Camelia oil. Look at the result:

　
I use Camelia oil to store the razors that will not be used for several months and I do it to prevent oxidation.

This razor was honed, cleaned and dried. After that Camelia oil was passed at the surface of the metal with my finger. The razor was stored for about 6 months. Today I gave a look to the razor to see if more oil should be added and I found it in this situation:

http://s22.postimg.org/xxolvo469/DSC00682.jpg


http://s22.postimg.org/cmr1rem1t/DSC00684.jpg





　
　
It is full of rust! Even on the edge. And there is minimum trace of the oil itself.
Camelia oil offered no protection at all in this razor. It may even harmed the razor.


Now I am thinking of cleaning this rust out using some metal cleaning solvents and a dremel.

Any advice or comment is welcome.
　



I will not use again Camalia oil for razor protection. Enough! I will switch to Ballistol.

Isolate this razor from all the others NOW!!!

YOU HAVE CELL ROT!

What shooter said :(

To be honest, I don't oil my razors as it seems to me they rust more readily. I live in a house that is anything but dry and I just store my razors in the open on a shelf where I know that my family wont spill water on them. As for me anyway storing them in the open as seemed to work best.

I store mine in a drawer away from the bathroom with no oil, no Renaissance Wax or anything. I get them out every four months or so, wipe them gently with toilet paper and have never had a hint of rust or any degradation of the edge.

Scales undergoing cell rot decomposition emit highly corrosive acid gas that will rust any nearby steel. No protective coating can be trusted.

I would trust a good gun oil over carmelia oil (Woodcraft) for long term storage, but I use carmelia oil sold for knife and edged tool protection on carbon blades after shaving.

I have not tried Ballistol, but it is often recommended.

HTH

Sorry to see that ,and it is a Herder too.
That being said I have had razors stored with Ballistol for more than a year and are fine.

I have to agree. That looks like cell rot. I would replace the scales.

Cell rot???

What is that?


Please don’t give links to read for the rest of the week http://www.sherv.net/cm/emo/lol/smiley-lol.gif






What should I do to treat the razor?


And yes mainaman, it was a beautiful Herder :cry:

Best thing now to do is get the blade away from those scales, NOW, so they need de-pinned. The blade may be able to be saved, but you will loose the etching. New scales, a bit of restoration & you can use it again...but it's like a surgery to us, it will have scars most likely. Cell rot can get any of us who have celluloid scaled vintage razors & thankfully/hopefully you found it with a restorable blade still there.

Did I happen to mention getting the blade away from the scales & any other razors?

"Cell rot" is the gaseous decomposition of celluloid scales. The gas given off is very caustic & as you see it will destroy steel rather quickly. There is no "fixing it", it just happens as the scales get older. I've heard that it's not a matter of "if", but "when" celluloid scales decide to start decomposing.

Thank you shooter!
I am going to de-pin my beautiful but sic scales now :cry:

My question is whether oil is necessary for mid term storage (ie 6 months) when you live in a low humidity city, like Athens. Isn't storage in a box with a couple of silica bags enough?

They can't be "saved", but you may want to hang onto them for a pattern. Store them in a "Ziploc" style bag away from any valuable steel. I know that Glen,"gssixgun", has a method of saving the metal ends on scales like that. If you are looking to have the blade re-stored, you may contact him.

After you get the scales off the blade, I recommend scrubbing, really scrubbing, the entire blade with soap and water, submerged....watch that edge. Wouldn't hurt now to even "kill" the edge for your safety. You can even use a scouring pad. Dry completely & oil it down. I'm sure this is a very sad experience, but many of us have had bad experiences damaging perfectly innocent blades. All we can do is learn (there was nothing that you could have really done) from the experience. Fortunately for you and the blade I think you caught it in time to save the blade (the etching will most likely be lost in restoration) so that it can once again shave.

De-pin,make a heavy paper pattern,soak in acetone which will desolve the cell scales,remove the bolsters for another set of scales down the road.

Goodbye my love.
I will always remember you.


http://s16.postimg.org/54gbcczfp/DSC00685.jpg


http://s16.postimg.org/m3p9rman9/images_CAP1_VFT3.jpg

I am going to follow the above instructions now that the funeral is over. :(

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slur

Cell rot???

What is that?

---

Cell rot is death to razors. You see it a lot in multicolored celluloid and I have had four Dubl Ducks die from this disease.

Regards - Walt

http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/r...psf3009a98.jpg

Wow! That is absolutely terrifying.

I've heard about Celluloid rot but I tought it was no big deal. Like just have to change the scales or something.
Now it makes me wondering if I will not leave my celluloid razors in open air so if they rot the gas will not be confined in a box.

Just for the record.

I immersed the scales in acetone and left it overnight.
In the morning I found a collapsed mass of plastic and metal. It was not easy to extract the metal parts but it was feasible.

The remaining of the razor and the blade looked really pathetic and had nothing to do with the splendor of that razor when I bought it.


I threw it away in the garbage immediately.
I am sure I did the right thing. No doubt about it.


