Thanks, Polarbeard. Now I know. I've always been impressed with that little razor.
The R41, Fatip and Pearl: A shaving guide to the three most aggressive safety razors
- Thread starter Polarbeard
- Start date
Thanks, Polarbeard. Now I know. I've always been impressed with that little razor.
CzechCzar
Use the Fat, Luke!
Gotta say guys,
After nearly tearing my hair out trying to get a good shave out of some other razors, I shaved with the piccolo this morning. Easy, fast, BBS. Two weepers because I wasn't used to using no pressure, but the shave was awesome.
Yell me: what kind of an angle do you use with you FaTips? Steep or shallow?
After nearly tearing my hair out trying to get a good shave out of some other razors, I shaved with the piccolo this morning. Easy, fast, BBS. Two weepers because I wasn't used to using no pressure, but the shave was awesome.
Yell me: what kind of an angle do you use with you FaTips? Steep or shallow?
Thanks Polarbeard, I've been casting about for another razor and the R41 and Fatip are on the list of possibilities. So this was a very timely post for me.
I do very well with a steep angle, but I haven't tried shallow.
CzechCzar
Use the Fat, Luke!
Thanks very much!
I've been backing off of aggression lately and going for the smoother feel
Does anyone know where you can buy a Pearl razor like the ones in this thread? I can see some for sale on eBay but the handles are all different.
Thanks Polarbeard for this informative thread.
I'm now a Piccolo owner because of it!
However, 3 shaves in, I'm not impressed. I'm willing to work at it though.
I started DE shaving at Christmas, with a long handled Merkur 39C Slant. Shaving nearly every day due to fast growth, and always to BBS, the first week was rough. Over the next few weeks, I tried a number of blades (Merkur, Feather, Crystal, Gillette SharpEdge (7 O'clock Yellow) and though I could eventually consistently achieve nick free, irritation BBS shaves, it typically took 4 passes. I then tried my first Astra SP blade and was pleased by its performance - it enabled me to get my BBS routine down to 3 passes(WTG, XTG, ATG)+touchups. Although the Astra SP was the blade I'd tried so far, I still wasn't 100% content as shaves were taking longer than I'd like and considerably more effort than on any YouTube video I've ever seen.
I considering ordering a R41, but reading this thread and others (such as this) convinced me that maybe an R41 was too aggressive and that on cost/performance/ease of use, a Fatip Piccolo might be for me. I ordered one. A few days later I also ordered a 45C and a Progress 570, for comparison purposes. I'm sure you all understand!
While I was waiting for the Piccolo to arrive, I put my lone Polsilver SI blade from my TryABlade sampler in my 39C and was able to get BBS in 3 quick passes on its first use and, consistently thereafter, BBS in just 2.5 passes (I skipped the WTG pass and instead did only "S-Paths"+ATG buffing, plus spot touchups), in 15-20 minutes from preshave to postshave balm. Wow, I was impressed. Crisis averted? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I was still excited about what the mailman was going to bring me!
The Piccolo arrived the other day.
Some observations:
TOP CAP:
The top cap had numerous scuffs on it, out of the box. See image, below.
Can these be buffed out, or will it take off the nickel coating?
note: I just took this photo after 3 days of use; I think that's a piece of lint or white hair near the top right.
BLADE ALIGNMENT:
No issue. Blades go on straight and centred. It's actually better than my 39C in this regard.
My test: Place a piece of denim (I have a section cut from the leg of an old pair of jeans, which I've always used for stropping cartridges, though you could just use a good pair that you're not wearing) on the bathroom counter, place the razor head on the fabric with the handle parallel to the counter, then raise handle until you feel the blade begin to bite. Pull gently towards you. Does the fabric pull towards you? If no, raise handle slightly and repeat, until fabric pulls towards you. When you have found the required angle, raise razor head ever so slightly off fabric and give the razor handle a twist to flip the head 180 degrees. Maintaining angle, lower razor head to fabric. Pull. The resistance should feel identical. If the blade is NOT centred, the blade either will not bite, or will have a different degree of bite.
