Is it really NOS?

[buzzy]

I was watching this straight on eBay http://www.ebay.ca/itm/221188213629?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Now that the bidding is over, do you guys really think this razor is NOS?

Scales seem to have some wear. There is some dirt on the wedge. The razor has some patina on it, but it looks like some of it was brushed away...

In the description, the guy says he hones the razor he sell. I'm not sure how a honed razor can be sold as new...

 

[Gamma]

IMO - If it was honed, it's not NOS.

 

[wherndon]

It looks pretty dang good.
Having said that, and after having spent every dime I ever earned, on ebay (+ my wife's, DON"T TELL HER!), I am some what of a 'spert.
If it is not sealed/wrapped and unopened, it is not NOS. A common ebay misnomer. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a PUMA razor that was still in a factory sealed pouch. THAT was NOS. I think it went for several hundred. As soon as someone opens the package, it is no longer NOS.
IMHO,
Bil

 

[wherndon]

IMO - If it was honed, it's not NOS.

+1
Hey, wait a minute. Why would he hone a razor that has never been used?

 

[MileMarker60]

I would not consider it NOS..
That being said remember NOS doesn't mean it's in perfect (or even good) shape.
It only means it was never sold. What I have found with NOS razors I've bought is they were not sold in the past for a reason (ie: warped blade, bad scales, etc..)

 

[wherndon]

I would not consider it NOS..
That being said remember NOS doesn't mean it's in perfect (or even good) shape.
It only means it was never sold. What I have found with NOS razors I've bought is they were not sold in the past for a reason (ie: warped blade, bad scales, etc..)

hmmm...hadn't considered that.
Thx!

 

[Bear_Blade]

Ok, for the new and uneducated, what does NOS stand for?

 

[mycarver]

New Old Stock. A term used in any number of collectable areas such as buying old car parts that are still in the original boxes instead of reproduction pieces

As to this razor you know it has to be true because it's on the internet as well as the bay and we all know nobody fudges anything there.

 

[global_dev]

may not be NOS, but it looks like prett decent condition if you wanted a case red imp. i would have asked if it was already honed.

 

[mainaman]

for me NOS means edge is as it was out of the factory

 

[mainaman]

It looks pretty dang good.
Having said that, and after having spent every dime I ever earned, on ebay (+ my wife's, DON"T TELL HER!), I am some what of a 'spert.
If it is not sealed/wrapped and unopened, it is not NOS. A common ebay misnomer. A couple of weeks ago, I saw a PUMA razor that was still in a factory sealed pouch. THAT was NOS. I think it went for several hundred. As soon as someone opens the package, it is no longer NOS.
IMHO,
Bil

SOme blades do not come in sealed box, they can still be NOS

 

[gimpochin]

Hey its coming from russia. If the guy says its never been used as a shaver I believe him. May have cut a few throats but should provide a terrific shave.

 

[life2short1971]

No factory edge means no NOS.

 

[Kentos]

IMO I had one from Obiwan's newborn PIF, and let me tell you, when it's in your hands you can tell its NOS. No rounded corners on the scales, pivot tight, bevel had, on this razor a scratch pattern unlike a hand honed one, etc. Once it gets handled it's not the same. Similar to a Dovo from the factory vs a mint used off the BST.

 

[daflorc]

Does not look NOS to me - my opinion comes from looking at the rust or water damage around the wedge pin and the color of the wedge primarily. I personally don't understand the allure of owning NOS razors. After a cleaning up or restoration, all my razors look like NOS. Now, show me something NOS in minty condition from the 1850's, and now we have something with some historical value to appreciate.

 

[BakerAndBadger]

It's not a NOS for me. Check out the scratch marks on the tang where the scales have rubbed every time it has been opened.

I consider NOS to be a fairly broad description - I don't believe in all that "only sealed in it's original wrapper" etc.
If a blade was taken out of it's wrapper, put back in the box and never used does that mean it isn't still New? If that's the case then NOS can only therefore be stuff that never got sold by a shop or even the manufacturer. Some people (my brother for one) will buy things, open them, look at them, never use them and then put them away for storage and I consider that type of thing to be NOS.

The chopper that I put up on the site the other day seems to have never been used - the guy I bought it from said it was his great grandfather's razor. When I got it there was what looked like dirt on the tang near the pivot and also near the stabilizer - when I rubbed it with a little alcohol when sterilizing the blade it turned out to be some thick grease - now I'm wondering if the original owner greased it up before putting it away and never bothered to get it out again. Now it wasn't still in it's original wrapper and the box was slightly torn however from the lack of hone wear (zero) and the lack of marks on the tang (it hadn't been restored) I'd consider it as NOS.

Rant over.

 

[Drybonz]

Like some others have said... NOS means it is "new" condition, or the same condition that you would have bought it new in the store... it is just a vintage item that is no longer sold ("old stock").

That being said, and item can be in great condition even if it is not NOS... you just want to avoid paying the premium NOS prices for an item that really isn't in that condition, because if you decide you want to re-sell it you will take a loss.

 

[FiveOhNine]

I don't believe New is a term describing condition, but rather usage (or maybe consumer sale if you want to stretch it). For example, years ago I bought a NOS razor in a sealed wrapper and box, never opened after original packaging, but it was rusted clean through. I still consided it NOS because it was NEW i.e. never USED. Fortunately, the seller was kind enough to replace it without the semantic argument

That said, even honewear isn't necessarily indicative of whether something can be called NOS, IMO. Some factories put an initial edge on a razor before boxing it up. I had another sealed razor with a very small amount of honewear and a factory edge.....still NOS in my book.

Anything outside of the above, and I would say definitely not NOS anymore. Now, if the seller had said 'the razor was NOS, then I honed it' or something similar, I wouldn't have an issue with it, but as written, I'd say not 100% accurate.

my 2 cents.

 

[GreekGuy]

If a razor has been used or honed by anyone other than the factory, I would no longer consider it NOS, because by definition it is not new

I don't have a problem with people saying like new, or I bought it NOS, stuff like that. But it always baffles me when people post SOTDs and say "Shaved with my NOS XYZ this morning."

 

[buzzy]

Do you know if the engraved logo on the scale is supposed to be painted? I think so and I can't figure how the paint would vanish by itself if the razor was sitting on a shelf all this time...