I can't wait to take the "Pepsi" challenge with my new adjustables. My Fatboy came in today, and the Black Beauty should be in by the end of the week. I'll start with the Fatboy and then post pictures and shave with the BB once it's arrived. Nice review and informative thread.
Gillette Fat Boy and Slim: Compare and Contrast
- Thread starter Borderboss
- Start date
Btw I have two slims and a fatboy. One of the slims is out of whack, gives a rough shave. The other one and the fatboy are fine. Probably a good candidate for a servicing like mine is
Same shave, just a different feel in the hand. I love both but use the Fatboy less frequent because it is in an original case and is more of a "show" piece for me. I scored it at a thrift shop for .99, yes that Ninety Nine CENTS. I would say it is in B condition as most are that were ever used for the past 55 years. My Slims are my daily shavers though.
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- #24
After a couple of weeks, I was noticing that generally, my shaves were better with the FB than with the Slim when both were set on 7. I took the advice of some here and set the Slim to 8, and the shaves are more in line with the FB now.
Thanks for the recommendation that the Slim should be set on a single more-aggressive setting than the FB. I concur.
Thanks for the recommendation that the Slim should be set on a single more-aggressive setting than the FB. I concur.
Or the gap setting is not correct.
I have the slim and have bid on a couple of Fatboys on ebay. I guess I just didn't want one bad enough to bid enough to get one. If they really do shave the same, I'll probably just stay with the slim.
I know that this is an old thread, but is this referring to the bottom (TTO) dial, not the top (blade settings) dial? And is it necessary to do this on all adjustables .. ie ss, slims, fatboys, SA etc?
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
The extra quarter turn refers to the bottom dial used to close the doors, not to the top dial used to adjust the blade aggression. I believe this applies to all Gillette adjustables, it certainly applies to the 195 and the Slim. The adjustables I have tried by other makers have not required or had the extra quarter turn.
Thank you for your reply.
So does this simply mean that when using the TTO dial to close the "doors" it's important to turn it a bit past that first perceived "end point"... so to turn until it really will not go any further?
Is this a design flaw or part of a deliberate design decision?
So does this simply mean that when using the TTO dial to close the "doors" it's important to turn it a bit past that first perceived "end point"... so to turn until it really will not go any further?
Is this a design flaw or part of a deliberate design decision?
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Rod, that final 1/4 turn was part of the design. (But your Toggle doesn’t have it.)
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
It is important to close the TTO doors including the quarter turn else the blade is not properly clamped. It should be obvious when turning it, as the final quarter turn has a noticalbly different tension. It is by design I believe.
Fat boy and Slim are the only razors I use these days. Maybe a Super Speed every once in a while if I'm in a crazy mood.
Thanks for the info guys. Got it!
The reason that i have asked is because I had my very first shave with a Fatboy today and thought that it was going to rip the skin of my face. I then saw that it was set on 9 so dialed it down to 5 and still the same. Dialed it down to 1 and while it was slightly better, it was still pretty awful. I then tried my first shave with a slim (other side of the face!) and it was exactly the same experience.
I really love my 55 flare tip... and it gives me such an easy close shave. I was expecting the Fatboy and / or the slim to be an even smoother experience so was quite shocked!
However, I figured that a few million users over many decades and a whole bunch of enthusiasts on this forum who have shown a lot of love for these two razors are probably more likely to be correct in their assessment of these two razors than my current experience suggests - and that it was therefore most likely that there is either are problem with my technique, the razors or the blades.
I "think" that the razors are mechanically ok and that the blade gaps look even etc but I'm pretty new at all this so may be completely wrong! So I did this complicated swap around with all the blades and will see how it goes tomorrow. Maybe it was this "extra quarter turn" that was causing the issue so i will pay close attention to that tomorrow and report back!
@Hannah's Dad .. I haven't tried the toggle as yet ... but it's on the list!
The reason that i have asked is because I had my very first shave with a Fatboy today and thought that it was going to rip the skin of my face. I then saw that it was set on 9 so dialed it down to 5 and still the same. Dialed it down to 1 and while it was slightly better, it was still pretty awful. I then tried my first shave with a slim (other side of the face!) and it was exactly the same experience.
I really love my 55 flare tip... and it gives me such an easy close shave. I was expecting the Fatboy and / or the slim to be an even smoother experience so was quite shocked!
However, I figured that a few million users over many decades and a whole bunch of enthusiasts on this forum who have shown a lot of love for these two razors are probably more likely to be correct in their assessment of these two razors than my current experience suggests - and that it was therefore most likely that there is either are problem with my technique, the razors or the blades.
I "think" that the razors are mechanically ok and that the blade gaps look even etc but I'm pretty new at all this so may be completely wrong! So I did this complicated swap around with all the blades and will see how it goes tomorrow. Maybe it was this "extra quarter turn" that was causing the issue so i will pay close attention to that tomorrow and report back!
@Hannah's Dad .. I haven't tried the toggle as yet ... but it's on the list!
Hannah's Dad
I Can See Better Than Bigfoot.
Try riding the Toggle with a steep angle, Rod (handle more parallel to face).
Depending on the numerical setting, that quarter turn seems to be variable. Sometimes less, sometimes more.
I agree that the Slim and Fatboy shave very similarly. But I think they’re both too heavy and the Fatboy is a little awkward. IMHO the Superadjustable 109 is superior to both: Longer, more head heavy balance and two settings on the close end that the other two razors don’t have. The “8” and “9” settings on the SA would be a “10” and “11” on the Slim and Fatboy. Particularly fine us the post ‘77 SA with the nylon base plate, the “Black Beauty”
I started wetshaving with a '52 SS and Merkur 34G. I tried both Slim and Fatboy early on and didn't like them. I found myself constantly fiddling with the settings, and never finding a setting I liked. I sold the FB and Pif'd the Slim, preferring DE's with a fixed setting.
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- #40
Fast forward seven years from my originally starting this thread. I sold the Slim but still have the FB. Knowing what I know now, if I didn't have the FB, I wouldn't buy one. My favorite razor in my rotation is a 1957 Red Tip. After that, I have a Super Speed from 1948-1950 (the era with no date code). I like that better than the FB too. I keep the FB out of habit, but might get around to cleaning it up and selling it.
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