HANDLE:
Having only used a long-handled Merkur 39C up to this point, I wasn't sure how I was going to like the much smaller Piccolo's handle. I have to admit, after using the Piccolo now for 3 shaves (plus 1 head shave), I have no complaints with the handle's length or weight. Grip is considerably better than my 39C, although I still found a dab of alum on the fingers is better than none.
SHAVING PERFORMANCE:
Day#1:
I decided to put an Astra SP in the Piccolo for its first shave, as the Polsilver SI currently in my 39C had finally started to tug during the previous day's face & head shave (that was 12x face + 4x head shaves on it, amazing!). So with 24 hours of growth on my face, I applied my normal hot water towel for 2-3 minutes, my normal preshave, and a nice thick wet coating of Tabac soap - identical prep to the previous 3 days.
I'd read about blade angles and decide to start with cap flat on face and lower it, rather than the other way around.
For my first ever pass with a Piccolo, I tried doing XTG ear-to-nose, as the Polsilver in the 39C had been happy to do this, and this was after all, a more aggressive razor! The Piccolo managed but it was not happy. On to ATG, the Piccolo struggled. I mean it was hard work to remove hair.
Ok, time to try a different approach: I switched to steep angle (handle parallel to face). Now the razor glided over face, but did not cut much. I found its "happy point" and continued to use that, but it wasn't much better.
Instead of a 20 minute shave, it turned in to a 4 pass, multi-touch-up 35-minute face shave. I could still see stubble, but it was time to call it a day. And despite the ultra light touch I'd perfected on my 39C, I'd given myself pretty bad razor burn. No nicks or weepers though. Also on the plus side, it did better under my chin, to edge of goatee more efficiently than the Polsilver/39C combo had. And, strangely, despite me being able to see stubble during and immediately after the shave, I was actuallly BBS well into the evening.
Day#2: Switched to TOBS Sandalwood soap, otherwise everything else the same. Tried first-pass XTG again (using steep-ish angle), and again, it failed, and I had to switch to a N-to-S WTG pass. That went quite well. Relathered (adding water) and did XTG... not comfortable, toasty but tuggy. Relathered (adding even more water) and did ATG, tuggy. Short hair still visible on throat, rough jawline. Multiple touchups could not get them, and though I still had no weepers, face was getting sore, again. This sucks! I gave up - I put down the Piccolo and using leftover lather, finished off with the 39C with the 12F4H Polsilver in it. 1 pass of touchups and bam, done! BBS! What's up with the Piccolo?
Day#3: Hot shower today, with conditioner on face for 3 minutes. Preshave + Tabac soap. Same Astra SP in the Piccolo again. XTG still not possible. "Be assertive", I remembered one Fatip owner suggesting. Assertiveness made no difference, had to switch to WTG. Went ok. XTG ok. ATG not. Touchups, not. Toast toast toast, I could hit the same spot 5 times and it was still toasty. Was this just a case of bad blade? Ok, time to swap in that well-used Polsilver. A couple of minutes later, face was relatively smooth, not quite BBS in all directions (WTG+XTG only), due to Polsilver being on its last legs. Face stung like hell when alum was applied. I was literally hopping around the bathroom! Decided to try the Piccolo on my head for the first time, with that same Polsilver. 3 days' growth. Razor felt good, more manoeuverable than the 39C on the head and the shorter handle was no issue. Did head relatively quickly, about 12 minutes. Could not get as close as usual, but I put that down to the blade, not the razor. Into the blade bank it goes. At bedtime, I noticed 4 or 5 dried blood spots on my right-side jawline. Must have been slow weepers because I wasn't even aware of them during face shave, alum application, post-shave balm or head shave! Don't know if it was the Piccolo/Astra or the Polsilver/39C.
Day#4*: Used the 39C and the same Astra SP blade that had been near useless in the Piccolo. Did hot flannel + preshave + TOBS Sandalwood soap. No problem on first pass XTG (into S-Path). Followed up with ATG buffing and minor touchups. Awesome shave. 15 minutes from preshave to alum & balm. Impressive all-direction BBS and 0 irritation, 0 weepers. But again, this was the 39C, not the Piccolo.
