Thread: Scale rot example

Originally Posted by Oscroft

Just spotted this on eBay UK and thought I'd post it as a warning...





It looks like a beautiful example of celluloid rot (if beautiful is the word). See how the blade damage matches the light-coloured parts of the scales?

Originally Posted by Oscroft

And the rust would match the light color in the scales so nicely? I doubt it.

Originally Posted by Oscroft

Pitting from cell rot often is patchy - it often tends to follow the lighter and more transparent celluloid, whereas normal rust doesn't.

It progresses from the line of closing of the razor, yes, and in the example you show the scale celluloid is pretty uniform in material so I'd expect a more uniform pitting from the rot (although it's way too far gone to have any idea how it would have started). Look at my example again - the pitting is pretty much within the closed line of the blade, and it's almost an exact match for the light color patches of the scales.

There's another example of pattern-dependent rot here.

Originally Posted by Oscroft

It really doesn't seem likely to me that rust and staining would just happen to coincide so closely with the color patterns of the scales... but I guess once some cell rot starts, any further dampness from not drying properly might well accumulate in the first pittings and that's where the rusting would happen.

Originally Posted by Oscroft

So, any idea why it exactly coincides with the patterns on the scales?

Originally Posted by Oscroft

You don't? Wow

Here is the thing, you are trying really hard to definitively say this is Cell Rot, which everyone is trying to tell you that although you may very well be right, there is just NO way to definitively say that from the 2 pics presented.. That is what everyone is trying to get across (at least that is my impression) we are not saying you are wrong we are simply saying that there isn't enough info presented to tell for sure

Without further info it is a distinct possibility that this is most likely Cell Rot, did you notice the wording I just used..

Now if that razor were in hand it would be a whole different story, regardless of whether it is cell rot or not the razor is in need of serious restoration if it will survive that is also not definitive from the pics