Thread: Salvageable?

Originally Posted by Wintchase

I don't know guy, but I just picked up a Schultz for a couple bucks that loooked liked that Iand the rust came right off with some 400. I plan to soak the handle in some gun stock oil and see what happens. I think wiht a full dismantle and some luv-luv, you vould restore....THat's just me though.

There are three things against this blade: cell rot, HEAVY rust everywhere on the blade, and the fact that it's a hollow ground. If it was a wedge there wouldn't be a risk of losing the blade geometry/removing too much metal to get rid of the rust. From the pictures that rust pitting looks so deep that there would probably not be much a razor left if restored.

The other issue is the desire to keep the original scales. Even if the metal was restored you'd still just have it eaten again by the scales.

+1 to the stabilization to keep it original and sentimental.

Yes, I think I'll try to stabilize it and see what can be done about display. Thank you all for your input; I've been wondering about that blade for quite some time.

Also, although somewhat unrelated, I did some poking around online and it seems that the cause for cell rot is nitric acid released from the celluloid as it breaks down, which is what attacks the steel.

Following up on DocZombie's reply, I, too, went looking around for information on 'celluloid rot' and happened upon this well written article on the subject by a knife collector. It is definitely worth everyone's time to read it.

Here is the link: Celluloid

By the way, I agree with the author that it is the more transparent forms of celluloid that exhibit the most problems where 'rot' is concerned. In my own experience, that 'tortoise shell' scale material seems to be the worst. To be more specific about this, I would say that when cruising the flea markets (at least over on this side of the pond) I almost never see celluloid rot in old razors except when there are those semi-transparent tortoise shell scales. This could be due to the lack of solid pigment fillers, one of the extra chemicals used to color the mix or else (as the author suggests) it might just come down to a questionable manufacturing process.

And here is a link to yet another article which is more broadly aimed at the decomposition of plastics over time. It also mentions celluloid. And I think it appropriate to quote the article directly:

Most modern plastics decay primarily through reaction with oxygen, so are best preserved by sealing them in an oxygen-free atmosphere. Yet cellulose acetate needs exactly the opposite treatment: without good ventilation, the acetic acid vapour released as the plastic ages builds up, accelerating autocatalytic decay.

Here is the link: Drastic measures save plastic treasures - 16 June 2010 - New Scientist

- Ignatz