Hello B&B people,
After more than a year of extensive usage of Fatip razors and a couple ones being gifted to friends and family, I'd like to share some love and praise for this, by many users - underrated gem of Italian manufacturing. Not being affiliated to Fatip at any way, so this is just my experience with it, like it or not, take it, doubt it, it's up to you. If you find some value in additional information or help for doubt whether to pull the trigger on this razors - feel free to continue reading, share your own opinions, and of course - ask any questions you think I might answer
My journey with Fatip went more from a birthday present preparation. My father used an old razor (with remowed comb, just top cap, handle and bare blade underneath), so I figured out he might like Fatip OC, and I went on purchasing Fatip Grande OC in gold:
When unpacked, I was first impressed with finish and overall "old-school" look, the curve of the head, the plating, the lining on the handle, everything were just perfect. I couldn't restrain myself from trying it out Againt all reviews, considering Fatip OC to be quite agressive (I'd rather reffer to it as "efficient") I didn't felt any drawbacks. Only nicks I've got - I deserved them after "ough, this is so smooth, this is so nice, I don't feel blade, let's speed up... ough.. there's a nick" so it's very deceptive in it's shave feel.
I'd say it's mild face-feel, no burn, even not much an aftershave-burn at all, not much of a blade feel, although you'll always have precise feel where the blade is (if you need special precision) but overall - like someone said "R41 efficiency with R89 smoothness". Hand-made in brass, cheap as peanuts -> it seemed as a winner. My father used it, and his report is that he needed to learn a new angle, which opposed to my opinion that he's well accustomed to super-agressive shaves, I mean - he's not using a blade guard at all (and proven that he's just scraping beard instead of making clear cuts) so this is the only feedback from an "old wolf" and not a negative one.
Afterwards, I found a good discount on Fatip SE and though to buy it for myself. For same price - bit heavier razor, two guards (open comb and safety bar) what can be wrong? It's not that expensive, I liked the curvature of the blade, and being aware of the reviews I was ready to accept the risk of poor black-finish notorious for Fatips. Made an order, received it and wow, was it a beauty?!
My first shave with piccolo was indeed remarkable. If I could explain it in a sentence - it's like a sports car among the razors. The pleasure and feel of the shaving is just like that. And by sports car, to be honest, it's not a Ferrari, more like Alfa Romeo it's a beauty, it's enjoyable and it has some bugs, you either hate it or adore it to beyond limits. My personal best feel about this razor was the shape of the head, such a nice flow made in transition from top-cap, blade, safety guard (both OC and CC) you almost have no blade feel and yet it's so damn efficient that one pass soon became more than enough for my all Fatip-shaves. If it may be considered as "downside" it just exposed some of my bad-habbits (poor lathering, not-wetting the face and using only water from lather, not brushing the lather long enough into the whiskers, short prep, poor hydratation, not drinking enough water, not using hydratation losions afterwards, using any angle at any place on the face...) so it's not the razor's fault to expose the bad owner. The closed comb (testina gentile) felt just a little, and by little I mean - not worth improvement compared to Muhle R89, just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more efficient so I passed that one to my father "just in spare" so he can use it, as I already had R89 in regular rotation and having other razor with same efficiency was not needed.
Open comb however, was just about perfection. Little nimble "sports-car" shaver, which I felt quite comfortable in my hand (I do use it with my index finger so it sits perfectly, perhaps that's why I prefered piccolo over grande) and the shave itself is just the same, I only prefer agility of the piccolo:
It hit's the right angle so good that I really don't need any other touch-ups, no additional passes and the weight is just fine. If you have other technique, larger hands, your exp. might differ. For me - it's on spot!
For the blades combo - to be honest, there are no blades I found to be particularly bad for this one, some might get dull quicker, some might last longer, but almost any blade worked nice with it. Maybe the best performance could be attached to:
It's such a great shaver that I really do not mind at all. Gold plating is howewer remarkable, the comb is still like new, my father's Grande is still like new, so I guess that only issue existed with the black coating. Blade alignment was not that bad, as some blades do have different geometry, wiggle more/less, and just fit's more aligned. It's not an overkill to adjust it a bit manually if needed, so I wouldn't say this is the major drawback, although the R89 have this alignment much, much better. Perhaps it's the OC design that allows blade to slide more, but that would affect any other brand, which I do not have and hence - can't confirm.
