I have an old T Hessen-Bruch & Co. razor with black scales (with the standard bear with staff "will bear inspection" imprint). I think the scales are some kind of plastic - seen it referred to as slick black in the ritchie book.

Anyway, when I soaked them in barbicide/water for ten minutes, they didn't warp but got very "tacky" [ie sticky] and have a chemically burnt rubber kind of smell. I reinsed and dried with cloth, but still smalls and still a little tacky. Had a little smell for a while but seems to at least ebb with time, but soaking in barbicide definitley "ehanced" the stink.

Any idea what causes that smell and if I should worry. Scales probably 100 years old or so, so maybe it's some kind of reaction to the chemicals in barbicide?

Anythin I should do like coat the scales in epoxy?