Cleaning the smell off...
OK, so I'm pretty much a newbie, having only begun shaving with a straight a few months back, but like so many of you, I've become obsessed pretty quickly.
I want to try my hand at restoration, and I have a few old razors that need some attention. The latest is an Allegheney Instrument Company 5/8" with whitish celluloid scales. Now, I bought this thing at an estate sale, and it was held in an old, dusty warehouse, so cut me some slack that I didn't notice what I'm about to tell you.
This razor stinks. And I don't men it's a bad razor. I mean it stinks like week-old vomit.
And that's being charitable.
So: How do I go about getting the smell off? I cleaned the blade with Maas, and I scrubbed the scales with warm water and a rough sponge, which got most of whatever the stink residue was off the outside scales. But I'm having a hell of a time getting between the scales. Any ideas what I could use? I tried an emery board and it seemed to work...but the razor still stinks!
I remember reading somewhere that Barbicide or alcohol will ruin celluloid, so I haven't used any of these.
Of course, I'm also thinking I may just clip the pins and use the blade for my first scale-building project (the pins are far from tight...I'd be nervous shaving with something this loose). Because there's no way in hell I'm going to shave with a razor that smells like this. Ever.