New Fatip 2015 Closed Comb "gentile"

Hi mates!

Just realized that Fatip has launched a new closed Comb razor head line which seems very "curvy" designed :

http://www.italianbarber.com/collec...a-gentile-de-safety-razor-grande-chrome-42122

Some of you have tried it? I'm very curious about it as I loved the look of my gold plated Fatip Grande but was way too aggressive for my poor face...

Cheers!

Haven't tried, but does look interesting.

I ordered one this weekend, but it hasn't shipped yet.

Uh...is this a slant razor? The pictures and description on the I.B. website seem perversely uninformative.

creekwalker said:

Uh...is this a slant razor?

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Nope.

Grande was way too aggressive for me as well...I like the looks of the Gentile,guess I'll wait for the gold to be restocked...

I just got a notice that mine was shipped today, so hopefully I get it Saturday, but most likely it will be here Monday.

Ddint use my FATIP RETro Gunmetal for a year, got some bad rust stain starting..

I received the Gentile last night and had my first shave with it today. There is some play in loading the blade but I was able to get the blade in straight and even on both sides. The cap appears to be the same one as the OC Fatip but the plating appears to be better on the new razor. My OC is in Nickel while CC is chrome. The plating is still not has good a EJ or Muhle, but I was expecting worse.

I didn't have a chance to take a picture but will work on that tonight. I used a new BIC blade and Tabac soap for the initial shave. I also replaced the handle with a heavier/better grip handle.

When it came to shaving finding the right angle was easy. For a mild razor I could feel the blade on my face, more than expected. I was not worried about cutting myself and it was an efficient razor. I would say that it shaves similar to my Progress set to about 2.5 or my slim at 5. The head curves the blade quite a bit so I would say it shaves more like my progress than the slim. I was very impressed and look forward to future shaves with this razor. I may have to pick up a gold one, when they are back in stock.

My Testina Gentile finally arrived, so I thought I'd share some first impressions.
Build:
I know that Fatips are notorious for poor finish issues, but I must be living right, because both my Piccolo, acquired a few years ago, and this Gentile are pretty good. The chrome plated Gentile seems a bit better overall; there a couple of minor flaws, but the finish, on this one at least, is completely acceptable by my standards. Everything goes together smoothly, and blade alignment requires no fiddling, and appears to be right on. The Gentile weighs in at 67 grams, so it's a medium weight razor, and the balance and overall heft feels about right to me. The brass handle is hollow, but the casting is fairly thick and it feels plenty stout. Overall, a very handsome razor.
The shave:
I'm only two shaves in, so consider these observations preliminary. The Gentile is billed, as the name implies, as a milder alternative to the highly aggressive Fatip OC head. Though that is definitely true, one needs to consider the point of comparison. While the Gentile is certainly less aggressive than the Fatip OC, I would not consider it a mild razor. To me, mild is a Tech or Krona; the Gentile is at least a few notches up from that, to my face. For reference, I tend to prefer mid-range aggressive razors, and I'd put the Gentile in that range. As nice as it is, I find the Fatip OC to be a little too much for me to use on a regular basis. But the Gentile so far seems much closer to my mid-point sweet spot, and I think that it is much more likely to make my regular rotation. The shaves so far have been smooth and comfortable, and plenty close as well. The angle is pretty intuitive, but I probably need more reps to get that just right and really get the best out of this razor. Preliminary opinion: at least very good, with the potential to be outstanding with a little more operator experience.
Overall:
A well made, decently finished, good shaving, all brass razor, for several dollars less than the comparable Zamak Merkurs and Jaggers. Give Fatip an A+ for that. Of course, they already had that with their OC, but for those of us who find the Fatip OC to be just a little too much razor, the Gentile is a very welcome addition to the current production razor market. Despite its name, don't mistake it for a very mild shaving razor, but if you prefer a razor in the middle of the aggressiveness range, the Gentile is definitely worth a look.

That's a great looking razor and seems to be well made in the sense that it's made of brass. How does it compare to a Tech? I prefer a mild razor and the Tech is about perfect for a daily driver for me.

Thanks for the reviews and the pics!

-Mc

Great review! Thx for being an early adaptor. Sounds like a great razor and a nice affordable non-zamak option. I also look forward to the Tech comparisons.

