Thread: Is this Cell Rot ?

I have already lost a lovely razor because cell rot. Back then I wasn’t aware of the disease at all and the diagnosis was made in this forum.

The following is a razor that I just received from an auction. It is a well preserved vintage razor that I liked a lot. Especially the scales.
As soon as I opened the box I saw some signs of rust. I can deal with it and it doesn’t bother me. However, I remember that the razor I lost from cell rot in the past began as a rust. I didn’t bother back then, but after 6 months the razor was dead.

Fact is I really like these scales and I certainly don’t want to change them just in case this is indeed cell rot. So, I wonder if there is anyone here that can be certain that this is, or this is not cell rot.

Thank you very much.

Here it is:

To me it does not look like cell rot.

Those two are examples of cell rot

I do not have a good nose, but I do know that cell rot will give off a vinegar smell as it deteriorates and give off gas.

Will N.

WillN is right - if it has been in a confined space for a while you can usually smell it. It is either a vinegary smell or faintly 'medical' smell like camphor. I say 'usually' because sometimes it has no smell.

The smell varies according to the type of celluloid - some are made with acetic acid (very early), some with nitric acid, some are made with a mixture of sulphuric and nitric acid and some, if not most of the post-cellulose acetate era, have camphor added.

Celluloid handles with a pattern, for example mock tortoiseshell, show that they are undergoing cell rot because the parts of the blade under the clearer areas get light rust on it which gets more serious as time goes by, and the dark areas usually have so much filler in them (they used asbestos! among other things to make the dye appear more solid) so the breakdown of the celluloid does not occur so heavily in these darker regions and consequently the blade is not attacked as much.

The type of handle you have generally out-gasses (nitric or acetic acid) all over the blade equally so you do not usually have any darker areas of rust at the onset. Given time though, the bottom half of the blade will turn darker and rust through. At the onset it will look like the whole blade - even past the scales - has been 'misted' with a fine corrosive spray.

There is more info here in post no. 19.

Regards,
Neil

Thank you very much gentlemen!

Any ideas on how to remove the rust?