What am I doing wrong with my Fatboy?

I started the world of DE last Spring and became a believer right away. At first I grabbed an entry level Merkur with the Merkur blades. Life was good, but I wanted to venture a bit to see what all the hype was about other razors.

So in September I bought a Gillette Fatbay and some Seven O'Clock blades. After exploring the settings (1=most sentitive, 10=most aggresive) I found shaving around 2 didn't leave me feeling all burned and it didn't draw blood on the sides of my lips (it's rough there for some reason).

Here's my challange- the Merkur made a smooth shave, but left some wicked razor burn. The Fatboy doesn't leave any razor burn, but it's not as close around my jugulars and on thh sides of my mouth.

I'm tried various soaps and techniques, but the FB leaves some small stubble still in these spots.

Anyone have ideas what I need to do, what I may be doing wrong, or advice?

Thanks Guys.

Could be that you're stretching in the wrong direction & you're actually laying the stubble down flatter. Make sure you're stretching so that the hair lifts.
Apart from that, you could try a more aggressive setting on those areas.

Your introduction to DE shaving sounds a lot like mine, and ironically I just got a Fat Boy recently as well, except I've been getting great shaves all around.

I've been using Derby blades in mine, and have found higher settings are working better for me (5 for WTG/XTG, and 6 for XTG/ATG), which is surprising as I have fairly sensitive skin. I will be experimenting with other types of blades, which is one problem I suspect you are having. I would suggest:

-Expanding your prep routine
-Experiment with different types of blades
-Experiment with different settings on different passes
-Adjust technique accordingly

I hope this helps.

I would agree with Ryan I think you need to try some other blades. One blade that works in one razor will not always work in another.

Buy a sampler pack and try each one out at a low setting on the fatboy and see if that makes any difference. Also I find the fatboy to be a mild shaver (compared to the gillette slim) so after finding a blade that works you may also have to dial up the fatboy to achieve as close a shave as you are after.

I for one do not much care for feather blades in most razors however they are magic in a fatboy:)


One last thing to consider is that the fatboy is a vintage razor so may have been damaged. Check to makes sure the adjuster knob is actually affecting the blade gap and make sure the safety bar is no bent.

Good luck and keep us posted on how it goes

I have only had two shaves with the vintage DEs. The first was a couple days ago with a slim I recently acquired. A setting of 2 was aggressive enough. I did not shave again for two days until I then received my fatboy. Using the same blade as the slim... the fatboy was noticeably less aggressive at 2 and I subsequently moved to 3 then 4. Even at 4 the shave was milder with the fatboy then the slim at 2.

My next moved is to get a samplier pack of blades and see what razor/blade/setting combination works best for each razor with my beard growth conditions.

I am very happy with both shaves.

Just my rookie observation...

I think the Fat boy is a pretty medicore shaver, same goes for the Slim adjustable. It's a shame because they're in the top coolest looking DEs ever list. I would try using them with a Feather blade, since they're the sharpest DE plays I have used yet and they are very smooth.

If that doesn't work you may want to explore a Gillette NEW open comb (my favorite DE of all time).

If that doesn't tickle your fancy, then I Would suggest a GEM 1912 or a Lather Catcher. Actually most of the Gems are awesome and SE blades are thicker and shave close to a Straight Razor as far a closeness.

I have also noticed this.I have two Fatboys and neither of them shave the same.I normally use #3 and if you tighten up the blade in the razor and look from the side you can tell that the blade exposure is different.I also have two gillette slim adjustables with the black handle one is short and the other is long and neither of these shave the same either(blade exposure is different) the one I prefer is the long handle slim and the adjustment part just below the blade is black plastic date code X1.Another thing I do is when I finifh shaving I always remove the pressure from the blade just enough that it straightens so maybe the blade won't retain the curved shape