adjustable I've seen.

 

[Haiku]

I'm sorry, I just don't think you're correct. When adjusting any Gillette razor (that I have used) it will look exactly like what is depicted. If they were tightening silo doors you'd see the blade change angles as it bends while locking between the doors and the 4 risers on the base plate. I think you get the impression that the silo doors are being used because the action seems dramatic when viewed so closely, but there is no reason that I can see that you'd question that the adjustment mechanism could move the head up and down in that fashion. In fact, that is the only fashion in which it would move had it been moved by the adjustment mechanism. Again, this video looks like every Gillette Adjustable I've seen.

Nope. Doesn't work that way. Look at the video again. The video shows the silo door assembly moving closer to the safety bar. That only happens when the bottom knob is turned.

The silo door mechanism is not connected to the adjustment ring. If you turn the bottom knob just to the point where the blade touches the baseplate the blade angle does not change. That's what they did in that ad. Look at the bottom of the head below the safety bar. You'll see the entire head moving. You'll see the bottom of the head moving closer to the safety bar. That's what happens when you turn the bottom knob. When you move the adjusting ring the head does not move. Only the internal adjusting plates move up and down.

If you want to know how the mechanisms actually work, see below. You'll see the actual mechanisms and you'll see that the silo door assembly is not connected to the adjusting ring.

The link shows the fatboy taken apart step by step.

http://vintagesaws.com/fatboy/fatboy.html

 

[LinuxMintyFresh]

Nope. Doesn't work that way. Look at the video again. The video shows the silo door assembly moving closer to the safety bar. That only happens when the bottom knob is turned.

That's isn't true. The entire head (ie silo doors, and what I'll call the adjustment plate) move up and down as the adjustment knob is turned. The easiest way to see this is to look at the gap between the base plate (the immovable plate that is attached to the safety bars) and the door end-caps when adjusting a razor.

The silo door mechanism is not connected to the adjustment ring. If you turn the bottom knob just to the point where the blade touches the baseplate the blade angle does not change. That's what they did in that ad. Look at the bottom of the head below the safety bar. You'll see the entire head moving. You'll see the bottom of the head moving closer to the safety bar. That's what happens when you turn the bottom knob. When you move the adjusting ring the head does not move. Only the internal adjusting plates move up and down.

You're right that what you can see is the entire head moving, just as it should. If your statement that "the head does not move" when the adjustment knob is turned were true, pressure caused by adjusting from 1 to 9 would break a razor, or at least push the silo doors up and out. The ability of the head to move is necessary for the razor to function. Also, if the adjustment plate were the only thing that moved, adjusting down from, say a 9 to a 1 , the blade would become loose and not secure as it stays locked between the 4 risers and the flat part on the inside of the doors. Moving the adjuster down would cause a gap.

I implore you, take your adjustable razor, lock down the doors, and twist the adjuster. You'll see the gap between the end-caps and base plate increase and decrease. You'll see the point on the bottom of the silo doors (the piece that flips them open) move closer and farther away from the safety bar.

Lastly, in the video you can see the blade moving in lock-step with the silo doors. This doesn't happen when simply shuttering the silo doors. The blade stays put until locked between the risers and the door, at which point the blade angle changes due to the pressure.

If you want to know how the mechanisms actually work, see below. You'll see the actual mechanisms and you'll see that the silo door assembly is not connected to the adjusting ring.

The link shows the fatboy taken apart step by step.

http://vintagesaws.com/fatboy/fatboy.html

Thanks for the link! I've been looking for something like that. I'll have to look at it in depth later, but the two mechanisms not being directly attached should have no bearing on whether each can work alone. If I can I'll make a video later of my adjustable and show you that it looks exactly like what is depicted in the video posted.

Respectfully,
LMF

 

[Haiku]

That's isn't true. The entire head (ie silo doors, and what I'll call the adjustment plate) move up and down as the adjustment knob is turned. The easiest way to see this is to look at the gap between the base plate (the immovable plate that is attached to the safety bars) and the door end-caps when adjusting a razor.



You're right that what you can see is the entire head moving, just as it should. If your statement that "the head does not move" when the adjustment knob is turned were true, pressure caused by adjusting from 1 to 9 would break a razor, or at least push the silo doors up and out. The ability of the head to move is necessary for the razor to function. Also, if the adjustment plate were the only thing that moved, adjusting down from, say a 9 to a 1 , the blade would become loose and not secure as it stays locked between the 4 risers and the flat part on the inside of the doors. Moving the adjuster down would cause a gap.

I implore you, take your adjustable razor, lock down the doors, and twist the adjuster. You'll see the gap between the end-caps and base plate increase and decrease. You'll see the point on the bottom of the silo doors (the piece that flips them open) move closer and farther away from the safety bar.

Lastly, in the video you can see the blade moving in lock-step with the silo doors. This doesn't happen when simply shuttering the silo doors. The blade stays put until locked between the risers and the door, at which point the blade angle changes due to the pressure.

Thanks for the link! I've been looking for something like that. I'll have to look at it in depth later, but the two mechanisms not being directly attached should have no bearing on whether each can work alone. If I can I'll make a video later of my adjustable and show you that it looks exactly like what is depicted in the video posted.

Respectfully,
LMF

First, you're welcome for the link.

When you adjust the razor 1-9 you should open the silo doors a bit. That way the razor won't break.

And yes, I've checked my razors and I can get my superspeeds to behave exactly like the way the video shows the adjustable behaving.

Take a look at the bottom of the razor in the video. You'll see that the bottom of the silo door assembly is moving. That doesn't happen when you adjust the adustment ring. It happens when you adjust the silo door knob on the bottom of the razor.

They either glued the blade to the bottom of the silo doors, or they filmed the movement holding the razor upside down. That way they got the blade to look like it moves when the silo door mechanism was moved.

If I ever have some spare time, I'll try to shoot a video of how the razors actually work and it isn't like Gillette advertised.