I there! I am new to adjustable razors and have my mind set on a fat boy for my first experience. I am researching and am a little unsure about what year to get and what the differences are? My gut tells me to get a 59 in as good of condition as I can find. Could you tell me what will vary from year to year and the serial codes within a given year? Thanks so much! Jeff
Hi, Jeff. Welcome to the Den. The Fatboy's a great choice, although I don't know what the differences are from year to year. I have an F4 (1960, fourth qtr) and a G1 (1961, first qtr). If there are differences, I can't tell. Fantastic shavers. I believe Gillette started date coding their razors with the letter X, for some reason, in 1952. The numbers, 1 through 4, indicate the quarter of that year. So... Z3 = 1954, third quarter N2 = 1968, second quarter Hope you find what you're looking for!
Like Steve says, they all seem pretty similar and are great shavers so unless you're looking for a specific year (i.e. birth year) one is about as good as another mine is a F4 (1960 4th Quarter) and is an absolute beast! This website should help you out with Gillette date codes and serial numbers: http://www.safetyrazors.net/gil_ser2.htm#1930
I got my Fatboy a few weeks ago. Had a great shave this morning with it. After reading the previous reply I checked the code on mine. It was G 2 which would make it a 1961 vintage made in the second quarter. I'm very happy with mine. I can't say enough nice things about the Fatboy. If you are just starting out with wetshaving and have the opportunity to get one of these vintage Gillettes or your a collector these are a nice razor to have in ones collection.
Just get the one that shaves I don't see any significant differences. If you want to disassemble/clean/assemble it, probably the one with the perforated bottom knob cap is better option. However, you can easily remove that cap even if it has no holes. There is also some kind red-dot FatBoy, which is kind of mainstream FatBoy prototype and has different head and mechanism, but I have never seen it.
I concur with others about year to year being of little or no difference. I have had 3 (gifted away 2) and they all shaved the same superb way. Unless you prefer a specific year (a birth year) then I would shop for the best condition for the best price.
Fatboy design didn't really change, with the exception of the color of the dot marker. The only model that I know of that had significant geometry changes in its run was the superspeed, though some say that the pre-war techs are even milder than the post-war techs.
