Thread: Questions about old razors

Cell rot is the decomposition or off gassing of Celluloid, an early form of plastic. There are various forms of Cell rot depending on the formulation used. The causes are really unknown, but heat, storage in an attic or in a hot glass case, (antique shop) seem to kick it off and once started there is no cure. All you can do is remove the scales. Take good photos, measurements and tracing of the scales and remove them to save the blade.

Certain types of scales are more susceptible, clear or translucent, Fax tortoise, and Whitefish fax Ivory seem to be the most common. Some have smell, some don’t.

Left unchecked, it will eat completely, a razor or will leave the steel so pitted and damaged that it will not hold an edge.

More specifically, cell rot is the same process that vexes film historians. You've heard of old film stock (from the 1920's and 30's) disintegrating? It's the same thing because for a while, razor scales were made of the same stuff. Celluloid (or some other proprietary named blend, there are a variety of names).

The really short version is that transparent celluloids have a very strong -- perhaps inevitable -- tendency to degrade over time. When the material breaks down, it emits nitric acid vapor.

With regards to razors: many different types of scales were made with some variety of celluloid, but only a small subset of them have been reliably unstable. The ones designed to imitate tortoise shell are very bad. The Tuckmar is the only one of your collection that is likely to be exhibiting cell rot, though its outgassing may well have caused some of the corrosion on some of the other razors if they were stored in an enclosed space with it.

The opaque yellow (ivoroid, ivorine, or French ivory) are also a celluloid type scale, but typically those are stable.

There's a widely held belief that one razor with outgassing scales can 'infect' other celluloid and cause it to break down. I haven't ever seen anyone conclusively prove this, but whether or not it's true it's a good idea to isolate suspected celluloid breakdown simply because the nitric acid gas is bad for any razors near it.

There is nothing you can do to stop the process once it's started (and it may not be possible to prevent it from happening in the first place). It can be sort of mitigated, but the best practice is to make new scales for the razor.

That's a nice selection that your dad passed down to you! I would second that you should look for someone in your area that is more experienced in restoration, I have broken both blades and scales doing restoration work and that would be terrible on a family piece!!!

Celticcrusader has come back to me he seems the man I need to meet. I am waiting for him to come back to me. Really am getting excited about having a go at shaving. May not be after first try but whatever lol