Celluloid Like?

[pearlgearl]

So I have a ton of the celluloid handle knives and some of those knives are just rusty, the cell is crumbling, and the liners are rusty however, many are in great condition with no rusting of the liners. Shining a light through them they are clean and clear inside. SO Question is did they ever make a celluloid like material. A material that looks like celluloid but does not outgas? I have heard that some have had the liners replaced. Are these knives just cells with replaced liners?

[Mumbleypeg]

There is a material that has an appearance somewhat like celluloid. It is called acrylic (trade names like Corelon and Kirinite are acrylic). Those materials are relatively new to knife covers, within say the past 20+ years or thereabouts.

However not all celluloid deteriorates. Or at least the deterioration has not started. Yet. From your description you simply have celluloid that is still in good condition. I have a number of celluloid knives in that same state. I love them. Just keep an eye on them.

Regarding your question about replaced liners, that’s highly unlikely. Why would the liners be needing replacement if the celluloid covers are good? And if going to the trouble to replace the liners because bad celluloid damaged them, why put celluloid covers back on the knife?

Ken

[pearlgearl]

TYVM for the quick reply to my post. But that did lead to another question! How you can tell if you have an old celluloid or a new acrylic?

[Mumbleypeg]

Study a lot of knives. After looking at enough of them you can spot a celluloid knife immediately. The age of the knife can also be an indicator. Celluloid was used extensively during the first half of the 20th century. Delrin came into use in the 1960s and began to replace celluloid, bone, and stag. However it could not come close to the looks of celluloid for multi-colored covers. Acrylics, which do feature multi-colors began being used for knife handle covers early this century or thereabouts. Many companies that used celluloid were no longer in business by that time. Doesn’t mean the old celluloid covers couldn’t have been replaced, but that’s unlikely, and expensive. Folks aren’t likely to spend the money to have acrylic covers put on a knife and then sell it for what you pay for an original celluloid knife.

Every one wants a short cut, but there is no substitute for looking at (and handling) a lot of knives. You should study pictures of celluloid objects - there are hundreds if not thousands of pictures of celluloid knives here at AAPK - the keyword search capability is your friend! Celluloid has a “look” about it that is difficult or impossible to duplicate, especially celluloids with “swirled” and other patterns. Here is a good place to start viewtopic.php?t=54365

Also here are a couple of pictures for comparison, courtesy of a Case Collector’s Club member. Note the “depth” appearance of the celluloid, versus the acrylic.

Ken

[Dinadan]

Just to add a bit to Ken's very informative post, there are some fairly new knives that were made with celluloid handles. Fightn' Rooster, Bulldog, and Blue Grass Cutlery all produced produced celluloid knives within the last few decades, and I think those knives are worse about outgassing than the ones made over a century ago. I am not going to say that I can always look at a photo and tell the difference between celluloid and acrylic. If it looks really cool, then it is more likely to be celluloid. Unfortunately.

[glennbad]

Certain colors may be more susceptible to outgassing than others, but all of them can go off just like that for no reason at all.

[pearlgearl]

So jealous of those boots, I have started a small collection of them

[ea42]

You can take the sniff test too. Celluloid smells like camphor, very unique and nothing like the smell of plastic. Sometimes you can notice the odor immediately. If not, rubbing the handles rapidly with a cloth to produce heat will bring out the odor. Whatever you do don't use a flame to heat it up, doing so will likely ignite it and you won't be able to easily put it out.

Eric

[Mumbleypeg]

So jealous of those boots, I have started a small collection of them

You may know already, or may not care, but be aware there are a lot of fakes and reproductions. Maybe more than there are real originals.

Ken