Fatip Appreciation

CzechCzar

Forum GOD!
I will resurrect this thread by saying that I am now a member of the club.

I bought a Fatip Piccolo from italian barber years and years ago and tried it again this week for the first time. I am blown away. Effortless BBS. I can use it daily. My technique must have improved!

My only complaint is that the handle is too narrow and gets very slippery. I am looking to get a new one soon and have learned that the head design has changed in the past couple of years. So my questions to you are:

How has the change in head design affected the shave?
What is the grippiest fatip handle? It looks to me like it is the retro but never having held it I am not sure.

Thanks!
 

Missoni

Fellow Traveller
I will resurrect this thread by saying that I am now a member of the club.

I bought a Fatip Piccolo from italian barber years and years ago and tried it again this week for the first time. I am blown away. Effortless BBS. I can use it daily. My technique must have improved!

My only complaint is that the handle is too narrow and gets very slippery. I am looking to get a new one soon and have learned that the head design has changed in the past couple of years. So my questions to you are:

How has the change in head design affected the shave?
What is the grippiest fatip handle? It looks to me like it is the retro but never having held it I am not sure.

Thanks!
On a light note I suspect no two Fatips leave the factory the same :), but I suppose if they did it would not be the Italian masterpiece that it is. Fatip owners though, often refer, in general, to the V1 and V2 OC head, although in reality there appears to have been many iterations over the years. The V2 head is milder than the V1 head and is recognisable by the Fatip logo stamped on the bottom of the base plate. It will also be easier to align than a V1 head as the bottom of the posts appear to have smoother welds. The V1's are now sought after and more difficult to secure.

With regards to handles you have a number of options. As you maybe aware the Fatip uses an M4 thread (similar to 8-32), most razors use an M5 thread (similar to 10-32). Many standard razor handles may still fit if you screw them completely home but I doubt it will do the threads any good over the long-term. You could also twist some plumbers tape around the thread for a more secure fit on a standard handle.

There is the option of having a custom made handle with the correct thread.

Or you could buy another Fatip option such as the Grande, Nobile Black, Retro or wooden handled versions - all are available with the OC head:

1570810373974.png


1570810432285.png


1570810459772.png


In addition you can purchase a Joris, pictured below (same head made by Fatip but finishing done by Joris) or a Schone (made by Fatip for Schone but less teeth) or a Boker (expensive compared to the Grande and no visible difference - although I have no experience of the Boker so you may need to enquire if interested).


1570810561761.png


Finally the 2009 Muhle R41 used a Fatip head (again better finishing) which has a larger handle. These maybe a little more difficult to track down as production ceased a good while ago.

The Piccolo has great balance and the handle is solid brass; the Grande version has a larger, hollow brass handle but does not maintain the same balance as the Piccolo. That said the Grande version is well regarded, readily available and inexpensive. And indeed if you post a Want to Buy - you may be lucky. Enjoy your Fatip.
 
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Missoni

Fellow Traveller
Just to clarify, do you mean FT logo stamped on the bottom of the base plate?

Bob
Yes; the logo is stamped on the bottom of the base plate - I have edited my above post, to clarify - thank you. See picture below (excuse the soap residue).

EF562187-BD9E-4BB2-AD37-9C0EED96952F_1_201_a.jpeg
 
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TobyC

Patriot
I will resurrect this thread by saying that I am now a member of the club.

I bought a Fatip Piccolo from italian barber years and years ago and tried it again this week for the first time. I am blown away. Effortless BBS. I can use it daily. My technique must have improved!

My only complaint is that the handle is too narrow and gets very slippery. I am looking to get a new one soon and have learned that the head design has changed in the past couple of years. So my questions to you are:

How has the change in head design affected the shave?
What is the grippiest fatip handle? It looks to me like it is the retro but never having held it I am not sure.

Thanks!
The new head is milder,... I personally think the Piccolo handle is the perfect razor handle, it never catches your attention while shaving, therefore there's nothing wrong with it. The super-long "Retro" handle looks slippery as heck to me.
 

Weekly

Forum GOD!
I just picked these up on sale.
$16 & $15 USD , for the Gold & Nickel
Respectively. My previous experience was
With the Piccolo which I absolutely hated
With a passion. With its extra short toothpick thin handle not too mention the head which
Was severely defective. I don't know how
These will shave, but I do know that they
Were way too beautiful for me not to acquire them at the sale price.

20191130_173355.jpg
 

TobyC

Patriot
I just picked these up on sale.
$16 & $15 USD , for the Gold & Nickel
Respectively. My previous experience was
With the Piccolo which I absolutely hated
With a passion. With its extra short toothpick thin handle not too mention the head which
Was severely defective. I don't know how
These will shave, but I do know that they
Were way too beautiful for me not to acquire them at the sale price.

View attachment 58983

Good deal, great shavers! At least the early ones were.

I can't understand why some folks hate the Piccolo handle and others (like me) love it, it's not that unusual.




Bottom, second from left.


100_2452.JPG





Bottom, second from right.


