What makes a Fatboy so desirable? It seems like a slim adjustable with a fat handle. Am I missing something here?
I think the fat boy gives a better shave than the slim. I wouldnt pay the outrageous prices that people want for them now.
I love the feel of it in my hand and it gives me great shaves. It is built like a tank and will last foreever. You should not pay a lot for it, keep looking for it in this forum or on SMF. I would pay around 35 for a used in good condition and around 75 for a mint.
I picked up mine for 20$ off TSD and love it. I would recommend waiting a little while for the fatboy wave to crash and than pick one up for cheeper. I wouldnt want to go paying anything more than 20-25 for one in shaveable condition. There are other razors that shave just as well.
Head design is different. The head of the FB with silo doors close is taller than the head of the Slim. The overall weight of the razor, to me, makes a big difference. I like to feel I have a razor in my hands when I use them. Razors with less weight have the tendency to make the user apply more pressure because they have difficulty feeling the head. Again YMMV. I prefer the FB over the slim. As far as the prices go, the market determines the going rate. You can still get them for a decent price. I have sold FB's for more than $60 each. Raf
Is that always the case? I thought the head design was consistent across the Gillettes, but changed during eras (i.e., the 40s & 50s were taller than the 60s & 70s). Obviously, I'm no expert on DEs.
I just looked at mine again. The FB head is taller than the head of the slim. They are both from the 60's. I'm not an expert either but I believe this is s standard difference between the FB and Slim. I would have to compare the head in my SS's from the different decades to see what the difference is. Raf
Indeed there is a difference in head designs, between the Slim and FatBoy, over the different designs of SS's too. It has been discissed and depicted in several threads before: Example of FatBoy/Slim discussion: http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4575 Example of SS discussion: http://www.theshaveden.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2645 Even if the differences seem minute, they can have huge impact on how the blade performs. A FatBoy is generally considered to be slightly more aggressive than a Slim, though the FatBoy is considerably less aggressive than a Merkur Futur...
I have one of each and while they are great looking razors and have the nostalgia factor, I can get much better shaves from a Merkur. The Fatboy probably works a little better but not enough that I use it very often. I have to dial them up to 6 to get a good shave, anything less and I leave lots of stubble.