Problem with a Gillette fatboy

[georgekyr]

I have been using my father's fatboy for a long time now. It is in a very good condition but has one problem. The dialing mechanism works from lower to higher settings, but if you want to get back low you have to remove the blade, dial down and then press with your fingers down the mechanism. I usually set it back to 1 and the afterwards to the desired position.
Most of the time it isn't a big deal, but there are some days while drying the razor in a towel the dial gets moving and then I forget to reset it and the next day I wonder why I have an irritated skin with a feather blade when just one day before it was smooth. Of course it is because instead of a 3 setting I have used actually a 9.
I have read the guides about dismantling it, but I have the version than cannot be opened easily. Is there anything else I can do apart from the troublesome procedure mentioned in the guides for opening it? It has sentimental value and I don't want to risk destroying it.
So far it has been boiled a lot of times and nothing seems to get better...
Any suggestions welcomed!

 

[BBrad]

Glad to hear that you are enjoying a "legacy" razor. Shaving with a piece of your own family history is priceless!

The problem that you have is one of friction . . . something is keeping the adjuster tang from obeying the law of gravity and returning to the "lower" position.

I have seen this problem before, and found two causes . . . internal crud, or a bent head or tang.

If there is contact between any one of the four adjustment "fingers" that stick up through the base plate and the plate itself, then that is your problem.

If there is no physical interference, the "crud" problem applies. Soap scum, mineral scale, etc. can bind the tang enough to inhibit movement.

If a long soak (hours, if needed) in very hot (just shy of boiling) water (with dish soap added) doesn't free it up, try a liberal spray of WD-40 along with physical manipulation. If that doesn't do it, then dis-assembly is an option . . . but I would try everything short of that before just taking the thing apart!

BTW - I have never had to take one apart to solve this problem . . . just keep working at it if it is because of crud.

 

[georgekyr]

Thank you BBrad!
Well I put overnight the fatboy, some dish soap and boiling water in a vacuum flask. When I woke up I picked the razor up from the thermos, and using a toothipick I got rid of some depositions on the metal I could see. I also jerked the plate up and down a lot of times...It actually started to follow the law of gravity. After about 5 minutes of the above routine with cleaning whatever rose up and jerking it was pretty much freed. Final touch the WD-40 which made it like new!