Thank you all for the assistance!

scary indeed! i just purchased a dubl duck goldedge with some signs of rust on one side of the blade. how do i know if it's cellrot or just some rust? i haven't noticed any odd smells(wish i had it with me now, i'm on vacation and i'll have to worry about it the rest of the week). maybe i should re-scale the whole thing so i don't have to worry?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by harrygr

My question is whether oil is necessary for mid term storage (ie 6 months) when you live in a low humidity city, like Athens. Isn't storage in a box with a couple of silica bags enough?

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I thing it is enough Harry. I am not going to oil again razors stored for less than a year.

I don't disagree that your razor had cell rot & no oil will protect against an acidic gas but all oil coatings will generally protect against rust if renewed before they oxidise or dry off.
Don't forget, Camellia oil is not for long term storage. It is a simple vegetable oil that turns rancid & oxidises quickly. 2weeks or less would be the longest I would leave it before reapplying. Your razor mat well have rusted in 6 months just due to the oil you used. Of course a dry airtight storage is also ideal.

Tintin

For some reason cell rot is very common with Double Ducks with clear scales also with cracked ice scales. The dead giveaway is the rust line where the blade is in the scales as in Walt’s photo.

I suspect heat and past storage has something to do with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Tintin

For some reason cell rot is very common with Double Ducks with clear scales also with cracked ice scales. The dead giveaway is the rust line where the blade is in the scales as in Walt’s photo.

I suspect heat and past storage has something to do with it.

---

I had a razor box/case that was causing a similar reaction. But in my case, the rust line was the exact opposite (ie, above the scale line). The razor most affected by it is still isolated from the rest just in case. I don't even think the scales are celluloid anyway, rather plastic. But I'm keeping an eye on it anyway. The box is long gone.

Was the box celluloid?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Was the box celluloid?

---

No, it was mainly wood with a red felt lining that was deteriorating. The wood itself was getting all brittle and crumbling apart as well. There must have been something in its makeup that had a similar reaction. The remaining razors are now in different homes as the one most affected by it is by itself. None of them seem to be reacting any further. It was really odd.

Just for future reference

You don't need to soak them for very long

Popping Brass Inlay.wmv - YouTube

I don't know much about the rot and that but I do know that metal tarnishes and a simple way to keep that down and possible rust of the normal kind is what I am doing. I'm retrofitting appropriate size wooden cigar boxes with a balsa wood divider sectioned off for each razor. I am covering it with silverware cloth that is designed to keep tarnish at bay on silverware. I will line the inside of the cover with the same and leave a silica gel pkg. or two inside or as some one suggested, a vial with rice in it plugged with a wad of cotton, to control humidity. The outside will be painted and decorated according to my whim of the moment (gold leaf initials for example).

I hope this helps in some way.

@Razorfeld

If Cell Rot is present the absolute worst possible situation that you can create is to have all the razors together in a closed box.. :(

For long term storage there is a special type of Paper (VCI) wrap that is available that will protect the razors from each other but NOT from the scales that are on that single razor

For everyone,
So there is no doubt or question.. Cell rot is insidious and non-reversible, it releases a gas that is acidic it will pockmark and destroy steel very quickly in the later stages..
The most insidious part of cell rot is that there is no universal tell, there are many recipes that were used in those days for making Celluloid so each is a bit different..


Basically take each razor out of storage and use it then re-oil or wrap and move to the next razor in your collection.. at least take the razors out once a month and wipe or oil them down and check them...

gssixgun

Where can the VCI paper be obtained. Would it be wiser in the long run to change any razor with Celluloid scales as a preemptive move, like Angelina Jolie did. get it before it gets you?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Razorfeld

gssixgun

Where can the VCI paper be obtained. Would it be wiser in the long run to change any razor with Celluloid scales as a preemptive move, like Angelina Jolie did. get it before it gets you?

---

VCI Products in Stock - Uline

Angelina Jolie had cell rot? Well that, explains a lot.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Angelina Jolie had cell rot? Well that, explains a lot.

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Hah! Good one. Please contribute to a new thread I started, Quip of the Day.:rofl2:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Euclid440

Was the box celluloid?

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by OCDshaver

No, it was mainly wood

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What a strange coincidence. Mine was also a wooden box in this razor :thinking:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Slur

What a strange coincidence. Mine was also a wooden box in this razor :thinking:

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Well, obviously the wood itself should not be an issue. My assumption is that there was somethign used in the making of the box (a glue/adhesive) or the lining that was having a similar reaction. The red felt lining was crumbling away and the wood was getting all brittle and cracking and crumbling as well. Unlike your razor, the line of corrosion was primarily above the line of the scales suggesting that the corrosive element was coming from outside the razor and scales. In fact, I believe the scales are simply plastic. The razor doesn't appear to be old enough to be made of celluloid. Since removing the razor and distributing the others into a new box, I have had no trouble. I'm still keeping an eye on the one most affected to ensure that there is no lingering issue that may affect the other razors just to be safe. I assume that there was something haunting that box. Its been disposed of by now.

I oil then wipe my blades with a silicone felt rag that's used for guns. Does this sound ok? And do I need to be concerned about the oil being on the scales? Is there a product out there for keeping celluloid protected? Kinda freaked when I found this thread.

Silicones & gun oils are just fine my friend, rest easy. Just wipe it before you strop & shave and your face will be none the wiser...

Lol.
Thanks shooter.