Decadent December!!!
December 22 - Toggle vs Fatboy
Razor - 1959 (E4) Gillette Fatboy & 1960 (F4) Gillette Toggle (6)
Blade -
View attachment 154634
(3)
Soap - Stirling Barbershop
Brush - 30DC LE
Post - Alum
Well here we go. Final night of comparing the Toggle and Fatboy as I near the end of my time with a Toggle in my den. It's been a fantastic couple of weeks, and very fun for me even if it has brought my reputation as a stunt shaver into question. This much luxury gear and this many luxury shaves in a row haven't made me soft, I promise. But I have found myself in no great hurry to grab the Soyuz 1 and a Tiger.
My plan tonight is to use both razors. Half a face each and rotate passes. So, here's how it laid out. Fatboy on the right for the WTG pass, Toggle on the left. Toggle on the right for XTG, Fatboy on the left. And, half of each side with each razor for the ATG. Looking for feel of the razor, handling, ease of the shave, differences in balance etc. that might cause someone to choose one over the other. Ignoring the cool factor of the Toggle in modern times and also ignoring the price difference when manufactured. That's as objective as I can make a shave. It isn't perfect, but it's somewhere down the road.
Stirling Barbershop with the 30DC LE Tuxedo. Fantastic lather so that's a neutral. Let's skip to the final result. BBS in three passes as usual. Nothing extra needed.
So what's the difference? It's subtle, but the Fatboy's balance is superior to the Toggle by juuuuuuuuust a hair. That extra weight in the Toggle, and the fact it's shifted slightly to the head, creates a difference in handling that doesn't feel quite as "easy" as the Fatboy. However, it isn't difficult to adjust to the Toggle and make it work perfectly. It just isn't quite the "intuitive feel" of the Fatboy. The feel on the face during the shave? The same. The result? The same. Ease of holding the razor? Extremely close but the Fatboy just wins out. Knurling seems a bit nicer and that balance thing still applies. Again....subtle difference and I tried to shrug it off during the XTG pass and ignore it but it never completely left my awareness.
Fantastic and double decadent shave that settled the issue for me. I am working on a complete review of the Toggle that will include my comparison with the Fatboy, but the short version is this. Given the slight advantage in feel and handling the Fatboy seems to have, and applying the price difference back in the day, $10 for the Toggle, $1.95 for the Fatboy (or up to $2.49 depending), it's pretty easy to see why testers back then put the Toggle down and kept the Fatboy in their hands. A legend was born while a really cool and unique design faded into history. Until we showed up. I'm glad we are seeing more of the Toggles around. Maybe some day I'll find one in the wild I can get for a steal to add to my den. It is a fantastic shaving tool with a great and fascinating history, and it's just a cool thing to have around.
Hope your weekend plans are joyous, fun, and most of all safe! I know many will be travelling over the next three days or having company in your homes. Check in whenever you can and we'll keep your place at the table here until you're able to sit back down and relax from the holidays.
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