I have acquired one bent Fatboy , a bent Slim Adjustable, and a sticking Slim Adjustable, from a fellow member. One Slim Adjustable will be put up in the The Shave Den Auction. Here is the F-4 Fatboy(Middle One) before the fix. It looked like this on both sides. The one Slim Adjustable looked the same.
This kind of repair has been confusing for many, for years, and some fixes, especially those involving pliers can destroy the razor. This first picture is all three razors repaired. They need to be polished out a little. Step 1. make sure the razor is clean. If it doesnt look bent, and is sticking(doors) , then boil water and dunk the razor in it, with a little Palmolive. I use a Pyrex measuring cup. Let it soak, with the doors open, until the water cools. Work the doors, and see if it is moving smoothly. If not, move to next step, because the razor has a bent part, usually a bent safety bar. It can be very slight in one direction or the other. Step 2. If the safety bar looks bent upwards, use this step to pull it down. Get a sturdy butter knife, and insert it between the slightly cracked door and the safety bar, from outside the door. Then apply a little pressure, by pulling the knife handle away from the wazor. Apply just a very little amount of pressure, then retighten the razor, and check the gap. If it the gap needs to be larger, repeat this step, DO NOT TRY TO DO TOO MUCH ADJUSTMENTS AT ONE TIME. Only Small increments are needed. If the doors act like they are sticking a little, reduce the gap a little, with the next step. Step 3. If the gap is too large. Also do if the doors are sticking a little. Insert the blade from underneath, with the doors open, almost all the way. The knife is between the safety bar, and the inner side of the door. Pull the handle of the knife away(outward) from the razor, with little pressure, and check the gap frequently. Do this until the sides are at the proper gap. This procedure will fix sticking doors, many times. Re-adjust all four corners until they are all the same. This fix can be used with almost every Gillette with butterfly doors, and a solid safety bar. Even the Expensive British ones. I cannot emphasize enough, how potentially destructive using plyers can be. Plyers can scratch the finish, and very easily over correct the issues. I have even seen plyers pull the safety bar outwards(looked like it was bulging straight out). Much more difficult to fix when done the wrong way. I hope this helps save many of your razors. ..
This would make great video! I have an aristocrat that has lazy doors, or something. One side opens and closes later than the other side. A video may be a better way to explain the process of fixing the problem.
The twist knob seems secure. There is some resistance when opening and closing. One side of the door closes before the other side and then one side opens first too.
Several things have to be checked. But, if everything locks up the way it should, then ignore the slow door. Unless you are a little OCD. Then it is the little things that bug you. Back in the day, I was snatching up a bunch of Fatboy razors, that had been abused, and I had to learn how to fix them. Most I purchased for between $10-$15.. I even took a broken POS Fatboy, and had internal parts machined, by a shop that specialized in small precision tool making for the space industry, and airplane industries. They owed me a favor. So, "FrankenFatty" was born, and passed around, until it started to act up, and loosen up. It's been in a drawer ever since.
I had some luck with crooked doors by opening them wide and gently pressing each door against a hard flat surface. Prying safety bars *gently* also fixes some issues quickly, as seen above. A combo of the two often did the trick.
There is also adjusting the side plates. But, I have some Nylon flat nosed Pliers for that. This adjustment works if the doors don't align, when shut.