A question about the fatboy gillette TTO 'locking' mechanism

Hi, I've very recently (3 shaves ago actually) acquired a really nice Fat Boy which has given me nothing but DFS shaves. I'm very impressed with it, and compared to my much more aggressice Merkur 38C, this Fat Boy is like a little sports car. I usually shave on setting 3 or 4, and only had one tiny nick on my neck so far (down to me rushing it, no fault of the razor).

Anyway, I've noticed that whilst in use, and whilst giving it a 'shake' to dry after the shave, that the TTO knob at the end seems to want to 'undo' itself, only by a few degrees, and even though the blade is still held in tight, the TTO knob isn't as tight as I'd think it should be.

It closes the butterfly doors fine, and then I get the further 'quarter turn' of tightening. However, it seems to want to 'untighten' - only a few degrees mind.

Is this normal? How tight should the TTO knob be with a blade inserted?

Maybe I'm just being paranoid that my lovely Gillette isn't working as it should?

(It's a 4th quarter 1958 (D4 code) by the way, and the bottom of the TTO knob has the 2 indents so if required I could dismantle it.)

Many thanks in anticipation of your replies.

Impster

While I have never experienced that exact problem, I am wondering if the compression spring may be weak or broken, preventing the proper tension after lockdown?

On the other hand, if the performance is DFS and the blade doesn't get loose during shaving . . . you could be OK.

You are using a mild setting (2-3) . . . I wonder if it will stay tight at max setting? That is where the spring's performance is most critical, since it has to compress more to lock the razor.

Hi, thanks for the reply. The razor looks to be in very good order to be honest, I was thinking about the spring myself. I've had a reply or two on another forum (theshavingroom.co.uk) which suggests that it may be a case of slight 'paranoia' on my part, and that I may be being a little too 'picky' with my razor.

That could well be the case, however I will dismantle it using the guide on http://vintagesaws.com/fatboy/fatboy.html to see what condition the spring is in. My father is an engineer and has a boxfull of springs so I may try to find a spring of similar size but with a 'firmer' feel to it.

Thanks!

impster said:

Hi, thanks for the reply. The razor looks to be in very good order to be honest, I was thinking about the spring myself. I've had a reply or two on another forum (theshavingroom.co.uk) which suggests that it may be a case of slight 'paranoia' on my part, and that I may be being a little too 'picky' with my razor.

That could well be the case, however I will dismantle it using the guide on http://vintagesaws.com/fatboy/fatboy.html to see what condition the spring is in. My father is an engineer and has a boxfull of springs so I may try to find a spring of similar size but with a 'firmer' feel to it.

Thanks!

Click to expand...

Well, impster, having just met you here I shouldn't comment on your paranoia!!

As for dismantling . . . I wouldn't do it!! Way too much danger in bending/breaking/destroying an otherwise serviceable razor!

Another thought relative to the spring . . . it could have some crud built up in it that is preventing it from fully compressing. That could be fixed with hot water soaks in dish soap (I think you folk over there call it "cleaning up liquid") along with some time in an ultrasonic cleaner.

Welcome to our community here at B&B . . . the members here are all gentlemen, and a lot of information (and encouragement) is freely shared amongst the group!

Lol. The 'paranoia' word may have been a little 'strong'. I'm not paranoid at all, but I'm convinced that someone keeps spoiling my razors...

Re the Fatboy: I think the main problem lies in that I don't own any other TTO Gillettes to compare with. I can soon sort that problem out though... (Impster heads off to the buy/sell section on this and other forums, and logs into ebay...)

In seriousness though, I can't believe how good a shave I'm getting, even on a fairly light '3' setting. I'm not even tempted at this stage to go to a '4'.

The Merkur 38C may well be relegated to the back of the bathroom (washroom for you Americans) cabinet for a while!


Impster

I made myself one of those little tools. Took me much longer to do than I expected... a couple hours. When I was done, I taped it to the lid of my toolbox, so I wouldn't lose the product of all that sweat.
-- Chet

The take down instructions and conclusions are pretty sound. I did this to my FB just recently and found that nothing was wrong with it. There was small amounts of scum buildup, nothing like in the images though, and the spring was still usable. I would at least do the first step and take the spring out and see where you need to go from there. Good luck and have fun.

If the problem is indeed the spring, then you need only disassemble it that far, which is as simple as unthreading the cap on the bottom, which should not be a crimp judging by the date of your fatboy. This much should be very safe - very little risk of damage.
It is when you begin pounding on it to release press-fit pieces that you risk damage.

"Amish" has a good point . . . if you feel brave, take it down just to the spring and see what it looks like. With the retainer and spring removed, any additional crud inside can probably be dissolved with mineral oil or WD-40.

I'll have a look at it later today. Thanks for the advice everyone, it's much appreciated.

Ok - job done! Easier than I thought. got some very fine thin tipped pliers to unscrew the cap, and took it apart to reveal the spring, and to release the rod. Had a little soap scum on there, cleaned it all up, and added some oil that I got with my old braun electric shaver to the contact parts.

Put it all back together, and it seems better.

Also noticed that if you put the head back in at 180 degrees to what it should be, the blade seems a tad miss-aligned when you use it.

So, if you're gonna do this, bear in mind there are 2 ways to put the head back in, and if you have alignment issues, it may be worth turning the head 180 degrees within the handle.

Terrific thread. Impster welcome to B&B and congratulations on taking that FB apart!!