So, it wasn't a bad blade after all.
For me at least, it seems Piccolo+Astra SP is a problem.
As my face has now had a chance to heal, I will use the Piccolo again tomorrow, with a different blade.
I have no more Polsilvers at the moment and I want to go with something I've got multiples of, so I can compare with other razors (2 others on the way, remember!). So it'll either be a Feather, Yellow(Sharpedge), Crystal, Blue Bird, or Sputnik.
Wish me luck!
I'm now a Piccolo owner because of it!
However, 3 shaves in, I'm not impressed. I'm willing to work at it though.
I started DE shaving at Christmas, with a long handled Merkur 39C Slant. Shaving nearly every day due to fast growth, and always to BBS, the first week was rough. Over the next few weeks, I tried a number of blades (Merkur, Feather, Crystal, Gillette SharpEdge (7 O'clock Yellow) and though I could eventually consistently achieve nick free, irritation BBS shaves, it typically took 4 passes. I then tried my first Astra SP blade and was pleased by its performance - it enabled me to get my BBS routine down to 3 passes(WTG, XTG, ATG)+touchups. Although the Astra SP was the blade I'd tried so far, I still wasn't 100% content as shaves were taking longer than I'd like and considerably more effort than on any YouTube video I've ever seen.
I considering ordering a R41, but reading this thread and others (such as this) convinced me that maybe an R41 was too aggressive and that on cost/performance/ease of use, a Fatip Piccolo might be for me. I ordered one. A few days later I also ordered a 45C and a Progress 570, for comparison purposes. I'm sure you all understand!
While I was waiting for the Piccolo to arrive, I put my lone Polsilver SI blade from my TryABlade sampler in my 39C and was able to get BBS in 3 quick passes on its first use and, consistently thereafter, BBS in just 2.5 passes (I skipped the WTG pass and instead did only "S-Paths"+ATG buffing, plus spot touchups), in 15-20 minutes from preshave to postshave balm. Wow, I was impressed. Crisis averted? Perhaps. Nonetheless, I was still excited about what the mailman was going to bring me!
The Piccolo arrived the other day.
Some observations:
TOP CAP:
The top cap had numerous scuffs on it, out of the box. See image, below.
Can these be buffed out, or will it take off the nickel coating?
note: I just took this photo after 3 days of use; I think that's a piece of lint or white hair near the top right.
BLADE ALIGNMENT:
No issue. Blades go on straight and centred. It's actually better than my 39C in this regard.
My test: Place a piece of denim (I have a section cut from the leg of an old pair of jeans, which I've always used for stropping cartridges, though you could just use a good pair that you're not wearing) on the bathroom counter, place the razor head on the fabric with the handle parallel to the counter, then raise handle until you feel the blade begin to bite. Pull gently towards you. Does the fabric pull towards you? If no, raise handle slightly and repeat, until fabric pulls towards you. When you have found the required angle, raise razor head ever so slightly off fabric and give the razor handle a twist to flip the head 180 degrees. Maintaining angle, lower razor head to fabric. Pull. The resistance should feel identical. If the blade is NOT centred, the blade either will not bite, or will have a different degree of bite.
HANDLE:
Having only used a long-handled Merkur 39C up to this point, I wasn't sure how I was going to like the much smaller Piccolo's handle. I have to admit, after using the Piccolo now for 3 shaves (plus 1 head shave), I have no complaints with the handle's length or weight. Grip is considerably better than my 39C, although I still found a dab of alum on the fingers is better than none.
SHAVING PERFORMANCE:
Day#1:
I decided to put an Astra SP in the Piccolo for its first shave, as the Polsilver SI currently in my 39C had finally started to tug during the previous day's face & head shave (that was 12x face + 4x head shaves on it, amazing!). So with 24 hours of growth on my face, I applied my normal hot water towel for 2-3 minutes, my normal preshave, and a nice thick wet coating of Tabac soap - identical prep to the previous 3 days.
