I'm Thinking Of Getting An OC Razor. Fatip Piccolo Best Bang For Buck?

[Alum Ladd]

Hello friends and colleagues!

I am interested in starting to use an OC razor.

At the moment Connaught Shaving is selling the Fatip Piccolo nickel plated for the very good price of £17.40 (About $13.20), included is a pack of 5 Silver Blues. It looks a handsome piece, and is brass I believe.

I would get a vintage Gillette, but OC Gillette's are considerably more than treble the price on the UK bay at the moment. I want to see if an OC agrees with me and the Piccolo seems an economic starter OC given my slightly strained resources. (TL;DR. Explaining it to Mrs. Ladd)

Is the Fatip a good entry-level OC?
Any advice on how to use one? My technique is quite good now, but this experience is only with CC razors at this time.

Connaught is also doing Cella at a great price which I have never used but would love to, so I will be buying that too from them if I do get the Fatip.
RAD I know..

 

[APBinNCA]

Greetings Simon. Why not jump on the bandwagon and get a new Blackland Era? It's not as cheap, but for a stainless razor it certainly is. I believe the conversion works out to about 60 quid. Otherwise, if you decide on a Fatip, make sure to start with the slant as it is considerably milder than the regular OC as far as I have read.

 

[Tanuki]

The Piccolo is fine as an OC entry point. The slant version is great. Around my parts (Pacific NW USA) Gillette Old Types and and New Long Combs are cheap as chips (nobody says that here) if a little time is spent in vintage shops.

 

[silverlifter]

The slant version is great.

This. If the FOCS was available here, I would have snapped one up long ago. The only thing I am not keen on is the handle, but apparently the Yaqi stainless steel ones have the same threading.

 

[Alum Ladd]

It appears that in 2016 Fatip drastically changed the blade exposure on the Piccolo, making it milder. I suppose that would be the V1 & V2 as I have seen it referred to.

 

[Tanuki]

For a bigger handle, buy a Fatip Grande. Same heads. I believe the Fatip threading is 4.5 mm. The widely used modern 5mm thread handles do not fit.

 

[Alum Ladd]

Gents, the FOCS slant aspect worries me as I have no idea how to use a slant at this time. The OC is enough of an advance at my stage of development, at 6 months DE work, though I'm learning fast I must say due to enormous help from B&B colleagues. But I'm not complacent about my journey at all regarding slant razors at this time.

 

[Filudo]

I would recommend any Fatip OC.

 

[APBinNCA]

Gents, the FOCS slant aspect worries me as I have no idea how to use a slant at this time. The OC is enough of an advance at my stage of development, at 6 months DE work, though I'm learning fast I must say due to enormous help from B&B colleagues. But I'm not complacent about my journey at all regarding slant razors at this time.

The thing with mild slants is you just make N to S or S to N passes. It does the slide for you. It's kind of cheating with how mild yet effective they are. My only caution is they have a habit of grabbing facial hair for those of us with moustaches.

 

[silverlifter]

Gents, the FOCS slant aspect worries me as I have no idea how to use a slant at this time.

Don't let that stop you! If nothing else, the slant will help you dial in your touch. They aren't particularly scary, they are just really efficient. Or, think of it as a shortcut to a place you are bound to end up anyway.

 

[Tanuki]

It appears that in 2016 Fatip drastically changed the blade exposure on the Piccolo, making it milder. I suppose that would be the V1 & V2 as I have seen it referred to.

True. The v1/v2 difference is all in the width of the cap. I moved my older Fatips along, the newer, less bitey ones suit me fine. They are plenty efficient in either version.

If you are comfortable with your CC technique, you can make the jump to either OC or FOCS in my opinion. The FOCS is a top, top slant, but not difficult. I personally wouldn't just toss you a Wunderbar and say 'go for it', but I think the FOCS and straight Piccolo OC have similar learning curves.

Why not jump on the bandwagon and get a new Blackland Era?

Ya got me! I just pre-ordered an OC Era levels 3 and 4.

