What's new

How To: Late Fatboy and Slim disassembly

You know how Gillette changed to a press fit connector in the post 59 fatboys and the slims following them? Well I figured out how to disassemble that press fit crimped cap without damaging the razor.

full


Tools needed:
5 MM socket
Hammer
Needle Nose Pliers

Put the razor head down against some cardboard on a flat, firm surface. Have the razor closed all the way. Put the 5 MM end of the socket against the crimped connector and tap it a few times with the hammer until it slides further into the razor. This will expand the crimps back out. CAREFUL!!! This will also compress the internal spring and when you remove the socket the end cap and spring can go flying. If the end cap is still in place within the razor simply twist the TTO knob slowly while covering the bottom to catch the soon to be flying spring and end cap.

To put it back together just use the needle nose pliers to re-crimp the connector.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Thanks for posting that! Has anybody else tried it?

I have a far from perfect condition fatboy that I'll experiment with but I'm curious if anyone else has done this yet and how well it works once it's all back together.
 
Let me know how it goes on your respective ends gentlemen. Also let me know if you've got other questions. My Slim reassembled fine. It can be a little tricky to re-compress the spring and crimp the connector again. I just put the pliers in straight down and used them to compress the spring while squeezing them at the same time. No need to crimp all the way around, just the 4 sides like from the factory.
 
Let me know how it goes on your respective ends gentlemen. Also let me know if you've got other questions. My Slim reassembled fine. It can be a little tricky to re-compress the spring and crimp the connector again. I just put the pliers in straight down and used them to compress the spring while squeezing them at the same time. No need to crimp all the way around, just the 4 sides like from the factory.

Could you wrap a string around it, and feed it though the center and out the head of the razor to keep the spring compressed. When you're done, you just cut the string. I have a razor I picked up that is mint but for it's broken click spring.
 
Could you wrap a string around it, and feed it though the center and out the head of the razor to keep the spring compressed. When you're done, you just cut the string. I have a razor I picked up that is mint but for it's broken click spring.

That's a little overkill... it's not that tough if you use the end of the pliers to compress and then squeeze them to crimp. Once you do it once it's easy...
 
Thanks for the tip. This way is much faster. I just disassembled one of my slims with this method. It's easy and quick.
 
I just disassembled a F3 Fatboy. :biggrin: Thank you very much! Unfortunately I also found that the retaining ring that holds the tto knob on the handle is part of the handle and it is worn down so bad that I can't fix it. But I now know how to disassemble them, and it still shaves like any other fatboy. Thank you very much for making this information available.

edit: and easily reassembled it. This is gold. Thanks again!
 
The TTO knob on the bottom of the handle should be press fit in. You should be able to pop it out using the normal fatboy dissection instructions. I have some fatboy handle parts lying around if you need.
 
John, Can you take a picture of the winding mechanism inside of the handle? If so I may be able to help you.
 
unbefreakinlievable! worked like a charm...of course, I didn't have a 5 mm, so I had to alternate between 5/16 and 9/32, started bending the end connector piece, but got my F4 apart very simply...you really should find the contact info for the folks at this site and let them know this, it is very useful information.
now my only conundrum is that I spent so much time straightening out my Fatboy before taking it apart, getting it very close to perfect, it's hard to tell where I need to bend it...but I'll find it, I guarantee you I will!

By the way, that's a bunch!
 
Hi All

I couldn't find a 5mm socket around my place. So I took the top end of a biro pen off, turned the biro up side down (which measure 5mm) and proceeded to use the same method to dismantle the razor. It worked well! Even the pen survived! However, while trying to bend the centre spindle back to its straightness...it snapped!
 
Top Bottom