I'd read about blade angles and decide to start with cap flat on face and lower it, rather than the other way around.
For my first ever pass with a Piccolo, I tried doing XTG ear-to-nose, as the Polsilver in the 39C had been happy to do this, and this was after all, a more aggressive razor! The Piccolo managed but it was not happy. On to ATG, the Piccolo struggled. I mean it was hard work to remove hair.
Ok, time to try a different approach: I switched to steep angle (handle parallel to face). Now the razor glided over face, but did not cut much. I found its "happy point" and continued to use that, but it wasn't much better.
Instead of a 20 minute shave, it turned in to a 4 pass, multi-touch-up 35-minute face shave. I could still see stubble, but it was time to call it a day. And despite the ultra light touch I'd perfected on my 39C, I'd given myself pretty bad razor burn. No nicks or weepers though. Also on the plus side, it did better under my chin, to edge of goatee more efficiently than the Polsilver/39C combo had. And, strangely, despite me being able to see stubble during and immediately after the shave, I was actuallly BBS well into the evening.
Day#2: Switched to TOBS Sandalwood soap, otherwise everything else the same. Tried first-pass XTG again (using steep-ish angle), and again, it failed, and I had to switch to a N-to-S WTG pass. That went quite well. Relathered (adding water) and did XTG... not comfortable, toasty but tuggy. Relathered (adding even more water) and did ATG, tuggy. Short hair still visible on throat, rough jawline. Multiple touchups could not get them, and though I still had no weepers, face was getting sore, again. This sucks! I gave up - I put down the Piccolo and using leftover lather, finished off with the 39C with the 12F4H Polsilver in it. 1 pass of touchups and bam, done! BBS! What's up with the Piccolo?
Day#3: Hot shower today, with conditioner on face for 3 minutes. Preshave + Tabac soap. Same Astra SP in the Piccolo again. XTG still not possible. "Be assertive", I remembered one Fatip owner suggesting. Assertiveness made no difference, had to switch to WTG. Went ok. XTG ok. ATG not. Touchups, not. Toast toast toast, I could hit the same spot 5 times and it was still toasty. Was this just a case of bad blade? Ok, time to swap in that well-used Polsilver. A couple of minutes later, face was relatively smooth, not quite BBS in all directions (WTG+XTG only), due to Polsilver being on its last legs. Face stung like hell when alum was applied. I was literally hopping around the bathroom! Decided to try the Piccolo on my head for the first time, with that same Polsilver. 3 days' growth. Razor felt good, more manoeuverable than the 39C on the head and the shorter handle was no issue. Did head relatively quickly, about 12 minutes. Could not get as close as usual, but I put that down to the blade, not the razor. Into the blade bank it goes. At bedtime, I noticed 4 or 5 dried blood spots on my right-side jawline. Must have been slow weepers because I wasn't even aware of them during face shave, alum application, post-shave balm or head shave! Don't know if it was the Piccolo/Astra or the Polsilver/39C.
Day#4*: Used the 39C and the same Astra SP blade that had been near useless in the Piccolo. Did hot flannel + preshave + TOBS Sandalwood soap. No problem on first pass XTG (into S-Path). Followed up with ATG buffing and minor touchups. Awesome shave. 15 minutes from preshave to alum & balm. Impressive all-direction BBS and 0 irritation, 0 weepers. But again, this was the 39C, not the Piccolo.
So, it wasn't a bad blade after all.
For me at least, it seems Piccolo+Astra SP is a problem.
As my face has now had a chance to heal, I will use the Piccolo again tomorrow, with a different blade.
I have no more Polsilvers at the moment and I want to go with something I've got multiples of, so I can compare with other razors (2 others on the way, remember!). So it'll either be a Feather, Yellow(Sharpedge), Crystal, Blue Bird, or Sputnik.
Wish me luck!
