Thread: Another smelly one.

I've searched and not come up with a situation that is quite like mine.
I have an old henkles cutwell that's in good condition, a little tarnishing on the blade but I've decided to live with it instead of losing the gold leaf.
Anyway one of the things I like best about this razor was the feeling of quality I get from it. It's had years of use and it still opens and closes with just the right amount of resistance and it's still perfectly centered in the scales.

But the scales stink. They're in great condition and dont appear to be causing any harm to the blade, they just stink like burning rubber when they're wet. (Not burning hair or vinegar).
At first I assumed the smell was from the polish I used on the blade, but instead of fading as I used the razor it seems to be a little stronger, and it's at its strongest when the scales get wet. At the moment I have to have the scales nearly at my nose to notice the smell but this morning I could smell them as I shaved my neck, and it seemed to linger too. I could swear that I could still smell it on me hours later.

Someone's suggested wax to seal the scales in another thread and I think I'll try that if no one's had the same experience and has the answer.

FROM wiipedia
<<Ebonite is one of the earliest forms of plastic. A hard, rigid and shiny resin, it was intended as an artificial substitute for ebony wood. It is actually a very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods. As a result, it is about 30% to 40% sulfur. It is often used in bowling balls, smoking pipe mouthpieces, fountain pen nib feeds, and high-quality saxophone and clarinet mouthpiecesEbonite is one of the earliest forms of plastic. A hard, rigid and shiny resin, it was intended as an artificial substitute for ebony wood. It is actually a very hard rubber first obtained by Charles Goodyear by vulcanizing rubber for prolonged periods. As a result, it is about 30% to 40% sulfur. It is often used in bowling balls, smoking pipe mouthpieces, fountain pen nib feeds, and high-quality saxophone and clarinet mouthpieces >>
this type of recin was used for scales mainly in British razors
I like it because it hasnt the problems of celluloid (dedradation with acidic fumes, bending with the temperature)
The only drawback that has hard rubber is that when in light rays for long time changes the color to a not shiny yellow green, but is easy to remove this coating with a polishing pasteand and the smell (burning rubber-sulf)
And as the celluloid it is far better than ordinary plastics.

Yannis

I think I am the one that recommended wax - but only after sanding, I had the exact same problem that you had - and I think Yannis and I are talking about the same material when I did research on Vulcanite - never heard it called 'Ebonite" but that makes sense - What Yannis describes as the degradation of Ebonite with the fuzzy green cast is right on, and when you sand this stuff or rub it with say Maas polish, it stinks like no one's business. Vulcanite, while it can be painted, is only black (from the rubber component, I assume).

My suggestion in my previous postings was light wet/dry sand paper, very high grit ( I think I was using 2500) - while running the scales under water, take off the very surface layer. It is my experience that the outside of the scales (those subject to the most direct light and air) discolored the most, and therefore required the most sanding to get rid of not only the discoloration, but also the smell - the inside of the scales were fine, but your mileage may vary. After you have sanded off enough of the surface (don't be afraid, not much comes off, you will be surprised), then squirt some MAAS into your hand and hand rub that puppy. Rub everywhere - one of the reasons I suggest hand rubbing over say a Dremel, is that a tool can leave flat spots if left even a second too long on a scale like this, if you do it by hand you will avoid this. Rinse often, and keep doing it until the whole scale (giving extra attention around the pins) is getting shiny. You will not get a mirror finish with MAAS on these scales, just won't happen, but you will get a dull shine. THEN go after it with the wax - don't be stingy, hand rub that sucker till it glows. I used Renaissance wax, and while it is not a panacea, it is pretty impressive stuff (expensive too). Wax being a little abrasive will give you that final shine, AND seal the surface - and you will be good to go. Whole operation took about an hour, with beer and bad TV. Will make your hands rough for a day. Well worth it. Take a look at my "JR First" and JR Second" threads in the restoration section recently, while the scales don't show up that well - they were dull green fuzzy vulcanite when I started, and they look brand new now. And they don't stink...ever.

Do a search on Vulcanite here, and you should find my research links on that material and Xylonite, which came later as an attempt to find a substitute for ivory - all of these things predated celluloid...and rather allows you to date your razor.

Hope this helps,

K

Thanks for all the good info.

Would you still recommend sanding if there is no discoloration?
The scales are a matte black, but with a little oil they look very much like those on my new dovo.

There must still some breakdown of the scales to cause the smell - you may want to just try the wax first - no oil. The oil and the wax will not mix well, make sure you wipe the scales down well before you wax them. I am thinking the oil may actually cause some breakdown of the rubber compound, but I do not know for sure - anyone else care to speculate?

K

Excellent post Kriton, yes it is the same material (vulcanite -ebonite)
the way that you suggest I follow and for my pipe mouthpieces

The smell is the result of detreioration of the vulcanite in the scales. The smell of burned rubber is the sulfur in the vulcanized rubber separating. The recommended method of caring for this material is to keep it from light, moisture and heat and allow for air circulation.

A layer of wax might reduce some of the oxygen exposure on the surface, but the material is just given to decomposition by its nature.

The razor I got from Grandpa C has the old rubber smell as well. Only when I was cleaning it with MAAS did I get a whiff, Oooo uke: Lucky for me after it was all cleaned off it didn't smell. Just to see if the smell was gone I tried a small patch... uke: reek city. So I cleaned it off again and will never let MAAS touch the scales

You guys are amazing. This is an awesome thread!!

Thanks,

Lynn

You know, I have a razor with a stinky scales problem too, and try as I might I can't get the smell off. I'm thinking of selling the razor (with the forewarning that it stinks to high heaven) or removing the blade (which is in great shape) from the scales for some future restoration project.

Only thing is, my scales don't smell like burnt rubber. More like rancid cheese, or dried vomit.

Yeah. You see why I want to get rid of the razor?