I've gotten a couple of razors off Ebay (Pritzlaff Cactus 5/8, Griffon 60 Carbo-Magnetic 5/8, etc) that are euphemistically referred to as good shavers. Not collectors items but any means but after a good honing (thank you Lynn) are good working shavers which is fine by me. Plus a new Dovo 5/8 and others.

As I get a little deeper in the the hobby (well, a lot deeper) I want to expand my rotation. As I look at the SRP classified ads and Ebay, I'll spot razors listed as NOS and depending on the manufacturers reputation, they will be at a premium. There's a WB Bow on auction now, for example, that's listed as NOS. Way out of my price range so I'm just watching this one.

NOS! WADE & BUTCHER BOW STRAIGHT RAZOR ( FACTORY GRIND, ORIGINAL SCALES, COFFIN) | eBay

My question is this. How does one determine whether the premium one pays for NOS is worth the value? I'm looking at them as tools that will last decades and it's been my painful experience that a used tool generally won't last as long as a new tool with a solid reputation. What I don't know is if NOS should be considered a new tool or a collectors item.

Certainly how the razor shaves is the key determinant but at what point does a razor pass from a being a tool to being, as in old cars, a garage queen and purchsed for that reason?

This may be way overthinking this but I would like to get some opinions from more experienced members about razor values.