The Fatip Chronicles

RoastSessions

RoastSessions

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A while back I picked up a Fatip Grande and although I've used it a few times I don't really feel like I've got to grips with it.

Fatip razors have a reputation for being aggressive and for being pretty bad in terms of blade alignment. That is definitely true in my experience but there is something about this razor that I really enjoy and it draws me to it.

I have decided to dedicate a bit of time to really getting to know my Fatip (while hopefully avoiding too much innuendo and double entendre ;) ).

To that end I started this thread to keep a note of what happens, so I can have something to refer back to when I'm trying the tenth blade and can't remember what the others were like. Unfortunately this first post has turned in to a bit of a monster as I started making notes but never got round to posting it.

My aim is to find the blade(s) that work best for me in this razor, and also to see if I make the Fatip into a daily driver. I think that doing that will teach me a lot about getting my prep right, there is nowhere to hide with this razor. If your prep is off, you will feel it.

I intend to follow that same routine with each blade. One pass WTG and two XTG, one from left to right, and then one from right to left. I don't really bother shaving ATG but we shall see how things progress.

I started this process somewhat randomly with an all Italian shave. I had recently got some Bolzano blades (which admittedly are actually made in Germany now but were originally Italian) and being a big fan of Italian shaving kit I thought I'd stick it all together.

I didn't really know what to expect form the Bolzano but my plan was to have at least three shaves with a blade before moving on to the next one.

SOTD Bolzano shaves 1 & 2
Shave 1: Proraso Menthol, Shave 2: Proraso Sandalwood
My face looked pretty rough after the first shave. Irritation on my neck and a couple of pretty nasty nicks. After this shave I was thinking that maybe trying to use the Fatip continuously for a prolonged period might not have been my finest idea!
Second shave was a little better, still some irritation and a few weepers.

SOTD Bolzano shave 3
Proraso Oatmeal and Green Tea
Better again, less irritation and only a couple of little weepers. I don't think the Bolzano is a great blade for me in the Fatip.


Time to switch blade and I thought I'd go to my standard blade the Astra SP. They work great for me in every razor so far and I am going to use them to get a few baseline decent blade shaves in with the Fatip to have something to compare against.

SOTD Astra SP shave 1
Cella
Much better than the Bolzano. Very little irritation and I think one nick.

SOTD Astra SP shave 2
Wickham Bay Rum
Again little irritation, one nick on my chin which I think is just the razor catching the top of a spot each day.

SOTD Astra SP shave 3
Kent Soap (MWF)
Started using alum block after the shave at this point. Little bit of sting today but not that much.
Good shave, two tiny nicks one from carelessness and one from the spot on my chin.

SOTD Astra SP shave 4
Crabtree & Evelyn Indian Sandalwood Cream
Great shave, almost no sting from the alum, no nicks. Smooth and comfortable.

The Astra SP performed really well (as expected) but I think 4 shaves with this blade is enough so time to change again. I definitely prefer the Astra to the Bolzano.

I remember reading somewhere that the Voshkhod works well with the Fatip so I will give them a try.
After the Voshkhod I don't really know what to try, I have a decent selection of blades to work through though. (This feels like a slightly stupid variety of blades to have amassed in a fairly short space of time but such is life).
2016-04-092010.50.12_zpsormaoyet.jpg


Any suggestions as to what is worth trying and what is worth avoiding with a Fatip would be welcome!

SOTD Voshkhod shave 1
Saponificio Varesino 70th Anniversary
Another great shave, alum gave almost zero sting :)
No nicks, no irritation.

At this point I've had 8 shaves in a row with the Fatip and my face seems fine. I'd expected the aggressiveness to irritate my face over time but that doesn't seem to be the case. It feels like this experiment is going well.

I'll update my progress from here on in in new posts, if you made it this far thanks! Just reading this back I realise it is a massive wall of text. Maybe from here on in I'll cross post my SOTD pics to break things up a bit.
 