Another "drawback" for shaving enthusiasts may be the thread dimension (M4) which will bound you to Fatip handles only, compared to mostly used M5 for any other brand, so you can switch handles only between Fatips (if you care for creating frankenrazors).
Efficency-wise, I rarely do more than 2 passes. 1x WTG is more than enough for work, day-to-day shaves, no irritations, no nicks, lasts up to evening, sometimes I'd just perform a sligh touch-up on goatee area or on the neck (my beard does grow in different speed on different areas) but the "touch-up" is such a minor improvement that it's not worth performing, unless I feel sorry to waste nice lather. If some hairs haven't grown nicely for today's shave - I don't care, I'll cut them easier tomorrow, and that's it. No fuss about it.
I use boar/synthetic/pure badger brushes, rotate Proraso, Nivea shave creams and Stirling/Cella soaps, without any differences made to Fatip performance. It never clogs, rinses nicely, and a 2-3 pass shave might easily last you for entire weekend. Hand-made, brass all around, lowest in price, made in Italy, what else can you ask from a razor
And as a final redemption, I must admit that it did teach me to better shave, and to improve my technique. After conducting OBIF 2022 challenge (you can search for my inputs in link provided), and returned to R89 I reallized that my technique improved much by using Fatip, and I cannot be more greatful for that. Nowadays, I use it in rotation, for long weekend and shaves that must last, for everyday - speed shaves in 1 pass, or just because it gives me that nostalgic, old-times look and feel, and for the price - it's unbeatable gem. I did browsed for many other newer razors, but to be honest - what else do I need, really? I have one perfect high-quality mild-range razor (R89) I got one super-speed-efficient beast (Piccolo SE OC) and I guess that my journey is finished in razor acquisition... now I only pursuit and enjoy shaving soaps, creams and brushed, razor's quest is quite completed with Fatip.
For those who'd like more combo-information, I post in Fatip Friday thread as well so you can check it out. Anyhow, trully underestimated razor, with all tiny flaws.
After more than a year of extensive usage of Fatip razors and a couple ones being gifted to friends and family, I'd like to share some love and praise for this, by many users - underrated gem of Italian manufacturing. Not being affiliated to Fatip at any way, so this is just my experience with it, like it or not, take it, doubt it, it's up to you. If you find some value in additional information or help for doubt whether to pull the trigger on this razors - feel free to continue reading, share your own opinions, and of course - ask any questions you think I might answer
My journey with Fatip went more from a birthday present preparation. My father used an old razor (with remowed comb, just top cap, handle and bare blade underneath), so I figured out he might like Fatip OC, and I went on purchasing Fatip Grande OC in gold:
When unpacked, I was first impressed with finish and overall "old-school" look, the curve of the head, the plating, the lining on the handle, everything were just perfect. I couldn't restrain myself from trying it out
Againt all reviews, considering Fatip OC to be quite agressive (I'd rather reffer to it as "efficient") I didn't felt any drawbacks. Only nicks I've got - I deserved them after "ough, this is so smooth, this is so nice, I don't feel blade, let's speed up... ough.. there's a nick" so it's very deceptive in it's shave feel.I'd say it's mild face-feel, no burn, even not much an aftershave-burn at all, not much of a blade feel, although you'll always have precise feel where the blade is (if you need special precision) but overall - like someone said "R41 efficiency with R89 smoothness". Hand-made in brass, cheap as peanuts -> it seemed as a winner. My father used it, and his report is that he needed to learn a new angle, which opposed to my opinion that he's well accustomed to super-agressive shaves, I mean - he's not using a blade guard at all (and proven that he's just scraping beard instead of making clear cuts) so this is the only feedback from an "old wolf" and not a negative one.
Afterwards, I found a good discount on Fatip SE and though to buy it for myself. For same price - bit heavier razor, two guards (open comb and safety bar) what can be wrong? It's not that expensive, I liked the curvature of the blade, and being aware of the reviews I was ready to accept the risk of poor black-finish notorious for Fatips. Made an order, received it and wow, was it a beauty?!
