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Recommend a budget Stainless Steel head & handle ?

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for the excellent advice and recommendations.
I have decided to splash out on a ...(drum roll ).... a Fatip Gentile Safety Razor for £22.80 including delivery. The factor that swung it for me was its medium aggressiveness over the R89, and that it was an ideal beginners every day shaver - including majority excellent reviews for the Gentile ( I didn’t want to push my luck too far, and therefore resisted buying a Fatip open comb or slant as a regular shaver with my sensitive skin ).
With the money I saved, I could start to experiment with pre-shave oil and brushes.
Perhaps a stainless steel awaits further down the journey of wet shaving....
 
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Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for the excellent advice and recommendations.
I have decided to splash out on a ...(drum roll ).... a Fatip Gentile Safety Razor for £22.80 including delivery. The factor that swung it for me was its medium aggressiveness over the R89, and that it was an ideal beginners every day shaver - including majority excellent reviews for the Gentile ( I didn’t want to push my luck too far, and therefore resisted buying a Fatip open comb or slant as a regular shaver with my sensitive skin ).
With the money I saved, I could start to experiment with pre-shave oil and brushes.
Perhaps a stainless steel awaits further down the journey of wet shaving....

If I'd known it didn't have to be SS, I'd have mentioned the excellent brass Fatips.


FOCS(2).Gold.Chrome.Piled.640JPG.JPG



Do not be afraid of the FOCS. It's easy to use. Very smooth. Not aggressive, but effective. It's a top tier razor albeit inexpensive. It also comes in gold.

All Fatips are good if the QC is good.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
If I'd known it didn't have to be SS, I'd have mentioned the excellent brass Fatips.


View attachment 1373908


Do not be afraid of the FOCS. It's easy to use. Very smooth. Not aggressive, but effective. It's a top tier razor albeit inexpensive. It also comes in gold.

All Fatips are good if the QC is good.

Happy shaves,

Jim

Dear Jim,
For a beginner such as myself, is the FOCS too risky as a daily shaver ?.
It was about £6 more than the Gentile. I read the reviews, but the slant was recommended for more experienced shavers who have developed a competent technique.
I don’t have a beard, but do grow noticeable stubble, hence the Gentile was a safe option.

Regards
 
Cafebarian, I bought the gold version ( I do hope there isn’t any difference in quality or usage over the chrome version ?)

Having many Fatips I wouldn't worry Gold is a good finish. Did you get a Grande, Piccolo, Nobel, wood or the new Il grosso?
 

Chan Eil Whiskers

Fumbling about.
Dear Jim,
For a beginner such as myself, is the FOCS too risky as a daily shaver ?.
It was about £6 more than the Gentile. I read the reviews, but the slant was recommended for more experienced shavers who have developed a competent technique.
I don’t have a beard, but do grow noticeable stubble, hence the Gentile was a safe option.

Regards


In my opinion the FOCS is fine as a beginner's razor. Others might disagree.

I've used the FOCS as a Daily Driver. I mean day after day month after month. I have a tough to shave, wiry beard but other than that not an especially heavy beard. I'd call it average old man whiskers other than a very difficult soul patch area.

My skin is a bit easily irritated and bothered and the FOCS tends to not bother my skin.


$Steep Angle.jpg$Shallow Angle.jpg


People make out like slants are advanced razors. Maybe some are. Not the FOCS. It's used exactly like any other top DE razor. Steep angle. Light pressure.

Of course everyone's free to try a shallow angle if they want, but steep is better in my experience with Fatips and many other razors.

Nothing wrong with the Fatip you purchased. It's a bit milder than the FOCS and a bit less efficient but not much (just a bit). You'll like it, I think.

Happy shaves,

Jim
 
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Thank you for the excellent advice and recommendations.
I have decided to splash out on a ...(drum roll ).... a Fatip Gentile Safety Razor for £22.80 including delivery. The factor that swung it for me was its medium aggressiveness over the R89, and that it was an ideal beginners every day shaver - including majority excellent reviews for the Gentile ( I didn’t want to push my luck too far, and therefore resisted buying a Fatip open comb or slant as a regular shaver with my sensitive skin ).
With the money I saved, I could start to experiment with pre-shave oil and brushes.
Perhaps a stainless steel awaits further down the journey of wet shaving....
I have used a Van Der Hagen for quite a few years, as a beginner to learn technique. Fast forward to now, as I tried many blades in the VDH, including the vaunted Feather, was not getting a close or efficient shave. Was given a Parker 91R as a gift(on my wish list), and I pretty sure this will be my forever razor.
20211122_055923.jpg
For me, with a German Wilkie blade, closeness and efficiency are top notch with this razor, and no irritation. Sometimes I have to look to make sure I put a blade in it. I have sensitive skin, but with this razor, you would never know. Just my .02...
 
Great razors, but the MKII is a bit on the aggressive side.

Would never recommend a Fendrihan... had a MKII for a couple years, even tried revisiting it. So bad that I threw it in recyclables last year as it wasn't deemed good enough to even PIF
 
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Would never recommend a Fendrihan... had a MKII for a couple years, even tried revisiting it. So bad that I threw it in recyclables last year as it wasn't deemed good enough to even PIF
Agree about the MKII, but my MKI is an excellent razor. It's only drawback is the whole dual comb thing. Not a fan of those.
 
Agree about the MKII, but my MKI is an excellent razor. It's only drawback is the whole dual comb thing. Not a fan of those.
That and the scalloped guard felt very very rough (sharp). Funny thing is that I liked it in 2017 since at that time only had two razors
 
This is probably a typical newbie question - but once you load the head with your preferred blade in the Fatip gentile, do you screw the handle down as tight as possible ? Or when there is just enough resistance? ( I tried lightly tightening it, but the blade misaligned itself whilst shaving ).
 
This is probably a typical newbie question - but once you load the head with your preferred blade in the Fatip gentile, do you screw the handle down as tight as possible ? Or when there is just enough resistance? ( I tried lightly tightening it, but the blade misaligned itself whilst shaving ).
As with all razors I gently tighten it down not over tighten. The handle shouldn't work it's way loose.
 
If the handle does work itself loose - I’ll try tightening it just a bit more - my Gillette Tech handle is tightened until there is resistance, and it works.
1) Cafebarian, I’ve also noticed that the blade has to be loaded more carefully during the tightening process, otherwise it becomes misaligned (not a problem with the Gillette Tech as it has tighter pins to hold the blade ).
2) After use, is there a particular regime that should be used ? - I just remove the blade clean it and then disassemble the razor and air dry it.
3) So far the Voskhod Blades are working very well for my sensitive skin, but I would like a more BBS shave, is there a slightly more aggressive blade (short of Feather or Nacet ), that you can recommend?. The Gentile is definitely more efficient & aggressive than the Gillette Tech.
 

Tirvine

ancient grey sweatophile
At 100 pounds you are in the neighborhood of what an Above the Tie Windsor head costs. The mild/regular plate on that head would be an excellent lifetime investment in my belief. As to blades, I do not find Nacets nearly as aggressive (or short lived) as Feathers. They offer comfort quite similar to Gillette Silver Blues, in my experience. I can get about three good shaves from a Feather, a few weeks from a Nacet, and a month from a Silver Blue.
 
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