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Fatip razor (pros & cons)

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:

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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?!

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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:

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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)
Now, for most notorious thing regarding Fatips - yes, the black coating went off. Now I have this scruffy old, "vintage" look and I like it nevertheless :) 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.

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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.
 
The Fatip thread size is M4.5. Some vintage razor handles using the 10-32 standard are close enough to work with the Fatip head. Try loading the blade with the cap upside down, put the base plate on and tighten down. Usually, the blade will center itself as it rides down the posts and is then clamped in the right position. This works also for the Gillette Old Type razors.

Your Dad might feel right at home using a steep blade angle, which works well with the Fatip OC razors. It is not scraping the skin, but very effective.
 
Thanks for correction on thread size, my source might be mistaken (from retailer, like they care). Agree for steep angle, but after couple rounds it's so intuitive that just following natural razor geometry works great so I stopped paying attention after a while, now I just enjoy this gem :) and my father never complained again. Just a learning curve I guess
 
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.

I could not agree more with the parallel between Alfa Romeo and Fatip. Great review. Thanks for sharing.
 
Very nice review. I am the happy owner of a nickel picollo and a focs slant, whitch I both love...
Then you, kind Sir, might be the best one to clear my recent question - is there a major difference in Fatip slants vs. regular OC i.e.?
Lo storto is such a masterpiece and I'm weighing a bit on it but from few YT reviews only smoother shave for slant is reported, otherwise - both are equally efficient. True? 🤔
 
Excellent review and experience sharing @couch_potato! And it is an exact copy of my own experience with Fatip as well (well except for the dad-part - mine has had his beard now for quite some time and he is more of a Gillette cartridge guy. I have invited him to a barbershop later this month!).

I wanted an all brass razor after finding out about Zamak and then came across Fatip. A little worried about the quality of the finish reading reviews (and yes my SE started wear after just a couple of months). But they are so cool and so effective I love them (I went on and bought more) to bits.

Like you I have the Lo Storto on my wanted list (the Piccolo version and open comb). I think it is mega efficient due to the design. There is one caveat for me and that is I shave using mostly Gillette Slides which is sort of emulating the way the FOCS works anyway. But I can tell you that using a Fatip while doing slide strokes is super smooth!

I really think the Fatip is my holy grail razor. All that is left now is het every type of Fatip 😂😉😁

Cheers,

Guido

Ps: happy birthday Stan @FarmerTan!!
 
Thanks for your very elaborate story of your experiences with Fatip.... I used to own 2 in the beginning period of my wet shaving. I thought they shave to rough at that time. But as with you, my technique has improved since then. Now you have me wondering whether I should give them another go.....
 
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. Now you have me wondering whether I should give them another go.....

Yes...what are you waiting for?
I tried my OC Piccolo a few months after I bought it. I was literally afraid...and despite having a small blade alignment issue it was a great shave and still today with a 3-4 day growth, it's an unbelievable performer. Go for it.
 
@bartje-p as @Lostrazor said - go for it 😁
I can't remember the member name, but someone on B&B said a thing regarding DE razors - light touch, and to achieve that take half pressure off, of what you think "light touch" is. With Fatip couldn't agree more. It's so well adjusted in blade angle that no pressure is needed, just pay more attention to face-prep, scrub lather into whiskers more diligently and you'd be surprised. I use it daily and it just reminds me to not neglect other elements of shave, it can be as smooth as R89 indeed.
 
Your Fatip experience perfectly matches mine. The SE was my first Fatip and I learned from it that OC is the way to go. The black coating wearing off also didn't bother me a bit. For me however, after a year, the piccolo handle felt a little thin causing a cramped feeling in my old joints. So I got myself a Grande in nickel and replaced the comb with the golden comb from my SE. Very stylish and the thicker handle feels better to me (although I would prefer the hole at the bottom closed...).
I am experimenting with a Feather Artist Club DX Kamisori these days but –for now at least– still use the Fatip for a no-risk 3rd pass! The Fatip always has a Willy's blade in it, for me –with a huge margin– the best blade I've ever used in a DE razor.
 
@JanVanDerVoort thanks for sharing your part of story. The hollow handle of Grande should benefit the audio feedback, but I haven't used them long enough in parallel to confirm. Still - lovely handle, specially in Lo Storto I'm aiming to ☺️
 
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