Thread: Cell rot, can someone advise please

Hi
Ive been reading a bit about cell rot on the forum and I think I understand what it is, the celluloid breaking down and releasing gas that damages the metal on the blade?
My question is, how do you spot it on eBay razors, and is it an inevitable result of celluloid scales so will it happen to all celluloid razors eventually?
Can anything be done to prevent or mitigate it?
Thanks
Duncan

I suppose that yes it will happen to all celluloid scales eventually but I would guess that the window of time may be anywhere in a 200+ year window.

The following should be read in the voice of Jeff Foxworthy.

If you see apparent surface rust everywhere above where the blade is enclosed by the scales...
You might have celluloid rot.

Oddly, if you see apparent surface rust everywhere below where the blade is enclosed in the scales...
You might have celluloid rot.

If you see spotty patches of rust that line up with corresponding patches of coloring (especially in faux tortoise shell)...
You might have celluloid rot.

If you see a razor with green scales...
You might have celluloid rot.

If you see a dubl duck...
You might have celluloid rot.

If you think you see one razor with celluloid rot...
You might have more celluloid rot.

For prevention/mitigation...

In the voice of, well, anyone you wish but I'll suggest Donald Duck or Donald Trump--whichever one you consider more credible.

Allow adequate ventilation. Don't store razors in tight enclosed spaces, especially for long term storage. This is because the offgassing can cause nearby scales to begin to break down as well.

If you do suspect celluloid rot, sequester that razor away from other razors. Better yet, follow the suspect supplies credo of "when in doubt, throw it out." In this case that means to remove and either discard them or at least store them away from any other razors or scales.

I think Ron has done a fairly through job of covering the bases, additionally I would do a search for cel rot up above and I would bet you will find oodles of threads.

I've seen a lot of rot on razors with "faux tortoise" scales. So I'm avoiding those although I like the looks.

Nicely said utopian! I think I have a case of cell rot with my of my favorite green handled wedges....found rust spots yesterday after only a week of non-use.
To the OP: When you look at pictures, the rot is not apparent when you are browsing on the bay but you will know quickly when you get it!

In this thread http://straightrazorpalace.com/show-...r-aquired.html -- I would say that member Muddy has made a nice purchase, but those multi-color celluloid scales shown are somewhat notorious for out-gassing. All celluloid will do it eventually, dampness and poor ventilation seem to hasten the deterioration of the blade.

Originally Posted by stimpy52

would say that member Muddy has made a nice purchase, but those multi-color celluloid scales shown are somewhat notorious for out-gassing. All celluloid will do it eventually, dampness and poor ventilation seem to hasten the deterioration of the blade.

Actually, I remember asking about celluloid on a pen forum or was it a company that produces pens in celluloid ? The response was that these days there are (at least) two different types of celluloid, one of which is the one used for old razor scales, the other kind is supposed to be far more stable chemically.

Anyone know about that?

There are way more then Two recipes that were used over the years, also the new Celluloid can also be prone to off gassing, Masecraft sent some out to me a few years back to test Major Failure

This is one of the reason that cell rot is so insidious as it has very few set in stone rules and is hard to diagnose unless it is in the later stages..

To simply malign Green scales or Tortoise or Multi-colors is a bad thing and is a bit deceptive

There are scales that have tendencies say the old Puma Faux Tortoise but a Clauss with Faux Tortoise is simply not the same animal the Puma has a high percentage of fail and the Clauss much lower

Dubl Duck scales along with Otto Desustch (green) are actually in the early years Catalin and have a high percentage of fail but later DD's were Celluloid and the percentage is way lower ..


What I an trying to say here is that there are very few rules to Cell Rot, I am not saying that what any one has posted is wrong, there is simply more to the story...

Do an advanced search using Neil Miller and Celluloid Rot as your terms, Neil forgot more about the old scale making processes then most of us ever knew


Edit: @Duncan - Once Celluloid begins to off gas there is nothing left to do but replace it

Thanks Glen. I completely agree that my "rules" which I did not intend to imply to be rules, were overly simplistic and therefore deceptive. They were only meant in the spirit of the original question, which was asking for things to watch for.

There should have been more emphasis on the word MIGHT.
It's Mr. Foxworthy's fault for not making that more clear.