Fixes for Fatboys, Slim Adjustables etc.

Can you post pics of this razor??

 

I can try…

Here’s the side that was off. I scratched the bottom of SB trying to fix it, and made it worse by trying to polish it off - looks like in one spot, it went down to the bare brass (by the way, I’ve polished every vintage Gillette I have and didn’t get to the brass… but I am blaming myself for this).

 

I've seen people use pliers to straighten the Safety Bars, then scratch, and bend them in the front like that. The beauty of the using the butter knife technique is that the front of the bar is never touched. But, it can bow the SB out if too much pressure is applied, or it is corrected too fast.
I sometimes use a bench mounted polishing wheel to buff mine out, but 90% of the time it is an old rag and some Flitz polish.

 

The spine of the knife left marks on the bar, that’s what I was trying to polish off.

That whole thing is a mess…

 

I recently bought a well used Fatboy. The finish was well worn, but no scratches or bent bars. There was a lot of soap scum, and hard water deposits. The problem is, the adjustment knob won't budge. I've tried about every trick in the book. It feels cemented in.
1. Several soaks in boiling hot water with Palmolive. Nothing.
2. Scrubbing Bubbles, overnight. Nothing.
3. Penetrating oil. Nothing.
4. Hot water UltraSonic machine, many many cycles. Nothing.

The only thing I haven't tried is taking it completely apart. I don't feel comfortable doing that. Any suggestions?

 

Sounds like you might have one shaver that either needs to be fully taken apart or is stuck broken even if you take apart because some parts might be on the inside too small to fix in small parts to get clean/have worn to where a fix could not happen, the inner parts are locked in place.

Another thing is the shaver might have been by somebody in the 1990's or 2000's before Safe-T-Shavers first started a comeback in 2011--2012 or so for all but the few places that never stopped using Safe-T-Shavers was to glue the thing down in the joints or twist knob so they did not have a kid break it opening and closing the twist knob, like the item meant something like a Grandparents or Parents old shaver or something like this they were never going to use anyhow even if they could find blades.



I had a Micro Touch One in late March 2025 almost die on me in middle of a shave and what I had to do was throw it against a vinyl bathroom floor. Problem was the mallets did nothing, the Hammers did nothing, and pliers did not work. The issue was the twist knob was loose, and I had over tightened the twist knob to keep it from opening something I had to keep twisting more and more to the point one day I went too far. From what I have read the Weishi shavers especially in the brass and aluminum models the knob can get loose due to these models being made of less durable metals especially if dropped or bashed and is not able to be fixed. My Micro Touch One was all dented up in the case so much so that this model was a Pre Rick Harris endorsement in 2017 at my local Walgreens so that had to be no later than early 2014 because by mid late 2014 the model was sponsored by Rick Harris, even the spot where the Micro Touch One would have gone in the Walgreens As Seen On TV section had been replaced with a clone of the Phillps Norelco One Blade.

Soon after the incident in late March 2025 I had the Gillette Adjustable slim handle with no case in Late April I use currently with a Parker pressed leather case and in June got a backup with case when fully convinced to use the model. I was since 2024 looking at adjustable models though new and only in butterfly for ease of use in having to clean out 80%--90% in middle of the shave to keep using before the final clean. I did with a single modification to the very bottom of the cover barely fit my Micro Touch I will only for rare flying travel.

All the models I was looking at, The Viking Emperor series was close but the reviews about 1/2 said the super different combs of flat and a closer to mild design of wide closed comb was forcing the smooth flow of switching sides to be off and this looked like a big issue. Then the other new Butterfly Adjustable that did not have as numerous people said quality control issues like the Weishi and the Weishi exclusives for Yintel was the Rockwell T2 that is very expensive, now starting at $150 but was $140 before this.

 

The dial feels like it is cemented in, at #9 position. No wiggle at all, and the part that moves up and down is stuck too. I do know the clicker isn't stuck, because it moves when I push on it with a metal pick. It is a perfect candidate to be sent in, for refurbishing and plating.

 

I agree if you do not want to break the shaver taking it apart.

 

I have been thinking about tips and one is to keep the very bottom open nut that can catch all kinds of things like the toilet paper used to clean off the shaving tool, both the Gillette metal adjustable seem to be prone to this and you do not want the debris going into the twist knob and the main shaft like I had almost with a piece of toilet paper that ended up down there.

Do note most of the models on the bottom the twist knob will be off center a little and that is okay as long as nothing is griding in twist knob and center shaft as that means the parts are not properly set up but it is so hard to keep them even all around being these shavers are at least from 1968 so if they are off a bit it is fine.

You want to make sure on the adjustable parts on the base plate with the part your shaving hair is not on the sides closest to the knob as the gap is kind of thin and I have had to stop to clean out the hair a few times from that side because the dial was hard to use, mainly just water did the trick.

Lastly do make sure the device is closed all the way, sometimes these older models need a small extra twist after the initial lock to be fully in place as these are old shavers at least on the second shaver and if not, like you still have the one from an awkward teen and are using it again, kudos first off, but do realize the device is from the 1968 at the latest. Even my Micro Touch One needed this when new because it came damaged but needed more and more twisting to where it locked up where I had to throw it in the floor to open up because mallets were not going to work and pliers were not going to get it open, I could now go beyond the point of easy opening on the Micro Touch in late March 2024 so in April I ordered a Gillette slim handle Adjustable for $32.87 then got a much nicer model with case for $36.77 both off e-Bay. I was looking at New adjustable butterfly models, but they all had flaws or lack of quality control unless the expensive Rockwell T2.