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I decided to go with a Feather blade, because as sharp as they supposedly are, I have not found them all that impressive in the 39C, requiring more touchups than normal. Could the Piccolo do better?
Same prep as before, with TOBS Sandalwood today. Started off with an XTG/S-Path pass, using fairly steep angle. To my relief, it worked well! Relathered and did ATG buffing, also at steep angle. Pretty good, but there were a few spots that were still rough: below ears under jawline, a few areas along jawline and a patch on the throat. Did them over and over from different angles of attack, being wary of drawing blood and/or causing irritation. Changed to shallow angle, relathered those spots got a bit closer but some areas just wouldn't get BBS. I stopped with face about 95% BBS, having not drawn any blood and with only very very minor razor burn where I'd done multiple touchups. So it was pretty good, but it was more work than the 39C with Polsilver or Astra SP, and about on par with my past 39C/Feather results.
Piccolo did good!
Feathers just don't do it for me.
Tomorrow, I'm going to use my lone GSB!
Same prep as before, with TOBS Sandalwood today. Started off with an XTG/S-Path pass, using fairly steep angle. To my relief, it worked well! Relathered and did ATG buffing, also at steep angle. Pretty good, but there were a few spots that were still rough: below ears under jawline, a few areas along jawline and a patch on the throat. Did them over and over from different angles of attack, being wary of drawing blood and/or causing irritation. Changed to shallow angle, relathered those spots got a bit closer but some areas just wouldn't get BBS. I stopped with face about 95% BBS, having not drawn any blood and with only very very minor razor burn where I'd done multiple touchups. So it was pretty good, but it was more work than the 39C with Polsilver or Astra SP, and about on par with my past 39C/Feather results.
Piccolo did good!
Feathers just don't do it for me.
Tomorrow, I'm going to use my lone GSB!
Great write up and comparison. I have just started trying feather blades but am too afraid to put it into the R 41.
Daniel8 - The GSB should work really well in your Fatip. I find them to be smooth out of the wrapper and a great shave in most things I own.
+1
the GSB should be fine with the piccolo. BTW, I consider what I see on the picture a deffective/damaged item and would return it.
So looking for a more efficient shave than yesterday, today (Tuesday) I was excited to be try my first GSB ever - and was hoping the Piccolo would finally wow me today.
Same prep and soap as yesterday. I started first pass with my usual XTG/S-Path, starting with a shallow angle today as I'd started steep yesterday. The angle worked, but a quick check behind that first swipe indicated hair reduction was not as consistent as I expect so I immediately adjusted to a medium-steep (20 degree?) angle. That worked nicely, and the neck was pleasingly easy. ATG buffing next, using the same angle. Working neck was uneventful, in other words good. Working the jawlines and each cheek, I noticed the sound of "toast" disappeared more quickly than I'm used to. However when I ran my fingers over my cheeks and jawline, I noticed they were still a little rough. Under chin was also disappointingly not as close as it should/could be. AND there were actually a couple of small patches on my neck that looked like they'd barely been touched.
I relathered these areas and got them as good as I could. Cheeks seems to require a very shallow angle to get BBS. Did same on jawline, took a bit of work and change of angle to get BBS or rather as near to BBS as possible there. Chin was futile - I did additional S-N, then W-to-E and E-to-W, followed by N-S and diagonals in every imaginable direction and razor angle but stubble was still visible and it felt like sandpaper there.
Weeper free again, the alum detected only light burn on left jawline near the under ear trouble spot, rest of face and chin = nothing.
5 hours later, jawlines were already a bit scratchy, right cheek was 100% BBS ATG but left cheek was 95% BBS ATG - it felt like ULTRA fine grit sandpaper, which was a new feel for me as stubble usually comes in feeling rough. 12 hours later, cheeks are feeling gritty ATG but still smooth WTG, and jawlines are now rough ATG.
So, acceptable but frankly disappointing, due to the amount of effort required to achieve a good result. Sure, I have high standards, but I know what's possible (on my face) so it's not unrealistic. The unevenness from left to right proves I need to continue to refine my technique with this razor and I'm happy to continue the pursuit of perfection.
