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.
Butter Knife Fix 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.
Today's subjects are: 1. Dropped TTO knob 2. Stuck Adjustment Dial, and other stuck mechanisms (1-9 adjustments) Over the past couple of weeks, I had my daily Fatboy E-1 that had been restored, many years ago. It was starting to have a difficult time with the Twist To Open (TTO) Knob. It was feeling gritty, and it was starting to loosen up, like it was about to drop. It was also not turning and going into full lockup. I oiled it, and that didn't help. I then thought that over the years, the hard water in my area could have built up calcium. So, I filled a small Pyrex container with boiling water, only to halfway up the handle of the razor. I then added a good amount of Palmolive dish soap. I let the bottom half of the razor soak until the water cooled. I heated the water up in the microwave, and repeated. Viola, this did the trick. Smooth as glass. Fast forward to yesterday. I bought a G-1 Fatboy, that was listed for parts, and broken. It looked like it was in beautiful shape. It was listed saying the Safety Bars didn't move, the TTO knob wasn't smooth. I bought it for a small cost, much lower than a working Fatboy Razor. I did the same as above, but soaked just below the Adjustment dial, and the Black ring below it. Those are fragile and lose their paint easily. After the TTO smoothed out, I flipped the razor over and soaked the top part, just before the black ring. I had to do this hot soapy water cycle about 12 times, before the safety bar would move, and the Adjustment dial worked properly. If the black ring has lost its paint already, feel free to dunk the entire razor, it saves time. Almost fixed now. The TTO knob was about to come out. So, on with the next fix. Here is the G-1 that I got working. The same procedure was done with my E-1 Fatboy. 1. Get some copper wire that fits the area that is crimped to capture the TTO knob. It needs to fit snug and be raise higher than the crimp. Cut about 1-1 1/2 inches. 2. Wrap it around the crimp. Use some pliers and lightly squeeze all around the crimp. Go very lightly and test what you have done. If you do it too tight you wont be able to turn the knob. It is a very fast fix. Just be careful not to scratch the handle with the pliers.
