Gillette 195 (Fatboy) advice

[Bailes90]

First off this kinda covers two sub forums this one and the de blades one, I decided to put it here as the razor is in the title,
Now I am calling on your advice I had a lovely shave yesterday as I am new to this razor and adjustable razors, Yesterday I had a 48 hour growth and used a polsilver Si blade set at 6 WTG and 4 XTG, great shave today I used a new Polsilver SI blade set at 5 WTG and 5 XTG, a smooth shave but didn't feel great, also to note it really stung when I used the alum block as oppose to yesterday, now my question is this, is the blade too sharp for me or is the razor set too high how would I know the difference?
I am meticulous with my angle but as I am new to this razor it probably isn't perfect.

 

[Jel999]

Assuming the two blades are the same, the fact that you went more aggressive on ATG on the 2nd shave, the answer would seem to be that 5 is too high to use ATG.

 

[Bailes90]

Assuming the two blades are the same, the fact that you went more aggressive on ATG on the 2nd shave, the answer would seem to be that 5 is too high to use ATG.

ATG as in against the grain? I never go against the grain only with the grain then cross the grain at 45 degree to the growth roughly

 

[Jel999]

Ah, XTG means across the grain. Answer would be the same though. It's the only thing that's changed, apart from going milder with the grain on the 2nd shave.

 

[Bailes90]

Ah, XTG means across the grain. Answer would be the same though. It's the only thing that's changed, apart from going milder with the grain on the 2nd shave.

I'm new to the polsilver si aswell as the fatboy, probably not the best to try various settings out I usually use Gillette Silver Blue, I think I'll try with lower settings
Thanks

 

[Jel999]

Ah, 2 of my top three blades. Gillette Rubies are also sublime in my Fatboy too.

 

[Kypros Christodoulides]

I use the Fatboy with either a polsilver or a feather @8 and never had I any trouble going ATG for the third pass even at that setting.

 

[Roy]

Gillette silver blue give a very smooth and comfortable shave.

 

[Boru62]

How many shaves had you had with the blade? A blunt blade can cause irritation.
Edit: just reread it, new blade
Try again with 6 wtg and 5 xtg and see if it's as good as the previous time.

 

[dodgy]

Now I am calling on your advice I had a lovely shave yesterday as I am new to this razor and adjustable razors, Yesterday I had a 48 hour growth and used a polsilver Si blade set at 6 WTG and 4 XTG, great shave today I used a new Polsilver SI blade set at 5 WTG and 5 XTG, a smooth shave but didn't feel great, also to note it really stung when I used the alum block as oppose to yesterday, now my question is this, is the blade too sharp for me or is the razor set too high how would I know the difference?
I am meticulous with my angle but as I am new to this razor it probably isn't perfect.

I usually use Gillette Silver Blue, I think I'll try with I'm new to the polsilver si aswell as the fatboy, probably not the best to try various settings out lower settings
Thanks

Ok, here's the deal,

You have no idea how that blade fits you and also the shape of the Fatboy's head is unlike just about every other DE razor and can take some trial and error to figure out any needed technique tweaks.

Just use a blade you're familiar with on any new razor and also make sure of the xtra 1/4 locking handle turn with almost every Gillette adjustable.

Martin

 

[Bailes90]

Thanks for all your advice it is greatly appreciated I will try again with a blade I am very familiar with but I will dial the Fatboy down to maybe a 4 for WTG and a 3 for the final XTG pass. I suppose I just need to experiment!
Thanks again

 

[Bailes90]

Whilst looking at some YouTube videos today and doing a bit more research about the fatboy I discovered my final quarter turn was in fact a final 1/10 turn it didn't go far enough I have been soaking the razor all day and various bits of crud have come out that survived the first soak!! I'll leave it overnight soaking in water, but already the 1/4 turn works now just a little stiff.
When I shaved as in the beginning of the thread the blade was secure but could it be that there was no full 1/4 turn to lock it down? could it of made the blade more aggressive than it should of been?

 

[Kypros Christodoulides]

Whilst looking at some YouTube videos today and doing a bit more research about the fatboy I discovered my final quarter turn was in fact a final 1/10 turn it didn't go far enough I have been soaking the razor all day and various bits of crud have come out that survived the first soak!! I'll leave it overnight soaking in water, but already the 1/4 turn works now just a little stiff.
When I shaved as in the beginning of the thread the blade was secure but could it be that there was no full 1/4 turn to lock it down? could it of made the blade more aggressive than it should of been?

You might want to try an ultrasonic bath as it gets most of the dirt out. The stiffness can be cured by a drop of mineral oil.

 

[riverrun]

You might want to try an ultrasonic bath as it gets most of the dirt out. The stiffness can be cured by a drop of mineral oil.

An ultrasonic baths can remove the paint on a Fatboy (numbers etc) if it still has some. Make sure to leave those bits outside the bath if you really want to use one.

 

[Kypros Christodoulides]

Sound advise, I have used the ultrasonic bath on both my fatboys and the result was good, no fading of the paint, but you should be careful as this could happen. In my case I didn't care much as I could re-paint the numbers.

 

[dodgy]

Hiya,

The unscented mineral oil's a good tip, rather than using something like WD40 or other chemicals.

I mentioned before in another thread about using Maas after soaking and Scrubbing Bubbles/toothbrush or whatever. Makes the nickel plate shine like crazy.

From personal experience having not locked the head down properly inna Slim yeas ago, it wasn't so good. Actually started flopping around in mid pass.