I'll try the GSB in my 39C tomorrow for comparison, and then in the Piccolo the next day.
Same prep and soap as yesterday. I started first pass with my usual XTG/S-Path, starting with a shallow angle today as I'd started steep yesterday. The angle worked, but a quick check behind that first swipe indicated hair reduction was not as consistent as I expect so I immediately adjusted to a medium-steep (20 degree?) angle. That worked nicely, and the neck was pleasingly easy. ATG buffing next, using the same angle. Working neck was uneventful, in other words good. Working the jawlines and each cheek, I noticed the sound of "toast" disappeared more quickly than I'm used to. However when I ran my fingers over my cheeks and jawline, I noticed they were still a little rough. Under chin was also disappointingly not as close as it should/could be. AND there were actually a couple of small patches on my neck that looked like they'd barely been touched.
I relathered these areas and got them as good as I could. Cheeks seems to require a very shallow angle to get BBS. Did same on jawline, took a bit of work and change of angle to get BBS or rather as near to BBS as possible there. Chin was futile - I did additional S-N, then W-to-E and E-to-W, followed by N-S and diagonals in every imaginable direction and razor angle but stubble was still visible and it felt like sandpaper there.
Weeper free again, the alum detected only light burn on left jawline near the under ear trouble spot, rest of face and chin = nothing.
5 hours later, jawlines were already a bit scratchy, right cheek was 100% BBS ATG but left cheek was 95% BBS ATG - it felt like ULTRA fine grit sandpaper, which was a new feel for me as stubble usually comes in feeling rough. 12 hours later, cheeks are feeling gritty ATG but still smooth WTG, and jawlines are now rough ATG.
So, acceptable but frankly disappointing, due to the amount of effort required to achieve a good result. Sure, I have high standards, but I know what's possible (on my face) so it's not unrealistic. The unevenness from left to right proves I need to continue to refine my technique with this razor and I'm happy to continue the pursuit of perfection.
I'll try the GSB in my 39C tomorrow for comparison, and then in the Piccolo the next day.
Bought from Europe, and as the razor is so cheap to begin with, return shipping is not worth the bother. I'll try oven cleaner and/or metal polish.
Continuing where I left off...
So I'd said I was going to put the GSB into my 39C today for a back-to-back comparison with the Piccolo. I did do that, but because I didn't want my Piccolo to feel left out, after completing the face shave with the 39C I moved the GSB into the Piccolo for a head shave (my 2nd with the razor). Before I get to that, I should note that my jawline was actually still somewhat sore this morning from yesterday's shave, surprising me as I hadn't originally thought it was that bad.
Same prep, soap as method as before.
FACE SHAVE (Merkur 39C): Without going into great detail, it was a pleasing, easy, and relatively quick shave. 100% BBS everywhere except underside of chin (which was "pretty good" at perhaps an 8/10 for closeness today whereas yesterday using same blade in the Piccolo was a 5 or 6 there). I somehow drew 4 tiny spots of blood on my neck during one of the passes - they disappeared with a wipe of lather, and I think sealed before I rinsed off. 12 hours post shave, I was still 100% BBS all directions, now at 15 hours, I'm just starting to feel hair come in. No new irritation, though even as I type this I can still feel where the Piccolo got me.
HEAD SHAVE (Piccolo): This was my 2nd Piccolo head shave, 1st with the GSB (in any razor), and 17th DE head shave to date. It was easy, it was quick, it was BBS, it was blood free. 16 minutes from start to finish including lathering. This was without a doubt the best DE head shave I've had since switching to DE. No nicks/no weepers. Good job, Piccolo! I'll have to use this blade in the 39C next head shave for comparison... which means I'll set this blade aside and reuse yesterday's Feather blade again tomorrow.
---
I know I'm still in early days with the Piccolo, but at this point, it seems to me that
... the Piccolo's supposed higher level of aggressiveness compared to the 39C does not seem to provide me a closer face shave or a more efficient face shave - in fact it the opposite. It would say the Piccolo is likely more forgiving than the 39C in terms of blood letting, but not razor burn. The Piccolo/GSB combo is awesome for head shaving.