100_2455.JPG
 

Blackie

Forum GOD!
This thread started in 2017...must be some happy Fatip owners out there.
I'm in that club too. Love the little Piccolo. I bought the set (SE..Special Edition), which gave me both the Gentile and the OC Piccolo bases.
Re the dinky handle...you can simply bung on another cap such as a Gillette OLD type and use a Gillette handle of your choice.
I put on a Muhle R89 cap and a RR Halo handle (Any cap with the 2 wee pins will fit, then you have a wide choice of handles to suit).
Makes for a great shave, and no hassles with blade alignment.
In the photo I have the Piccolo as supplied, and the Gentile base with an Ikon handle and the Muhle cap (and yes...I also have the Ikon cap lurking around and it too will fit).
My favourite shave? The Picollo OC with Muhle cap and Halo handle. Very smooth and easy shave.
I should add that I 'eyeballed' the various caps I had and the original Fatip cap shares the same shape/contours of the various OLD, Ikon, Muhle caps that I have used. Fatip just copied the original Gillettes really).

1575159679133.jpeg
 
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TobyC

Patriot
This thread started in 2017...must be some happy Fatip owners out there.
I'm in that club too. Love the little Piccolo. I bought the set (SE..Special Edition), which gave me both the Gentile and the OC Piccolo bases.
Re the dinky handle...you can simply bung on another cap such as a Gillette OLD type and use a Gillette handle of your choice.
I put on a Muhle R89 cap and a RR Halo handle (Any cap with the 2 wee pins will fit, then you have a wide choice of handles to suit).
Makes for a great shave, and no hassles with blade alignment.
In the photo I have the Piccolo as supplied, and the Gentile base with an Ikon handle and the Muhle cap (and yes...I also have the Ikon cap lurking around and it too will fit).
My favourite shave? The Picollo OC with Muhle cap and Halo handle. Very smooth and easy shave.
I should add that I 'eyeballed' the various caps I had and the original Fatip cap shares the same shape/contours of the various OLD, Ikon, Muhle caps that I have used. Fatip just copied the original Gillettes really).

View attachment 58984
It is pretty much an OLD clone, so is the Pearl head. I put an OLD cap on my Pearl to get rid of the original zamak one.



Pearl with Gillette cap, with the original solid brass four inch handle cut down to a little less that Piccolo length.


jaws (9).JPG
jaws (2).JPG
jaws (6).JPG
 

Blackie

Forum GOD!
Yes @TobyC well done, and there's no reason for folks to grumble about the Fatip handles (too short, too tiny, too dinky, too narrow, etc) when the handle situation is an easy fix.
I found the Halo handle to work well with the Fatip.
I am 'thinking' about a Schone now though. I just might have to get one of them.
 

Weekly

Forum GOD!
This thread started in 2017...must be some happy Fatip owners out there.
I'm in that club too. Love the little Piccolo. I bought the set (SE..Special Edition), which gave me both the Gentile and the OC Piccolo bases.
Re the dinky handle...you can simply bung on another cap such as a Gillette OLD type and use a Gillette handle of your choice.
I put on a Muhle R89 cap and a RR Halo handle (Any cap with the 2 wee pins will fit, then you have a wide choice of handles to suit).
Makes for a great shave, and no hassles with blade alignment.
In the photo I have the Piccolo as supplied, and the Gentile base with an Ikon handle and the Muhle cap (and yes...I also have the Ikon cap lurking around and it too will fit).
My favourite shave? The Picollo OC with Muhle cap and Halo handle. Very smooth and easy shave.
I should add that I 'eyeballed' the various caps I had and the original Fatip cap shares the same shape/contours of the various OLD, Ikon, Muhle caps that I have used. Fatip just copied the original Gillettes really).

View attachment 58984
When you make all those changes you
May have a more widely accepted setup
But in reality you are no longer shaving
With a Piccolo and being the OCD , Purest,
Collector of all things Authentic that I am
I definitely don't do FRANKENSTEIN RAZORS
However I am a big fan of the old Mantra
"IT'S ALL GOOD "
In all fairness it was years ago that I tried
The Piccolo, so I do plan on trying it again
In the very near future.
 

TobyC

Patriot
If I could only have one, the Piccolo would be a perfect choice for me, all original and unmodified.
 

R181

Grumpy old man
If I could only have one, the Piccolo would be a perfect choice for me, all original and unmodified.
I have large hands and found the handle of the Piccolo to be just a bit small in diameter for my liking. Shanked on a handle from a Gillette fat handle tech and was good to go. Classic ymmv.

Bob
 

TobyC

Patriot
I have large hands and found the handle of the Piccolo to be just a bit small in diameter for my liking. Shanked on a handle from a Gillette fat handle tech and was good to go. Classic ymmv.

Bob
Those handles are good on anything, so is the Durham Duplex. :cool:
 

Rac02

Noob
Does anyone have any experience with the retro. It seems like a really nice looking razor. I am wondering if the handle offers good balance and control. I have tried the piccolo and maybe I gave up on it to soon but it seemed like I was shaving like I was holding the razor by its head.
 
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