 

[APBinNCA]

Ya got me! I just pre-ordered an OC Era levels 3 and 4.

OC 3 for me! And the stand, I am sucker for handles with a hole...
The word on another forum is that the 3 is right about a Karve B in terms of feel. We will have to see in terms of efficiency. I wanted a 4 also, but I am going to wait because it might duplicate another razor I have.

 

[FarmerTan]

Yes, no need to fear a slant. As alluded to above, my only problem with mine is it is boring! I have a Razorock German 37 Slant. It's really just a boring shave. I suppose you COULD cut yourself with it, but it's almost something you'd have to try to do.

I have ZERO experience with ANY other Slanted Razor. There was a gent that somehow or other warped old Gillette OC (I think?) into a slant that really intrigued and interested me, but I have not attempted to do this myself.

 

[luv2shave]

Hello friends and colleagues!

I am interested in starting to use an OC razor.

At the moment Connaught Shaving is selling the Fatip Piccolo nickel plated for the very good price of £17.40 (About $13.20), included is a pack of 5 Silver Blues. It looks a handsome piece, and is brass I believe.

I would get a vintage Gillette, but OC Gillette's are considerably more than treble the price on the UK bay at the moment. I want to see if an OC agrees with me and the Piccolo seems an economic starter OC given my slightly strained resources. (TL;DR. Explaining it to Mrs. Ladd)

Is the Fatip a good entry-level OC?
Any advice on how to use one? My technique is quite good now, but this experience is only with CC razors at this time.

Connaught is also doing Cella at a great price which I have never used but would love to, so I will be buying that too from them if I do get the Fatip.
RAD I know..

Yes. Full brass razor, may need some blade alignment once in a while but its true VFM OC starter razor.

 

[EclipseRedRing]

How about looking on the UK Bay for a vintage 7 O'Clock open comb razor? They are considerably cheaper, are almost identical to Gillette, and were acquired by them at some point; I use one often. There is nothing to fear from OC razors and no new technique is needed in my opinion. Some OC razors are very mild and the reputation they have for aggression is mistaken I think. It is blade gap, blade exposure, and head geometry that determines aggression, not open/closed comb design. Others may disagree. Good luck, I use OC razors most of the time and love them.

 

[Multum in parvo]

For a decent OC the nickeled Piccolo is really hard to beat nevertheless I find the Fatip Slant version/FOCS even smoother and equally efficient. Just shave as you normally do, the geometry of the Slant will do the rest.

Yet there are many others…

 

[Dave himself]

My first OC was a Fatip Piccolo even though the Piccolo has a shorter handle I think I heard its heavier than the Grande because it has a solid handle and the Grande has a hollow handle. I got the V2 which I can tell from the V1 buy the Fatip brand being stamped on the base plate. It is a little aggressive but what a smooth shaver IMHO it's 1 of my most efficient razors I have used loaded with a Nacet I can get a 2 pass BBS shave with very little touch ups with no irritation. The thing that really sold me was its a solid brass razor witch should out last me and for the price it was a no brainer. Mine still has a mild aliment issue which takes about 10 seconds to sort out when it happens. Hope this helps

Dave

 

[bartje-p]

I found the Piccolo (or the grande) kinda rough feeling when shaving. I would advise taking a look at a RR Sloc, one of the most smooth OC razors I have used so far.

 

[albsat]

Fatip Grande is better in my opinion. Better handle.

 

[Jack Goossen]

I think the Piccolo is a non aggressive OC razor. Maybe this is the case for most OC razors. Their reputation is exaggerated.
If you seek a bit more challenge, any OC will do, I think, but I would recommend the R41 in that case, because it is a little bit more challenging than the Fatip, and you might want to take it a step higher very soon after purchasing the Piccolo.
So: consider skipping the Piccolo and buy the R41. You'll have saved money in the end.
I have been reading some of your posts (if I remember this right, we started wet shaving and coming here about the same time) and I am sure you will master the R41 in no time