NOS Slim - to clean or not?

[mikemorton]

I was lucky enough to grab a NOS Slim that was on sale in the UK section of eBay before Christmas.

The case still has an internal cardboard strip with the price marked in shillings and pennies (for the UK market) to stop the razor being taken out of its case and manhandled before purchase.

However, with extreme care, I have managed to separate the razor from its 51-year-old sarcophagus so I can display it in a glass case along with my other razors.

The process can be reversed if desired.

The razor has never been used, but looks a little dull.

I have located a source for some Maas polish in the UK (Lakeland for any fellow Brits reading this), but don't know whether to polish it or leave it as is.

If I get the chance I'll post a pic, but in the meantime the razor is best described as being flat and lifeless, rather than having taken on a patina.

So should I leave well alone, or put in some time for a shine?

 

[eastomjac]

first,did you get it to use or collect?then if you want it in original condition i wouldnt clean it.on the other hand cleaning wont harm it but it wont be nos any more.i would clean and use it.but i collect to use mostly.the ones i collect are kept as i find them.YMMV

 

[thekinge]

If it is truly mint / NOS, then I'd personally leave it as is and probably keep it in its case as well. But then, that's just me. If you like to add a little shine to it, then do go ahead and polish her up! I'm afraid I'm not expert enough to confirm whether Maas is suitable for the job or not so I'll leave that to other B&B'ers!

 

[mikemorton]

No, I bought it purely to have on display.

I have another Slim that I have polished up (it looks beautiful!) and I use it every other day. It's well used, but is mechanically perfect and looks and shaves really well.

As to the original, I'm sensing leave well alone then!

As a collector I "should" be concerned with the cases the razors came in, but my favourite way of displaying them at the moment is in a glass display case. (Yesterday's model cars are today's razors! I'm so fickle.)