Just a quick rant of sorts about these two razors. Having recently had a pair of them restored out of a sense of posterity more than anything, I made the decision to set my daily go-to the Stainless steel fixed position ''Above the Tie Colossus R1' aside for a week or two to give the Slim and the Fatboy a serious run.
I am about a week in, and to be quite frank I am astonished at the performance of both of these restored Vintage razors. Prior to having them serviced and re-plated there was a fair bit of 'play' in the mechanical aspects of both razors, quite understandable as they are 50 years old or so. The work done on both of them, whatever specifically it was has removed all trace of the mechanical wear and tear, they are tighter, more fluid when opening and the threads now glide smoothly and exactly. The adjustment dial now has a firm report when moved and locks in readily.
I own a long handled Merkur Progress, it is a fantastic adjustable piece and I get some really good shaves out of it despite it being somewhat aggressive at a low setting. However when I compare it side by side to both the Vintage Slim and the Fatboy I am tempted to say it is not really in the race when it comes to quality of shave. I base my comparison on using only Feather blades in all 3 adjustable's. I find that both the Fatboy and the Slim have blade gaps that are set lower than the Progress, in that I mean the gradient begins at a lower setting equating to (for me) the perfect efficiency being at 7 in both the slim and fatboy while in the Progress it is at 3.5 maximum before the shave is too aggressive (efficient).
These are my thoughts currently, I still love my progress and certainly the ATT razor but these two 50 or so year old razors, now being restored, are delivering truly superb shaves now I have attenuated the dial to the position that affords the best shave.
I am about a week in, and to be quite frank I am astonished at the performance of both of these restored Vintage razors. Prior to having them serviced and re-plated there was a fair bit of 'play' in the mechanical aspects of both razors, quite understandable as they are 50 years old or so. The work done on both of them, whatever specifically it was has removed all trace of the mechanical wear and tear, they are tighter, more fluid when opening and the threads now glide smoothly and exactly. The adjustment dial now has a firm report when moved and locks in readily.
I own a long handled Merkur Progress, it is a fantastic adjustable piece and I get some really good shaves out of it despite it being somewhat aggressive at a low setting. However when I compare it side by side to both the Vintage Slim and the Fatboy I am tempted to say it is not really in the race when it comes to quality of shave. I base my comparison on using only Feather blades in all 3 adjustable's. I find that both the Fatboy and the Slim have blade gaps that are set lower than the Progress, in that I mean the gradient begins at a lower setting equating to (for me) the perfect efficiency being at 7 in both the slim and fatboy while in the Progress it is at 3.5 maximum before the shave is too aggressive (efficient).
These are my thoughts currently, I still love my progress and certainly the ATT razor but these two 50 or so year old razors, now being restored, are delivering truly superb shaves now I have attenuated the dial to the position that affords the best shave.
. Also I would be curious as to how they preformed new. Is it possible that the restoration/service improved on the factory set up? Is it possible to reset the gap to make the progress less aggressive
and spend extra time with you're family and friends 