I'll continue to experiment with the Piccolo and will post an update here should I find a breakthrough that finally wows me.
---
Oh, and regarding the from-the-factory top plate scratches:
I was able to polish out most of the finer scratches by hand with metail polish (creating many micro scratches in the process), but some of scratches, which I've circled below (because reflections make the top plate hard to photograph clearly) are too deep to do anything about. I'm going to contact Fatip. There's no reason scratches like that should be passing QC, if they have such a thing.
So I'd said I was going to put the GSB into my 39C today for a back-to-back comparison with the Piccolo. I did do that, but because I didn't want my Piccolo to feel left out, after completing the face shave with the 39C I moved the GSB into the Piccolo for a head shave (my 2nd with the razor). Before I get to that, I should note that my jawline was actually still somewhat sore this morning from yesterday's shave, surprising me as I hadn't originally thought it was that bad.
Same prep, soap as method as before.
FACE SHAVE (Merkur 39C): Without going into great detail, it was a pleasing, easy, and relatively quick shave. 100% BBS everywhere except underside of chin (which was "pretty good" at perhaps an 8/10 for closeness today whereas yesterday using same blade in the Piccolo was a 5 or 6 there). I somehow drew 4 tiny spots of blood on my neck during one of the passes - they disappeared with a wipe of lather, and I think sealed before I rinsed off. 12 hours post shave, I was still 100% BBS all directions, now at 15 hours, I'm just starting to feel hair come in. No new irritation, though even as I type this I can still feel where the Piccolo got me.
HEAD SHAVE (Piccolo): This was my 2nd Piccolo head shave, 1st with the GSB (in any razor), and 17th DE head shave to date. It was easy, it was quick, it was BBS, it was blood free. 16 minutes from start to finish including lathering. This was without a doubt the best DE head shave I've had since switching to DE. No nicks/no weepers. Good job, Piccolo! I'll have to use this blade in the 39C next head shave for comparison... which means I'll set this blade aside and reuse yesterday's Feather blade again tomorrow.
---
I know I'm still in early days with the Piccolo, but at this point, it seems to me that
... the Piccolo's supposed higher level of aggressiveness compared to the 39C does not seem to provide me a closer face shave or a more efficient face shave - in fact it the opposite. It would say the Piccolo is likely more forgiving than the 39C in terms of blood letting, but not razor burn. The Piccolo/GSB combo is awesome for head shaving.
I'll continue to experiment with the Piccolo and will post an update here should I find a breakthrough that finally wows me.
---
Oh, and regarding the from-the-factory top plate scratches:
I was able to polish out most of the finer scratches by hand with metail polish (creating many micro scratches in the process), but some of scratches, which I've circled below (because reflections make the top plate hard to photograph clearly) are too deep to do anything about. I'm going to contact Fatip. There's no reason scratches like that should be passing QC, if they have such a thing.
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It'd shock you what passes Fatip's QC. Some of them are just plain nasty.
I have to agree with you there - I get great head shaves with my Grande, and feel it performs better there than it does on the face.
I guess it's time to share my thoughts on the 3 razors after using them for around 2 years. To tell you the truth, my favourite is probably the Pearl. I also like very much the R41 and am using it quite often. Whatever blades I tried, I couldn't like the Piccolo. I even haven't been using it during the last 5-6 months. I love its looks. But the shaving I don't like at all. I guess I just gave up on the Fatip. Yes, it can give a shave as close as the R41. After a few months of using the R41, I discovered that for my hyper-tough beard the shallow blade angle is the best. Since then I understood why some guys on the forum don't call it a beast. For newbies who want to try an open comb I'd recommend the Pearls [or whatever other brands they are sold under]. I personally consider the R41 a razor newbies would eventually get to like. But not the Piccolo - it is probably the most dangerous for newbies of all the three.
An excellent write-up. Very well done and comprehensive. 
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