Post Shave: Goodfellow & Co. - Face Lotion - Kelp & Sea Mineral
Fragrance: Brut - EdT
I really like the Fatip Gentile. I think it’d probably be a good “beginner” razor recommendation, and I might do a side-by-side comparison with a Merkur 34C soon. Both are on the mild side, but with good technique you get really nice close shaves.
Pros:
Built like a tank with all brass construction
Mild
Under $40USD
Cons:
Blade needs to be manually aligned, which isn’t for everyone
New shavers might complain that the shave isn’t close enough, so a beginner might need to be reminded to focus on comfort, with closeness coming after developing good technique.
Uses different threading than other razors, so compatibility with other razor heads/handles is limited.
Your #1 “Con” is troublesome. It wouldn’t be an issue for those of us accustomed to working around the idiosyncrasies of the things we use, but it is also a feature that someone can blame for a bad shave instead of poor technique. The magic of marketing has people believing that it’s the razor that gives them a good shave. Some of us enjoy working on technique, but I’m pretty sure we aren’t the mean of the normal distribution of wetshavers.
I think people do a good job of making it known that Fatips have that one, glaring, easily fixable, frustrating downside. I don’t think anyone would order one based on a recommendation without knowing about the blade alignment thing, so it shouldn’t sneak up on anyone.
One other neat thing about the Gentile is the safety bar makes for a really good visual reference for the blade being aligned. The open comb Fatips are more difficult to align IMO.
December 2, 2024
I really like the Fatip Gentile. I think it’d probably be a good “beginner” razor recommendation, and I might do a side-by-side comparison with a Merkur 34C soon. Both are on the mild side, but with good technique you get really nice close shaves.
Pros:
Cons:
Your #1 “Con” is troublesome. It wouldn’t be an issue for those of us accustomed to working around the idiosyncrasies of the things we use, but it is also a feature that someone can blame for a bad shave instead of poor technique. The magic of marketing has people believing that it’s the razor that gives them a good shave. Some of us enjoy working on technique, but I’m pretty sure we aren’t the mean of the normal distribution of wetshavers.
I think people do a good job of making it known that Fatips have that one, glaring, easily fixable, frustrating downside. I don’t think anyone would order one based on a recommendation without knowing about the blade alignment thing, so it shouldn’t sneak up on anyone.
One other neat thing about the Gentile is the safety bar makes for a really good visual reference for the blade being aligned. The open comb Fatips are more difficult to align IMO.