Gillette adjustable fatboy first shave

[Hawkeye_90]

I used some new gear today

the adjustable fat boy setting to 3. I found it delightful. I did 3 passes both with and against the grain. I got an incredibly smooth shave with no cuts, nicks, or bumps. There was no irritation either. I used a new but inexpensive silver star blade. It performed well. It was both sharp and smooth. I am curious how long that will hold. All in all one of the best shaves I have had in recent memory. That fat boy is SWEET! I will up the setting a little bit next time. The soap was cella, and performed without any complaint.

 

[DesertIguana]

Two element that make Razor work well are Good Sharp Blade, and Technigue.

Fatboy’s are great tool.

 

[Beefdrippings]

I prefer the fat boy to the slim. I like it wide open, at least for a WTG pass. It’s fine, quite enjoyable in fact. YMMV of course.

 

[nemo]

the adjustable fat boy setting to 3. I found it delightful. I did 3 passes both with and against the grain. I got an incredibly smooth shave

Nice! Congrats on a fine and popular piece of Gillette history.

Fatboy’s are great tool.

You finally chased one down?

 

[DesertIguana]

Nice! Congrats on a fine and popular piece of Gillette history.



You finally chased one down?

Nope but keep trying eBay.

Fatboy’s in pristine shape bring big bucks.

 

[nemo]

Nope but keep trying eBay.

Fatboy’s in pristine shape bring big bucks.

Years ago a member here and I had a contest going, see who could get a Fatboy first for under $20.
I won with a very short lead. I thought those days were over.

Not so, one went last week for $16
Remain vigilant!

 

[Joezamboni]

Years ago a member here and I had a contest going, see who could get a Fatboy first for under $20.
I won with a very short lead. I thought those days were over.

Not so, one went last week for $16
Remain vigilant!

Deals do exist thankfully. Got a near mint one for $36.50 with case in August where the only issue was it was over or under clocked, forget which one but it was easy to fix. Then another that was in pretty dang good shape with case for $30 in october. Looked ratty as heck but cleaned up great. You really have to be vigilant to catch a deal sadly and be willing to take a risk sometimes.

 

[JL 52]

I’ve got my first Fatboy arriving in the mail soon as well and I’m just as excited to try it.

The Merkur Progress was one of my latest RAD acquisitions and it easily could have been my first and last razor if I had known what I know today. Being able to adjust the aggression in between passes is a nice perk but the real value to me is in being able to adjust the razor to my needs on that given day. The Progress is crazy smooth and comfortable and there’s no wonder why Merkur didn’t feel the need to change that razor after all these decades. If the Fatboy is remotely close to the Progress I’ll be a happy camper.

I also recently picked up a Blackland Osprey and it’s jaw-droppingly awesome. That said, my brand new Progress with a travel case was a fifth of the price tag. I bought the Osprey because I had the means to this year, but I’d recommend the Progress in a heartbeat.

 

[Hair Scraper]

In the 2.5 years I’ve been DE shaving I’ve bought 7 Fatboy’s ranging in price from $10-$25 USD. I’ve found all of them in antique shops or malls. The first 5 were in a lot of 10 razors I bought from one vendor. Some shop owners now know that I use Gillettes and will mention that they’ve got a new one in to show me when I walk in the door. There’s a '59 in a shop near me right now for $49.

For those that can, get off of this Internet thingy, (after you finish reading this, of course ,) and check out brick & mortar stores. Give it a try.

Here’s my current bunch.

 

[Filudo]

Here are 3 Fatboy stories. I do have +-7. A) One ugly I paid $26 plus shipping and tax. It shaved OK but the appearance bothered me ; so I sent it to RE before reading all that you can find here. I said, it shaves FINE, just refinish. Of course after a while I got it back, finish is gray and dull (better than what it looked but NOT near what I expected....no shine) and the problem: it doesn't shave well (need to set it to 7-8 to get what I had at 5).

B) Next is the other story: got one that looked new (w box) for $90 + tax and shipping and it cut my face....the bars were NOT even. I told the seller and he said send it back.....shipping to Ca (would have costed me $22 and 24 back....$46 wasted. So instead Isent it to the other popular refinish and service person listed around here. Said: it looks new BUT bars uneven and it cuts me. Well it came back and it's still a cutter of skin....nothing was done or something was done but it did not help....(mind you I didn't use it right away).

C) Now I sent there a second one.....also bad finish $30's....and said: gold finish please....that one looks and shaves very nice now.

I do have 2 real Executives that are just fine (one shiny and darker and the other lighter.....seems to happen to some Gillette razors, not sure if it's the lacquer that vanished and then then water and soap exposure).

 

[Hawkeye_90]

Second shave today with my fatboy, I upped the setting one, and it was much more aggressive. I had a really close shave yesterday, and it probably wasn't a good idea to make it more aggressive. One pass shaved my entire face with no clean up.

 

[BigJ]

Congratulations! Great to be able to use and enjoy a classic razor!

 

[Southbound1]

I’ve got my first Fatboy arriving in the mail soon as well and I’m just as excited to try it.

The Merkur Progress was one of my latest RAD acquisitions and it easily could have been my first and last razor if I had known what I know today. Being able to adjust the aggression in between passes is a nice perk but the real value to me is in being able to adjust the razor to my needs on that given day. The Progress is crazy smooth and comfortable and there’s no wonder why Merkur didn’t feel the need to change that razor after all these decades. If the Fatboy is remotely close to the Progress I’ll be a happy camper.

I also recently picked up a Blackland Osprey and it’s jaw-droppingly awesome. That said, my brand new Progress with a travel case was a fifth of the price tag. I bought the Osprey because I had the means to this year, but I’d recommend the Progress in a heartbeat.

I agree. With an adjustable (slim)i start out on 7 then do the rest of the passes on 5, last atg on the mustache area at setting 3

 

[JWCowboy]

Deals do exist thankfully. Got a near mint one for $36.50 with case in August where the only issue was it was over or under clocked, forget which one but it was easy to fix. Then another that was in pretty dang good shape with case for $30 in october. Looked ratty as heck but cleaned up great. You really have to be vigilant to catch a deal sadly and be willing to take a risk sometimes. View attachment 1948887View attachment 1948888

Amazing clean up job! What did you use on the plastic case?

 

[Joezamboni]

Amazing clean up job! What did you use on the plastic case?

Novus 3 bottle plastic Polish kit. Isn’t some extreme abrasive but gets a lot of the small stuff out so the case doesnt end up being thinner and compromised.

 

[seattleshaver]

Several years ago I got an open comb and that's been my daily razor but I just decided to try a Fatboy and it arrived a couple of days ago and now that's my main razor.

It cost about $60 including tax, shipping, etc but I just decided to get one and didn't really care about the price.

I did the first pass on 3 and the against the grain on 9 just to test it out. It worked fine. I'll probably settle on 3 for the first pass and 7 for the second against the grain pass.

In the past I had a Slim, it was fine but I like the feel of the Fatboy much better. There's nothing wrong with my "Old" Ball Tip Short Tooth Open Comb Gillette either (and I do prefer that over the "New") but I'll just be using the Fatboy for a while I'm sure.