FatBoy, dead or alive?

[ghostknife]

Hi, i got a fatboy the other day and as I guess sometimes happens the quality did not live up to the quantity I paid After a few hours of TLC I got it into nice condition with only slight brassing under the doors but the doors seem to have some problem still, sometimes they pop open slightly (~1mm) at the 1/4 lock.
After some investigating I think it's because the hinges are a bit worn, will that just get worse and worse if it's used?

Does that mean it's not got much life left in it and I should I sell it now and cut the loss?

Thanks.

 

[Pioneer]

That's not good. Doors popping open - even ~1 mm - are never a good thing.

 

[ghostknife]

boil that fatboy it may help

I already did baking soda and aluminium foil, how does boiling help the cause?

 

[johnston]

I think soaking in a degreaser like Sjmple Green overnight,rinsing, then boiling it for ten minutes or so will remove any buildup inside of it. This will make it as clean inside as possable and may make it work as designed.........

 

[BBrad]

Sounds like it is not "locking down" properly - probably the internal spring is not compressing due to frozen gunk inside. A gentle simmer (not a boil) in water and dish soap for a half-hour or so, followed by an overnight soak in the same solution will generally help.

The baking soda/aluminum foil trick really does not work the same with a nickel-plated razor as it does with a silver item. Baking soda and hot water will help dissolve gunk, but nickel oxides do not react with aluminum like silver oxide does.

Once you solve the mechanical issue, a gentle polishing with MAAS or Simichrome will bring out a whole bunch of shine!!

 

[ghostknife]

Sounds like it is not "locking down" properly - probably the internal spring is not compressing due to frozen gunk inside.

Think it's just past it, soaked in Simple Green all afternoon and dunked in the water bath for a while made no difference. The doors lock down ok, a little pressure on them while closing and they are tight so it's all working (even with a blade) I think but if you give the razor a little knock or touch on the doors again they sort of spring apart a bit. I think the mechanism is just a bit tired and I'm going to get try to get a refund on it (damn knew I shouldn't have paid cash on pickup). I wouldn't have mind so much if I didn't get it for the express purpose of using it so my minty one can stay that way.

Thanks for the tips/help though everyone.

The seller can put it back where it came from and try to reap the reward of my cleaning and polishing, it will be somebody else problem after that, is that bad?

 

[BBrad]

Normally, a Slim or Fat Boy will snug the doors against the blade, and then allow an additional tightening that you can definitely feel in the knob. This is a spring that compresses to allow for the change in geometry when the razor is adjusted. The additional tightening "travel" is most noticeable when the razor is set on '9'.

If the razor doesn't lock down properly, the blade will be loose and you will not have a pleasant experience with it. There will also be a gap between the door edges and the center bar.

Just today I received a Slim in a lot that I purchased on 'da bay' with the same issue. Can't feel the spring . . . but I will be giving it a nice long bubble bath in the "hot tub".

I have had several of these that I have brought back from the dead with a long hot soak. It takes time and temperature to soften and dissolve the crud that can build up in them over so many years.

One other thing to check - make sure that the adjuster knob is not "over clocked." When set on '1', the fingers should just be above the base plate. If they are way above the plate, the blade will be too high and not allow the doors to close properly. If it is over clocked, push in the index spring and turn the knob past '1' back to '9' and check it again. (I've heard of this happening, but never seen one myself.)

Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater, as my Pappy always said . . . I'll bet you can save this one!

 

[Badkarma]

It works well on razors!! Hope you can save it.

 

[amishmotorboat]

After they pop open, is the knob loose and can it be tightened down again, only to have it pop open again?

If so, I would say there are some stripped threads in there.

 

[ghostknife]

No, knob is tight after they open. They seem to be open always now after I shaved with it this afternoon to test it out, but when shaving they didn't open unless I jiggle the head or doors. Still my Red Tip shaves better.
I got a bit scientific with it and pulled out the micro-metric digital calipers to measure a few things, got some interesting results too:
Gap between centre bar and doors is ~.5mm each side (so total 1mm at ends),

Blade gap (exposure) is not quite even and was .1mm smaller at one corner, a bit of flexing with the bar fixed it up mostly so now is pretty close.

Exposure at setting (1) is ~.4mm, (9) ~.95mm but not even at all corners.

