I'm an OCD type. I don't know if I could leave it.Great information on the maintenance of the Athena. I'm willing to do it... for the moment. But at the end of the day I/me/chef455 am willing to take the loss on a "perfect" luster as long as it continues to shave remarkably. Which, thus far, it has.
It is one of the unique qualities of bronze/brass razors. What are you going to do? Polish or patina? I'm fortunate to have 2 bronze Timeless razors. I'll let one develop a patina, I'll keep the other shiny. For the time being I'll put in the "work" to keep the Athena pristine. But at the end of the day if I let the Lambda go "dull" I doubt it will impact the quality of the shave.
Patina (left alone) vs. polished Timeless bronze-
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I'm retired. I should have time to clean/polish weekly, yeah? Worth the effort for something so beautiful.
It sure does shave nice, regardless. I'd like to try a different blade... I've seen guys commenting that the sound changes. I have several hundred Lab Blues, some GSBs, and more Astra SPs than I could ever use.