While the more established members here will discuss about whether it's a Aristocrat #x or a Aristocrat #y because of the Patent Number or the Diamond Silo or the endcaps or the knurling........., it appears to me that the most readily available razors that newbies have issues with in telling apart is the Slim and the Fatboy.
So often on Ebay Auctions the description will state that the razor is a Fatboy when it's clearly a Slim. Whether this is a mistake by the seller or an attempt to cash in on the higher prices fetched because of the Fatboy recognition I'm not sure.
As a still relatively new newbie, to give something back to the forum I though I'd put this quick guide together. Hopefully this simple guide helps you more accurately pick the slims from the Fatboys. It's not a complete guide and doesn't cover things like the Fatboy bottom adjuster or the gold slim ( Aristocrat ) or the gold Fatboy ( Executive ) but hopefully helps you make a more educated "guess".
( Please note it's 2am and as an insomniac I can't sleep so if there's any errors here please point them out so I can rectify ( and it's also why the pics aren't the best ). I am NOT responsible for incorrect purchase made using this guide
)
Here's my quick guide for telling the two units apart.
In all pictures the slim is on the left and the Fatboy on the Right.
Case
If you're lucky enough to find a cased Slim or Fatboy then they're pretty easy to tell apart though beware, I've seen Slims in Fatboy cases and ( more rarely ) the other way around . In fact keep your eyes open because you see all sorts of razors in all sorts of cases that may or may not be a match. You can be bitten badly or you can also get some really nice buys ( this goes for all cases and all razors not just the two discussed here )
The slim case comes in a number of colours white, red , blue ( and maybe more ) and the backing "glitter" came in a number of colours as well.
Razors
While they're pretty similar , note that the Fatboy is slightly shorter than the Slim. Note that the TTO knob and the "body" of the razor handle on the slim is much longer. The Fatboy is thicker ( hence the name ) and the TTO knob is more obviously wider than the handle and has the smooth area above the knurling.
If you can't see the TTO knob , another way is to look at the Adjuster Knob. Most obviously the "grip" on the Fatboy knob has long vertical lines while the slim has a smaller knurled pattern. Also the adjuster on the slim has smooth ( where the numbers are ) , knurled, smooth while the Fatboy has smooth then knurled only ( does that make any sense ? )
Slim: 9 cm ( 3.5 inch )
Fatboy: 8.5 cm (3.35 inch )
Dating
Underneath the head of the razor you'll find a date code which consist of a letter on the LHS and a number on the RHS. From this we can tell the year and quarter in which the razor was manufactured.
Given that the Fatboys were manufacture before the Slim you'll see them with the ranges between D1 to G4.
Slims will have the markings of G1 to N4 so there was one year of crossover.
There's a full chart on the Wiki here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/US_Gillette_Dating_Information
Below is the Fatboy , note the G 2 underneath the Gillete logo, so manufactured second quarter of 1961 .
( This doesn't only apply to the slim and the Fatboy, most USA razors manufactured after 1950 will have these datings on them )
Head
The Fatboy has a much higher domed head
( Note the differences between the knurling on the adjuster as mentioned above )
Weight
The Fatboy is fat and the Slim is slim.......
Slim approx 71 gm ( 2.5 oz )
Fatboy approx 78 gm (2.8 oz )
Adjustable ?
While this probably won't help identify a razor a quick discussion about the adjustable component. Most often you'll see razors discussed in terms of "agressiveness". If you take for example the Super Speed family, they put this out in a Blue tip ( mild ), Silver tip ( Normal ) , Red Tip ( Aggressive ). With an adjustable razor you can change the "aggressiveness" all in one razor.
Notes On both the Slim and the Fatboy when you change the setting ( by turning the adjuster knob at the top between settings 1 and 9 ) you should open the doors, adjust your setting then close the doors. Common belief is that if you don't do this you may put undo stress on the system. In addition, once you've made a change tighten the TTO Knob and once you meet pressure you should turn it another 1/4 twist to lock it off.
What does the adjuster do ? On the LHS picture the adjuster on both unit is set to 1. On the RHS the unit is set to 9. Note the height of the "bars" in the silo. 1 raises the bars, 9 lowers the bars. Settings in between ... set the bars in between these two "extremes"
The effect of this is that it changes the pressure on the actual blade and increases or decreases the gap between the razor edge and the safety bar.
So compare the blade distance setting on 1 on the LHS versus the setting on 9 on the RHS in the picture below.
In general the larger the gap between the razor and the guard, the more blade that is exposed and the more "agressive" the razor is.
Gee 9 razors in 1
General consensus seems to be that if you're new to DEing and have one of these, start at the 3 setting and practice your technique at this setting. Once you become more experienced you can start playing with the adjuster to find the right setting for you. Some people find their ideal setting and just leave it on that, others will use different settings for different passes.
Hoping that this helps. If it helps one person on the forum at least I'll feel like I've contributed something back to the forum .
