Antique Toasters

[MadMan]

There's nothing inherently dangerous about the toaster. Just make a firm habit of never leaving it unattended. Which, technically is the case for any toaster, even space heaters, hair driers, etc, etc. That, and take the usual precautions. ie, don't make toast while in the bathtub, don't operate it under your curtains, don't touch hot things with your hands, etc. I don't see a reason to add a thermal fuse, as it's very likely it would just pop after a couple slices of toast. Remember the thing is metal, and it will all get quite warm. Grounding it... I wouldn't. That's just me though, I don't mind the shock risk (it's minimal anyway). What I would do is a good inspection of the internal wiring, as old wires like to crumble. If you ask me, throwing a ground on it is not a substitute for actually making sure it's safe to operate. And once it's safe, then a ground is not really needed.

The mica sheet is probably not dirty at all, that's just how it looks. Or, if it is dirty, the dirt would be vaporized off of it after being heated for some time. Leave it alone.

There are plenty of replacement toaster cords (sometimes called 'heater cord' or 'appliance cord') available on ebay. Some old, some new-ish. Shouldn't be any problem with one of those. The pin spacing and size looks standard.

Incidentally, it being named the 'Flipflop' I think this is the type that flips the bread over when you open the door, so you don't have to touch the bread to flip it to toast the other side.