RoastSessions said:
...Fatip razors have a reputation for being aggressive and for being pretty bad in terms of blade alignment. That is definitely true in my experience but there is something about this razor that I really enjoy and it draws me to it...
Click to expand...

Because they are cheap in price (& quality).
 
I seem to have won out in the quality control issue as my Fatip is well aligned and finished. One of the minor things I discovered was that it pays to follow the guidance which originated, I believe, with the Ikons. That is when loading the blade to hold the top plate in one hand, offer up the blade and bed it well in, then holding it firmly in place with that hand put on the base plate and tighten up the handle. This helps ensure blade alignment if there is any chance it may misalign.

JohnnyO. o/
 
Bogeyman said:
Because they are cheap in price (& quality).
Click to expand...
Not sure if you mean they are cheap in price and cheap in quality, or that they are good quality despite being cheap in price?
Definitely price is part of the draw though.

Nisse said:
Got a Fatip Piccolo, had a bad experience with a Feather blade, will try Astra and Polsilver, maybe also Treet Platinum that worked really well in Muhle R41
Click to expand...
I know at some point I'll have to try a Feather, but I know it is probably not going to go well! Will look at adding some Treets to the list to try.

JohnnyO said:
I seem to have won out in the quality control issue as my Fatip is well aligned and finished. One of the minor things I discovered was that it pays to follow the guidance which originated, I believe, with the Ikons. That is when loading the blade to hold the top plate in one hand, offer up the blade and bed it well in, then holding it firmly in place with that hand put on the base plate and tighten up the handle. This helps ensure blade alignment if there is any chance it may misalign.

JohnnyO. o/
Click to expand...
I'll have to give that a go. Mine seems to be finished pretty well too but I do have issues aligning the blade sometimes.
 
Voskhod shave 2
2d1617db-d028-48b1-8692-0a98ca47d4dd_zpskvxgsdzb.jpg

Palmolive super lather!

Another good shave with no irritation. One tiny nick at some point. This makes for riveting reading.
I'm liking the Voskhod a lot. Almost as good as the Astra SP but not quite, although I'd be hard pressed to say why.

One more try and then it will be time to change.
I think I might try something I haven't used before like the Rapira Platinum Lux.
 
Gave my Piccolo another chance, this time with a vintage Gillette Swede, still not a favourite razor of mine, BBS shave but with my technique at least the feeling is aggressive but in sort of an unpredictable way, next up is Treet.
 
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Voshkod shave 3
d4fc2f84-73af-4ecf-8af4-f5cf9ee12515_zps5k8ifsem.jpg

P&B Sanskrit :)

No nicks, no irritation, no alum sting, even the Pinaud didn't really burn.
The only slight negative is that the shave doesn't feel amazingly close. If I rub ATG it feels like there is quite a lot of stubble there. I shaved a bit ATG on my cheeks and they are nice and smooth so maybe I need to look at going ATG on my neck too.

That's 3 shaves with the Voshkod so I'm going to move on to the next blade tomorrow. Took the old blade out tonight and tried a few different handles on the Fatip. I'd read that it can be a bit hit or miss whether handles fit them, but I tried a Gillette Old Type, and an iKon Bamboo and they both fit. Will have to try the iKon at some point.
Does anyone know if a tech handle fits a Fatip, specifically the fat handle version?
 
Skipped shaving on Sunday, here is last nights Fatip expedition.
Rapira Platinum Lux shave 1
f3056722-674a-418e-b41b-526ce62adac8_zpsacg104dq.jpg

Tabac

Everything felt great to start with, really smooth. But XTG passes were a little tuggy around my chin where the hair is coarser.
It might have been the lather, but it was Tabac so probably not! Couple of weepers, overall not wowed by this blade.
Didn't feel that close either, on my cheeks there were a few hairs much longer than I would normally expect.
A bit of a patchy shave I guess.
 
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