BTW If you don't want to face the unknown factor of buying off Ebay in terms of model, the condition or the price, try using B&Bs own Buy/Sell/Trade ( BST ). Takes all the risk out of the purchasing
So often on Ebay Auctions the description will state that the razor is a Fatboy when it's clearly a Slim. Whether this is a mistake by the seller or an attempt to cash in on the higher prices fetched because of the Fatboy recognition I'm not sure.
As a still relatively new newbie, to give something back to the forum I though I'd put this quick guide together. Hopefully this simple guide helps you more accurately pick the slims from the Fatboys. It's not a complete guide and doesn't cover things like the Fatboy bottom adjuster or the gold slim ( Aristocrat ) or the gold Fatboy ( Executive ) but hopefully helps you make a more educated "guess".
( Please note it's 2am and as an insomniac I can't sleep so if there's any errors here please point them out so I can rectify ( and it's also why the pics aren't the best ). I am NOT responsible for incorrect purchase made using this guide
) Here's my quick guide for telling the two units apart.
In all pictures the slim is on the left and the Fatboy on the Right.
Case
If you're lucky enough to find a cased Slim or Fatboy then they're pretty easy to tell apart though beware, I've seen Slims in Fatboy cases and ( more rarely ) the other way around . In fact keep your eyes open because you see all sorts of razors in all sorts of cases that may or may not be a match. You can be bitten badly or you can also get some really nice buys ( this goes for all cases and all razors not just the two discussed here )
The slim case comes in a number of colours white, red , blue ( and maybe more ) and the backing "glitter" came in a number of colours as well.
Razors
While they're pretty similar , note that the Fatboy is slightly shorter than the Slim. Note that the TTO knob and the "body" of the razor handle on the slim is much longer. The Fatboy is thicker ( hence the name ) and the TTO knob is more obviously wider than the handle and has the smooth area above the knurling.
If you can't see the TTO knob , another way is to look at the Adjuster Knob. Most obviously the "grip" on the Fatboy knob has long vertical lines while the slim has a smaller knurled pattern. Also the adjuster on the slim has smooth ( where the numbers are ) , knurled, smooth while the Fatboy has smooth then knurled only ( does that make any sense ? )
Slim: 9 cm ( 3.5 inch )
Fatboy: 8.5 cm (3.35 inch )
Dating
Underneath the head of the razor you'll find a date code which consist of a letter on the LHS and a number on the RHS. From this we can tell the year and quarter in which the razor was manufactured.
Given that the Fatboys were manufacture before the Slim you'll see them with the ranges between D1 to G4.
Slims will have the markings of G1 to N4 so there was one year of crossover.
There's a full chart on the Wiki here: http://wiki.badgerandblade.com/index.php/US_Gillette_Dating_Information
Below is the Fatboy , note the G 2 underneath the Gillete logo, so manufactured second quarter of 1961 .
( This doesn't only apply to the slim and the Fatboy, most USA razors manufactured after 1950 will have these datings on them )
Head
The Fatboy has a much higher domed head
( Note the differences between the knurling on the adjuster as mentioned above )
Weight
The Fatboy is fat and the Slim is slim.......
Slim approx 71 gm ( 2.5 oz )
Fatboy approx 78 gm (2.8 oz )
Adjustable ?
While this probably won't help identify a razor a quick discussion about the adjustable component. Most often you'll see razors discussed in terms of "agressiveness". If you take for example the Super Speed family, they put this out in a Blue tip ( mild ), Silver tip ( Normal ) , Red Tip ( Aggressive ). With an adjustable razor you can change the "aggressiveness" all in one razor.
Notes On both the Slim and the Fatboy when you change the setting ( by turning the adjuster knob at the top between settings 1 and 9 ) you should open the doors, adjust your setting then close the doors. Common belief is that if you don't do this you may put undo stress on the system. In addition, once you've made a change tighten the TTO Knob and once you meet pressure you should turn it another 1/4 twist to lock it off.
What does the adjuster do ? On the LHS picture the adjuster on both unit is set to 1. On the RHS the unit is set to 9. Note the height of the "bars" in the silo. 1 raises the bars, 9 lowers the bars. Settings in between ... set the bars in between these two "extremes"
The effect of this is that it changes the pressure on the actual blade and increases or decreases the gap between the razor edge and the safety bar.
So compare the blade distance setting on 1 on the LHS versus the setting on 9 on the RHS in the picture below.
In general the larger the gap between the razor and the guard, the more blade that is exposed and the more "agressive" the razor is.
Gee 9 razors in 1
General consensus seems to be that if you're new to DEing and have one of these, start at the 3 setting and practice your technique at this setting. Once you become more experienced you can start playing with the adjuster to find the right setting for you. Some people find their ideal setting and just leave it on that, others will use different settings for different passes.
Hoping that this helps. If it helps one person on the forum at least I'll feel like I've contributed something back to the forum .
BTW If you don't want to face the unknown factor of buying off Ebay in terms of model, the condition or the price, try using B&Bs own Buy/Sell/Trade ( BST ). Takes all the risk out of the purchasing
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and I've seen so many useful posts disappear into oblivion as they're replaced by later posts on the forums. 
. 