My first shave with piccolo was indeed remarkable. If I could explain it in a sentence - it's like a sports car among the razors. The pleasure and feel of the shaving is just like that. And by sports car, to be honest, it's not a Ferrari, more like Alfa Romeo
it's a beauty, it's enjoyable and it has some bugs, you either hate it or adore it to beyond limits. My personal best feel about this razor was the shape of the head, such a nice flow made in transition from top-cap, blade, safety guard (both OC and CC) you almost have no blade feel and yet it's so damn efficient that one pass soon became more than enough for my all Fatip-shaves. If it may be considered as "downside" it just exposed some of my bad-habbits (poor lathering, not-wetting the face and using only water from lather, not brushing the lather long enough into the whiskers, short prep, poor hydratation, not drinking enough water, not using hydratation losions afterwards, using any angle at any place on the face...) so it's not the razor's fault to expose the bad owner. The closed comb (testina gentile) felt just a little, and by little I mean - not worth improvement compared to Muhle R89, just a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more efficient so I passed that one to my father "just in spare" so he can use it, as I already had R89 in regular rotation and having other razor with same efficiency was not needed.Open comb however, was just about perfection. Little nimble "sports-car" shaver, which I felt quite comfortable in my hand (I do use it with my index finger so it sits perfectly, perhaps that's why I prefered piccolo over grande) and the shave itself is just the same, I only prefer agility of the piccolo:
It hit's the right angle so good that I really don't need any other touch-ups, no additional passes and the weight is just fine. If you have other technique, larger hands, your exp. might differ. For me - it's on spot!
For the blades combo - to be honest, there are no blades I found to be particularly bad for this one, some might get dull quicker, some might last longer, but almost any blade worked nice with it. Maybe the best performance could be attached to:
- Persona platinum
- Perma-Sharp
- BIC
- Gillette 7o'clock yellow
- Astra (less longevity)
- Wilkinson black
- Treet (do rust after 2 shaves, due to water retention underneeth the comb teeth)
It's such a great shaver that I really do not mind at all. Gold plating is howewer remarkable, the comb is still like new, my father's Grande is still like new, so I guess that only issue existed with the black coating. Blade alignment was not that bad, as some blades do have different geometry, wiggle more/less, and just fit's more aligned. It's not an overkill to adjust it a bit manually if needed, so I wouldn't say this is the major drawback, although the R89 have this alignment much, much better. Perhaps it's the OC design that allows blade to slide more, but that would affect any other brand, which I do not have and hence - can't confirm.Another "drawback" for shaving enthusiasts may be the thread dimension (M4) which will bound you to Fatip handles only, compared to mostly used M5 for any other brand, so you can switch handles only between Fatips (if you care for creating frankenrazors).
Efficency-wise, I rarely do more than 2 passes. 1x WTG is more than enough for work, day-to-day shaves, no irritations, no nicks, lasts up to evening, sometimes I'd just perform a sligh touch-up on goatee area or on the neck (my beard does grow in different speed on different areas) but the "touch-up" is such a minor improvement that it's not worth performing, unless I feel sorry to waste nice lather. If some hairs haven't grown nicely for today's shave - I don't care, I'll cut them easier tomorrow, and that's it. No fuss about it.
I use boar/synthetic/pure badger brushes, rotate Proraso, Nivea shave creams and Stirling/Cella soaps, without any differences made to Fatip performance. It never clogs, rinses nicely, and a 2-3 pass shave might easily last you for entire weekend. Hand-made, brass all around, lowest in price, made in Italy, what else can you ask from a razor
And as a final redemption, I must admit that it did teach me to better shave, and to improve my technique. After conducting OBIF 2022 challenge (you can search for my inputs in link provided), and returned to R89 I reallized that my technique improved much by using Fatip, and I cannot be more greatful for that. Nowadays, I use it in rotation, for long weekend and shaves that must last, for everyday - speed shaves in 1 pass, or just because it gives me that nostalgic, old-times look and feel, and for the price - it's unbeatable gem. I did browsed for many other newer razors, but to be honest - what else do I need, really? I have one perfect high-quality mild-range razor (R89) I got one super-speed-efficient beast (Piccolo SE OC) and I guess that my journey is finished in razor acquisition... now I only pursuit and enjoy shaving soaps, creams and brushed, razor's quest is quite completed with Fatip.
For those who'd like more combo-information, I post in Fatip Friday thread as well so you can check it out. Anyhow, trully underestimated razor, with all tiny flaws.
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