I had recently purchased and posted about a razor that I cleaned up a bit. The blade had a little corrosion and I didn't take the scales off when sanding and polishing (I plan to do so when I'm home from school for Thanksgiving). Anyhoo, I noticed that the scales have a pretty rank smell to them. They are in fine condition, just a little dirty yet, and plan to fix this soon. They are a black material, I'm guessing something "natural" or they wouldn't have a smell to them. I'll post a picture as it might help in determining what they are made of. Thanks gents!!
Has anyone else had this experience? If so, what did you do? Does this mean scales are rotting and I should just get/make new ones? Is there a way to cure them or coat them with something to prevent this?
Attachment 111682
Attachment 111681