McHale said:

That's a great looking razor and seems to be well made in the sense that it's made of brass. How does it compare to a Tech? I prefer a mild razor and the Tech is about perfect for a daily driver for me.

Thanks for the reviews and the pics!

-Mc

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I'll qualify this assessment in two ways: First, I'm only a couple of shaves in on the Gentile, so I'll have a more accurate impression after several more shaves. And, second, I'm not a regular Tech user, though I have a couple, and have logged some time with them. So with those caveats, I'll say that my impression of the Gentile is that it is noticeably more aggressive than a Tech. While I've thus far found the Gentile quite smooth and forgiving, I definitely feel more blade on the skin, the resulting shave is closer, and the AS gives a little more burn, than what I would expect from a Tech.

That's what I can report for now; I'll try to put up some more posts as I gain more familiarity with the razor.

Thanks for the great review! This sounds like my kind of razor. I like the Grande but often find myself wishing for something just slightly less aggressive, but not so much so that it lands at the mild end of the spectrum. I'll add this to the wish list...

Looks alot this old razor that I have with no name. Only mine is a beast.

rabidus said:

Looks alot this old razor that I have with no name. Only mine is a beast.

View attachment 618815

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Wow, that does look remarkably similar, the plate especially. The cap does look somewhat different, which could account for the difference in blade exposure and hence aggressiveness.

If it shaves as well as a Merkur 45 (which is actually surprising efficient and a firm favorite with me) I am definitely interested. I love that razor but have to be careful not to over-torque the head.

I also like my Fatip Grande- very efficient and has great manners. I just hope at some stage Fatip start to improve the consistency of their fit and finish. I find getting a good blade alignment on my Fatip to be a chore.

Anyway I might watch out for more reviews here and see if it might be worthy of a purchase. My guess 'gentle' is a relative term and hope it has at least some bite like my 45.

FatboyFan said:

If it shaves as well as a Merkur 45 (which is actually surprising efficient and a firm favorite with me) I am definitely interested. I love that razor but have to be careful not to over-torque the head.

I also like my Fatip Grande- very efficient and has great manners. I just hope at some stage Fatip start to improve the consistency of their fit and finish. I find getting a good blade alignment on my Fatip to be a chore.

Anyway I might watch out for more reviews here and see if it might be worthy of a purchase. My guess 'gentle' is a relative term and hope it has at least some bite like my 45.

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I used it for the 2nd time today and it defiantly has some bite. It feels to be about as aggressive as my Att M2. I have never used a Merkur 45 so I can't compare the two.

ATT2 would be more aggressive that the 45 (guessing).

Hahaha this thread had me dust off my Grande just now.

Man, what a great little jigger it is. I think I have sorted the blade alignment issues as well. If I load the blade then push the comb section to conform the blade to the cap, then screw the handle in while holding the comb hard down against the blade and cap, I get a perfect alignment - equal blade exposure and a straight line running along the comb.

An experienced wet shaver will love how this shaves. You feel the blade there but using the lightest of 'zero pressure' technique rewards the shaver with a comfortable "take no prisoners" shave. I maintain that if I was in a hurry, I would be be DFS in one pass. As it stood I was BBS in 2 (and I have an uncooperatively wiry whisker type.

I might get one of these 'Gentile' models to try. I think it could be a very nice razor and even a good traveler.

Update after more shaving experience:

Build:
As they say in football, "After further review ... " I need to revise my initial assessment regarding blade alignment. It turns out my experience with the initial loading may have been just dumb luck. In the process of test fitting a few other handles I noted that there is, in fact, some substantial play, and it's pretty easy to tighten up on a misaligned blade. It's not insurmountable if you pay attention, but that is required to make sure you get it right. Definitely a little fussier than I originally thought.

The shave:

I'll stick mostly to my initial observations: While nowhere near as aggressive as the Fatip OC, the Gentile isn't what I would call a mild razor. It is perhaps a bit milder than my initial impression, but it fits my concept of a mid-range razor; reasonably efficient, reasonably forgiving, and the shave is comfortable. All other things being equal, I generally favor comfort (i.e. lack of irritation) over closeness, so the Gentile works for me. The Gentile shaves plenty close for my tastes, but if you want to chase BBS, there are probably more efficient ways to get there. I need a little more work to get the angle and technique really dialed in, but so far I'm liking the shave from this razor.