Differences between a Fatboy and a Slim

B

Browndog

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2016
Location
Ipswich QLD
Hi all,
New to wet shaving here, as I love retro and old stuff, I just had to buy myself a Fatboy and I got a Slim for good measure and just through luck it turned out to be my birth razor too. Gorgeous looking pieces of kit if you ask me. I've been using the Fatboy set on 5 and found that to be as aggressive as I need to get a good shave. I decided to give the Slim a go on the weekend thinking the longer handle and thinner head would give better "feel" for want of a better word. Anyway I set the Slim to 5 and found I was not getting any cut. I loosened it off and cranked it up to 9 and still wasn't satisfied so I finished the shave with the Fatboy. Later comparing the gaps between the two, the gap appeared the same with the Fatboy on 5 and the Slim on 9 both the razors have Feathers in them. I'm wondering if anyone can say that the Slim is a less aggressive razor or is something wrong with mine? They both appear to be in excellent condition.

Cheers

Browndog
 
There's also a chance that the blade gaps have changed over the years and need to be adjusted. We have a member here who can do that for a nominal fee.
 
Browndog said:
Hi all,
New to wet shaving here, as I love retro and old stuff, I just had to buy myself a Fatboy and I got a Slim for good measure and just through luck it turned out to be my birth razor too. Gorgeous looking pieces of kit if you ask me. I've been using the Fatboy set on 5 and found that to be as aggressive as I need to get a good shave. I decided to give the Slim a go on the weekend thinking the longer handle and thinner head would give better "feel" for want of a better word. Anyway I set the Slim to 5 and found I was not getting any cut. I loosened it off and cranked it up to 9 and still wasn't satisfied so I finished the shave with the Fatboy. Later comparing the gaps between the two, the gap appeared the same with the Fatboy on 5 and the Slim on 9 both the razors have Feathers in them. I'm wondering if anyone can say that the Slim is a less aggressive razor or is something wrong with mine? They both appear to be in excellent condition.

Cheers

Browndog
Click to expand...

Pics would help but that doesn't sound right at all.

The head geometry is different, so different angle slightly when using but the most I've heard in terms of difference between them is about 1 click, ie 5 = 6 or 4 = 5 etc, I can't recall which way they go.
 
Here is a picture of the two razors, you can see the gap is the same, but the Slim does not cut the same as the Fatboy. As someone said it could be due to the angle.
razors.jpg
 
Browndog said:
Hi all,
New to wet shaving here, as I love retro and old stuff, I just had to buy myself a Fatboy and I got a Slim for good measure and just through luck it turned out to be my birth razor too. Gorgeous looking pieces of kit if you ask me. I've been using the Fatboy set on 5 and found that to be as aggressive as I need to get a good shave. I decided to give the Slim a go on the weekend thinking the longer handle and thinner head would give better "feel" for want of a better word. Anyway I set the Slim to 5 and found I was not getting any cut. I loosened it off and cranked it up to 9 and still wasn't satisfied so I finished the shave with the Fatboy. Later comparing the gaps between the two, the gap appeared the same with the Fatboy on 5 and the Slim on 9 both the razors have Feathers in them. I'm wondering if anyone can say that the Slim is a less aggressive razor or is something wrong with mine? They both appear to be in excellent condition.

Cheers

Browndog
Click to expand...
Blade guide is out if the setting on 9 is not giving you any kind of decent shave on the slim
 
Browndog said:
Here is a picture of the two razors, you can see the gap is the same, but the Slim does not cut the same as the Fatboy. As someone said it could be due to the angle.
Click to expand...

The head geometry is slightly different, Slim 'flatter', and produces a different blade angle but it should not produce that much difference...

FatBoy58 said:
Blade guide is out if the setting on 9 is not giving you any kind of decent shave on the slim
Click to expand...

... Yeah but the front on shot makes it hard to pick the problem - is side on possible? Both sides and both front on would be really nice - at setting 9 and setting 1 to be REALLY complete :)
 
I think it is fairly obvious from end on the difference, but when you look at the Slim front on set on 1 you can still see a gap between the bar and the blade.
1.jpg

SETTING 1

9.jpg

SETTING 9
 
I don't think the blade gap is the same. The Fat has a higher dome and bends the blade more, even if the gap might be similar, which I don't think they are. My eye can see a difference front and side on. The higher dome of the Fat will make the angle of attack different, and make the slim seem like it has less room for error to find the edge. Point being, if they were both the same, Gillette wouldn't have bothered making both.
 
"Anyway I set the Slim to 5 and found I was not getting any cut. I loosened it off and cranked it up to 9 and still wasn't satisfied"

The key that it is an issue as per the quote @Browndog which leads to me to the conclusion it's possibly F@#!*
 
They will always be differences but as the OP said they are huge - more than I would normally expect.

A little hard with only pics but editing to add a line can help -



More pronounced here -



My suspicion is that the marked guard on the Fatboy is actually bent DOWN and giving a more aggro shave. Your thoughts
@FatBoy58 ?
 
Mark1966 said:
They will always be differences but as the OP said they are huge - more than I would normally expect.

A little hard with only pics but editing to add a line can help -



More pronounced here -



My suspicion is that the marked guard on the Fatboy is actually bent DOWN and giving a more aggro shave. Your thoughts
@FatBoy58 ?
Click to expand...
Easier to see the issue in the hand but they both look whacko if those pics are perfectly aligned and same from both sides
 
I opened the gap on the Slim out about 4 clicks and I had it set on 9 which gave me a similar shave to the Fatboy on 5. I'll open it out another 4 clicks and see how it goes.
 
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