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What makes the Gillette FatBoy so great?

I love my Fatboy everything about it.The looks,the weight the feel of it in my hand.On setting 7 i get a smooth,close,comfortable shave as good as it gets for me.It amazes me how good it is every time i pick it up.Mines a 1959 E2 and what i love the most is the history behind it and being part of that history now.When i'm not of this world and somebody else owns it i hope they love it as much as i do.
 
From a more objective point of view the Fatboy has everything I don't WANT to like. It has a unnecessary TTO mechanism, unnecessary adjustability, it is not the best razor, too bulky, not really a rigid design... But something keeps me from selling my three ordinary Fatboys, my Executive Fatboy and my Toggle... Sometimes it is good not to be too rational...
 
I have my Dads Fatboy that my brother and I bought him for his birthday in '58 or 9 for under $2.00, He used it till he passed in '86. I've been shaving with it lately and like it better than my Gillette Slim that I've been shaving with for the past 60 years. I like the fatter handle and the different angle of the head. It just seems to be more comfortable to shave with, more so than my Slim or even the Gillette Black Beauty 109
 
I have my Dads Fatboy that my brother and I bought him for his birthday in '58 or 9 for under $2.00, He used it till he passed in '86. I've been shaving with it lately and like it better than my Gillette Slim that I've been shaving with for the past 60 years. I like the fatter handle and the different angle of the head. It just seems to be more comfortable to shave with, more so than my Slim or even the Gillette Black Beauty 109
You need to show us your well used Fatboy. Boy, having to decide which to use between the Fatboy or a BB 109. Love both, Fatboy for the heft and the 109 for the extra length of the handle. Both excellent shavers.
 
I use straights most of the time but the odd time I do use a Fatboy and I will never let them go

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The Fat Boy is a fine razor, which never lets me down. Initially I thought I liked the Slim/Black Beauties better due to their slimmer head design, however, the Fatboy more and more became a pleasure to use for me.

So in the meantime it's a tie between the Fatboy and Gillette's other adjustable razors in terms of my personal preference.

SOTD:
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Yeah, I like the FatBoy, too, for some of the same reasons. But I never have (and never will) spend over $200 Samolians on a razor.


SPECIFICALLY

I did not put this in the title of the post. Here's what I want to know--since I've never spent over $100 on a razor in my life, I want to restrict my respondents to those who have.

If you have bought one or more razors well over $100 and come back to find you prefer the FatBoy to the new razor, inquiriing minds want to know why. Well, at least I do. If you prefer the expensive new ones, that great! If you've never bought an expensive new hotness and like the Fatboy, that's great!

I'm talking to you @DaveHStone except he's not searchable, so he may not show up. If someone knows him, please invite him to explain this post.



And not to pick on Dave, I saw one other post where someone ended up saying they liked the FatBoy over their $200+ razor, I'm still looking for that post, will get back here when I find it.
To answer: I've purchased a complete Karve set, Asylum RX, Evolution and Ambassador, original Tradere, and several other higher end vintage shavers. I won't say that I have a strong preference for my FBs. I will say, they are consistently high performing mid-range razors. Some people find them too bulky or short-handled, but subjectively I would say there is a larger following than detractors.

The weight contributes to its efficiency, i.e., the razor does the work. The adjustment range is well suited to the American market of the time, consisting of men who had grown up with straights, single/double rings, Techs, News, moving on to the notably milder Super Speeds, etc.. The FB covers the range, albeit (IME) milder than the New, but very comparable in efficiency.

I run the FBs through my rotation because they handle extremely well.
 

Rosseforp

I think this fits, Gents
I'm gonna have to say that even though I love my Fatboy, my Executive Fatboy just seems to have been put together with slightly better parts and usually gets the nod. But not always.
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The first razor (D4) I ever wanted (two years before I even needed to shave).
Seven+ years later I bought my own brand spankin' new Gillette Adjustable (L1) and it was my daily driver for 47 1/2 years.
It wasn't until 2013 that I discovered my L1 Slim WASN'T the Adjustable I thought it was!
In the meantime I had swooned for the three-piece New and after-market handles - oh, I loved handles!
And then reading this thread I thought there might be some relationship between my first crush and my current heart-throbs:

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This D4 FatBoy (2nd from left) was replated eight years ago in Rhodium with the doors in their original nickel (some deluded homage to the Gillette President - I don't know why). Anyway, I thought I'd share my ah-ha moment.
I know that doesn't answer the original question, but sometimes what makes something great is not how it shaves, but how it stimulates a happy memory.

Tom
 
I have a few Fatboy's in my collection. One for me and one for each of my kids (one is wet shaving already, the other is ready soon). I switch between the one on the left and a RR Mamba as my razors. The middle one is for camping/travel, the case one collects dust under the sink. One pass on 4/5 WTG is my go-to.

One is in a WCS B&B branded case, onei n a Cowboy Leather Etsy case and one in original case.

Local finds and one was a B&B BDT for $20 or so, way back.

To me, it's the perfect razor in terms of design, looks & build quality. Other razors come and go, but this is what all modern and vintage razors strive to be, but fail....even the slim.

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nemo

Lunatic Fringe
Staff member
To me, it's the perfect razor in terms of design, looks & build quality. Other razors come and go, but this is what all modern and vintage razors strive to be, but fail....even the slim.
I also believe the Fatboy is superior to the Slim -- a debatable discussion here at B&B.
 

Ron R

I survived a lathey foreman
I have both the Gillette Fatboy & Slim, both are great adjustable razors and I find the Fatboy a little more comfortable in my hand + my birthdate year. I shave on #7 setting and for pickups go to #8 setting seems to work.
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Have some great shaves!
 
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I have the same Fatboy that I bought in college over 50 years ago. I have also added a Super Speed, a Slim Adjustable, and a 40's style (also an Edwin Jaeger 89 that's nowhere near as good for me as the Gillettes). Truth be told, I think the Slim does the best job, the Super Speed is next, and the FatBoy is third. But there's still something about the FB that keeps me coming back to it....maybe it's the weight, but it just feels good in my hand.
 
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