With these results I then set about measuring a bunch of other razors, interestingly a D2 Flare tip SS has more exposure than a A3 Red Tip. No razor I have is equal on both sides, one side is always a fair bit heavier, even 3-piece ones. Makes me wonder if this is on purpose so you can use one first up and the other side to finish with although I've no idea how you'd know unless you measured and marked it yourself.

Red tip ~ .6mm
Flare tip ~.65mm
Alum ball tech (no date) ~.7mm (this is personal favourite)

Coincidently on these 2, the same exposure i've used previously to get the best shave without knicks etc (and without even knowing it). Looks like .7mm is the best for me.

Fatboy G2 (different minty one) setting 6 = ~.7mm
Super Adjustable P1 setting 5 = .7mm

 

[ghostknife]

Just 'cause I have one, heres a pic.

 

[natchez]

The hot bath suggested above is a good idea and could not hurt. I brought an old aristocrat with similar symptoms back by running it through an ultrasonic jewelery cleaner a few times. Boy, was the solution grungy when I was done

But it now works.

 

[fidjit]

Does the gap still exist when you put a blade in and lock down ???

I've seen a few where there's a gap when empty, but the gap disappears with a blade locked into it.

 

[ctakim]

I agree with fidjit, I've seen razors that are perfectly closed with no gap but separate minimally when tightened. But when you put a blade in them this disappears because of the "flex" action of securing the blade in place. This "defect" is of no consequence and might not even be an error. The uneven blade gap is another common problem but easily fixed.

 

[wazazzle]

When i was a noob i had a senator that had the same problem. Thought i was just cutting up my face cause of my learning curve. Tried cleaning and fixing but came to the conclusion it was something internal and tossed it.

 

[roosclan]

No, knob is tight after they open. They seem to be open always now after I shaved with it this afternoon to test it out, but when shaving they didn't open unless I jiggle the head or doors. Still my Red Tip shaves better.
I got a bit scientific with it and pulled out the micro-metric digital calipers to measure a few things, got some interesting results too:
Gap between centre bar and doors is ~.5mm each side (so total 1mm at ends),

Blade gap (exposure) is not quite even and was .1mm smaller at one corner, a bit of flexing with the bar fixed it up mostly so now is pretty close.

Exposure at setting (1) is ~.4mm, (9) ~.95mm but not even at all corners.

With these results I then set about measuring a bunch of other razors, interestingly a D2 Flare tip SS has more exposure than a A3 Red Tip. No razor I have is equal on both sides, one side is always a fair bit heavier, even 3-piece ones. Makes me wonder if this is on purpose so you can use one first up and the other side to finish with although I've no idea how you'd know unless you measured and marked it yourself.

Red tip ~ .6mm
Flare tip ~.65mm
Alum ball tech (no date) ~.7mm (this is personal favourite)

Coincidently on these 2, the same exposure i've used previously to get the best shave without knicks etc (and without even knowing it). Looks like .7mm is the best for me.

Fatboy G2 (different minty one) setting 6 = ~.7mm
Super Adjustable P1 setting 5 = .7mm

Does the gap still exist when you put a blade in and lock down ???

I've seen a few where there's a gap when empty, but the gap disappears with a blade locked into it.

Sorry to bring up this thread, but how did it turn out with a blade in it? I just acquired a 1960 SuperSpeed that has doors that do the exact same thing. Was the razor a complete loss or does it still work? Mine looks great, but if the tiny gap means it's useless, then I'll stick with the black handled SS that I have with uglier doors that fit tighter.

 

[ghostknife]

Sorry to bring up this thread, but how did it turn out with a blade in it? I just acquired a 1960 SuperSpeed that has doors that do the exact same thing. Was the razor a complete loss or does it still work? Mine looks great, but if the tiny gap means it's useless, then I'll stick with the black handled SS that I have with uglier doors that fit tighter.

Lucky I just checked here by accident, yep the gap is still there but when you put the blade in it is almost gone and shaves ok. There was extensive cleaning required and the tiny hinges where the doors join on are worn and much looser then on my other fatboy which is why i believe they have issues. Even after I had soaked, cleaned, boiled the thing I then got a small ultrasonic cleaner and put it to work, more gunk just kept oozing out from inside. OMG, WILL IT EVER STOP kind of ooze. The poor thing was so gunked up it had caused the extra wear I think. Just makes me wonder why don't people clean these things after they use them, maybe they were so cheap at the time it didn't matter.

EDIT: Like this but much worse, this is a super I got for 5 euro that didn't work properly either and they adjustment wouldn't go past 3, it's ok now.