I have purchased a few NOS Gillette razors and im hesitate to try them. I read that most of them shave well but I would rather keep them new and collect them. What do you do with your NOS razors?
I am the type of person who won't buy something unless I can use it. I have passed up on some awesome classic cars because I thought they needed to be preserved, not modified the way I would build them. So I typicly won't buy something if I think it needs to be preserved and not used. I like the idea of using old things more than preserving them. If I ran across an unused NOS shave item that I wanted to use, I would probably try to trade it for a nice one that I wouldn't feel bad about using. What all did you pick up?
I don't buy anything I'm not going to plan on using. To me, buying and not using anything, whether it's razors or anything else, is like the old ladies who have made a fancy living room in their home that nobody gets to use.
Depends. I have some NOS razors that were mint but with no sealed packaging around them - those razors I will happily use. I have one or two razors that are still in their old, sealed packaging with vintage prints/pics on them and those I won't open but rather have as a display piece on the shelf.
I'd say if I use it even just once it's not mint any more. I am less clear on what really constitutes NOS though - I think it implies never used/mint in box but have seen a lot of different takes on that term.
I'm with the others in that I obtain to use. No way it's going to become worth enough to make retirement.
I bought an NOS injector once just so I could be the first guy to shave with it. I like Steve's take on it. Maybe I could have held on to it for 10 years and made $10 on it but why not get the enjoyment out of it? And even if I could make $100 on it at some point, that's not going to let me retire early.
Use it. And after you use it go find a Financial planner and put down $100 every time you have the urge to splurge.
I think the misconception is that a lot of people assume that collectors keep NOS items in their boxes because they expect to be able to profit heavily from some unknown increase in price. I personally believe that in many/most cases the truth is that collectors appreciate the item for how it looks - the vintage box, the 'time capsule' it represents. It is not much different to anyone's choice in knick-knack that is put on shelves, hung on walls, etc. I also think there's a tendency for people view "use it" as the only 'real' answer or approach as if you're not using it you're a bit odd. Granted, I have about 75 razors or so and only one of them sits in an unopened box and I go through some effort hunting down old blades to make sure I actually use all my other razors - but having said that I can absolutely see why someone would have a nice display with unopened, NOS razors with no intent of using them and just enjoying them for what they are. I've always liked industrial design and marketing and to me it's neat to see how everyday products were issued to the public - especially low-cost ones as those are the ones that were never treated with much care when purchased and are more rare to find 'untouched by man' today.
I appreciate what you're saying Darkbulb. I'm just not one of those people. And FWIW, the NOS injector I bought probably wouldn't have been worth much to a collector. The package was beat up but the razor was unused and that was all that mattered to me so I got it for less than a truly pristine example. I really do understand some people appreciate pristine examples though so I leave those for them.
I can understand the New Unopened collection vs. one that gets used. I chose to not purchase ones that I would have to open to use, to let someone else enjoy the collecting part. If you look at cars or motorcycles, how many trailer queens are out there that only get 100 miles a year? I would take a beater I can use vs. one I needed to preserve. Its all on the owner and where they see value in it.