My new piccolo arrived last weekend. Mine has quickly earned a rotation spot. Let us see if it stays there.
Fatip Piccolo. I'm in love.
- Thread starter Cal
- Start date
I am waiting for mine to join its taller brother Grande! I look forward to hearing your impressions and insights.
- Thread starter
- #43
Ha! Got it, thank you.
The angle of attack for the Piccolo is instinctive for me in a way no other razor has matched. It is aggressive, but it is quite smooth when I "ride the cap" (very shallow blade angle). People do claim that you can use this razor with a steep angle as well I have not tried that yet.
Mine is nickle plated with no plating problems, and the parts show some signs of machining, so it is not perfectly smooth in places that do not impact the shave. At the price I paid I am not complaining however my vintage Gillette razors were crafted with more care and attention to detail.
Blade alignment is better than my old types however it is possible to load a blade slightly crooked. I have to purposely hold the blade crookedly while tightening the handle...
I have used it with a Crystal and Voskhod blade and both worked well. The Voskhod blade is slightly smoother for me but as always with blades YMMV.
I do not own a Grande so I can not compare the two but in comparison to my thick cap old types I believe I prefer this razor. We will see if that continues after the shine of newness wears off...
At $23 with shipping I am quite impressed.
Mine is nickle plated with no plating problems, and the parts show some signs of machining, so it is not perfectly smooth in places that do not impact the shave. At the price I paid I am not complaining however my vintage Gillette razors were crafted with more care and attention to detail.
Blade alignment is better than my old types however it is possible to load a blade slightly crooked. I have to purposely hold the blade crookedly while tightening the handle...
I have used it with a Crystal and Voskhod blade and both worked well. The Voskhod blade is slightly smoother for me but as always with blades YMMV.
I do not own a Grande so I can not compare the two but in comparison to my thick cap old types I believe I prefer this razor. We will see if that continues after the shine of newness wears off...
At $23 with shipping I am quite impressed.
Really wish they sold replacement top caps. It's disappointing to see it so praised, owning one with a cap so skewed, it feels like I'm shaving with a rusty can lid. Sad to say it's sitting in the DO NOT USE corner on my shelf.
Yeah that is the risk. When it is right it is such a nice razor, I really have trouble suggesting it to people since from what I have read it can go so wrong...
- Thread starter
- #47
Having heard about this not long ago, I decided to inspect my Piccolo after fitting a new blade. Sure enough it was skewed. So I thought it's probably been skewed all the previous times I've used it too.
I thought "Ha! I've got a Slant Piccolo; better treat it with even more respect."
So I did and got a(nother) fabulous shave.
Then I thought "I bet it aligns this way every time (and I'll be damned if I'm going to fiddle with it every time to make the blade/cap straight)." So instead of simply rinsing and leaving for the next shave, I dismantled it, cleaned it, then put it back together. Voilà:
Sure enough, exactly the same alignment. Hip Hooray for Slant Piccolos!
This little baby is definitely the best razor I've ever had (and I've been around for a while
).Wow, mine does not slant like that. Thanks for posting the picture. I'll have to take a pic of mine for contrast...
- Thread starter
- #50
The first time I used the Piccolo virtually all of my angles were steep, and I got a great shave.
After much reading here on B&B I've moved over to "as shallow as possible," and my bible is this post from [MENTION=30982]bosseb[/MENTION] (which I currently read before each shave). I do still use steep angles, but only to trim sideburn and moustache edges where appropriate.
I look forward to seeing a similar pic of your Piccolo.
Perhaps we should start a Piccolo Alignment Thread.
Having heard about this not long ago, I decided to inspect my Piccolo after fitting a new blade. Sure enough it was skewed. So I thought it's probably been skewed all the previous times I've used it too.
I thought "Ha! I've got a Slant Piccolo; better treat it with even more respect."
So I did and got a(nother) fabulous shave.
Then I thought "I bet it aligns this way every time (and I'll be damned if I'm going to fiddle with it every time to make the blade/cap straight)." So instead of simply rinsing and leaving for the next shave, I dismantled it, cleaned it, then put it back together. Voilà:
View attachment 631902
Sure enough, exactly the same alignment. Hip Hooray for Slant Piccolos!
This little baby is definitely the best razor I've ever had (and I've been around for a while
I think my razor found it's twin- that's exactly how mine looks
blade alignment isn't a problem...god shaver must know how to load his gun
My experience is the same. It's nice when alignment is automatic, but if not, improviseblade alignment isn't a problem...god shaver must know how to load his gun
- Thread starter
- #54
[MENTION=105042]energyloop[/MENTION]: With the information on this thread so far... are you going to take your Slant Piccolo out for another run (perhaps with an "it's meant to be like this" attitude, rather than thinking "there's something wrong with this")?I think my razor found it's twin- that's exactly how mine looks
Who knows? Perhaps they ARE meant to be this way.
WHY DID I BUY THIS BABY?
When I purchase anything that particularly interests me I always try to find out as much as I possibly can about that product. My Fatip searches always came to a dead end. About the only information I could find was the alleged aggressiveness of the razor. As far as my searches were concerned... it was as if Fatip were some well hidden secret society. The ONLY reason I purchased it was because I liked the look of it (something I'm definitely NOT accustomed to doing).
AND FINALLY
As you all know by now, I'm extremely pleased that I went against all my left brain reasons for not purchasing this baby. I'm starting to suspect that the "Fatip Slant" was actually designed that way... but would Secret Society Fatip ever let us know?
- Thread starter
- #55
blade alignment isn't a problem...god shaver must know how to load his gun
(As per posts above) I'm finding that blade alignment IS automatic. It goes into the Fatip Slant position EVERY TIME (for me anyway).
@energyloop: With the information on this thread so far... are you going to take your Slant Piccolo out for another run (perhaps with an "it's meant to be like this" attitude, rather than thinking "there's something wrong with this")?
Who knows? Perhaps they ARE meant to be this way.
WHY DID I BUY THIS BABY?
When I purchase anything that particularly interests me I always try to find out as much as I possibly can about that product. My Fatip searches always came to a dead end. About the only information I could find was the alleged aggressiveness of the razor. As far as my searches were concerned... it was as if Fatip were some well hidden secret society. The ONLY reason I purchased it was because I liked the look of it (something I'm definitely NOT accustomed to doing).
AND FINALLY
As you all know by now, I'm extremely pleased that I went against all my left brain reasons for not purchasing this baby. I'm starting to suspect that the "Fatip Slant" was actually designed that way... but would Secret Society Fatip ever let us know?
I've already did that several times, actually. I use it as a quarterly DE technique exam
I think my razor found it's twin- that's exactly how mine looks
Okay, now I really have to post the pic of mine which is straight, and not a Piccolo Slant...
Here it is, the rare version, a Piccolo with a straight cap...
I have a straight cap also, unfortunately it's a flaking plating version. Haven't even had it that long. The blade sits perfect and its a fine little razor, which makes it hard for me to decide if I should try to get it exchanged and hope I get another straight non-flaking one or just keep and deal with it.
Is that one nickel or chrome plated?
Similar threads
