A question about modern celluloid and a German Stockman

N

NoNameNomad

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Been looking to get my first stockman, and the German Eye Brand stockman looks utterly fantastic, and I hear the overall quality is still good so I'm thinking about ordering one. My concern is about the celluloid handles, and the problems with celluloid. I'm read up on this a bit, and it seems to me that the type that outgasses and degrades is no longer really used except by German manufacturers. I don't know if Eye brand knives use this type of celluloid or not. Some dealers list it as celluloid, some list it as a composite, and the Eye Brand site itself has virtually no english on it.

Does anyone know if modern Eye Brand knives use the problematic sort of celluloid? The Yellow handled stockman is gorgeious, and while the stag ones are similarly beautiful and I'm willing to take a stag one instead, I'd rather get the yellow one first by way of preference. I know that celluloid can be safe if stored properly away from other knives, but that's a level of babying a bit beyond what I'm willing to include in my normal knife care to be honest.

And for anyone that's going to say just get a yella Case, don't worry, I'm going to as I don't have anything from Case yet and I want a yella Case, but this Eye Brand stockman gets first choice:)
 
Gassing out is not the only problem with celluloid. Shrinkage at the Bolsters and warping are also common problems. The old time celluloid is also extremely flammable.
 
Yes, while it was the outgassing I mentioned, those are also things I've read and have concerns about. For a knife I'd like to keep and use long term I've no desire for my knife handles to be that unstable.
 
I spent some time accumulating some cell handled knives back in the early 2000's, but have decided to leave them alone for the most part. The new acrylics like GEC is putting out should be no problem. Some of the Eye Brand knives have a really nice buttery yellow synthetic cover on them. Looks great, but I don't know if it is nitrocellulose based or not. I'd say stick with a delrin, bone or wood cover. Of course, having given you that advice, I might find myself buying a cell handled knife tomorrow....

I have seen some minor evidence of outgassing on a couple of knives and another couple of Fight'n Roosters have shown some shrinkage. They were good knives; too bad they were made with the unstable handle material. I store all my cell knives in the open so that gases can dissipate and keep them away from my other knives.

Ed J
 
Interesting, good to know. I guess I'll play it safe and get the stag version of the Eye Brand stockman. They make some very pretty stag knives fromj photos I've seen so I won't be disappointed there. And I get my excuse to buy a yella Case to go with it. I'm going to wind up in the poor house soon, but it'll be with an armful of quality knives at least:)
 
I bought one of those German Eye Brand stockman last year with the wonderful butterscotch covers. Looked like the covers had shrunk while in storage; lots of gaps. Can't tell if it has shrunk more. Best of luck!
 
Yeah... I can't speak to the nature of the current cell handles of the German knives, but as far as I'm concerned, the modern acrylics are just as pretty, and way more stable/durable. That would be my choice, just to be safe.
 
There's really no such thing as 'modern' celluloid. In other words, if it's modern (currently manufactured), it's not celluloid. It's not used on any new knives anymore, and hasn't been used in quite a while (decades, at least). The synthetic materials used for knife handles these days will be of entirely different materials, none of which have the same makeup (and therefore the outgassing, corrosion issues, flammability, etc.) as the old 'true' celluloid. No reason to be concerned about these issues on new knives, anymore. Some cheaper modern materials (Delrin, acrylic and similar materials) will still fade, warp or shrink like celluloid did, but the hazardous nature of the old stuff isn't there anymore.

Many vendors sometimes generically (and incorrectly) refer to modern synthetic/plastic knife scales as celluloid. And some materials (acrylic, in particular) are actually made to emulate the aesthetics of it, which were unique in older knives. But it isn't actually celluloid, nor anywhere similar to it in composition. Given the flammable and sometimes explosive nature of the chemicals used in making (and even storing) celluloid, I'd bet it isn't even legal for such uses in consumer products anymore, in most places.

Here's a link to the most informative article I've seen on the topic:

http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/celluloid_02.html

David
 
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Thank you for your help everyone, its given me some guidance I needed. I might end up going with the Stag anyways at this point simply because I'm been seeing some with very very pretty stag lately, but the feedack is much appreciated.

David, I asked because I'd heard that the Germans were the last holdouts regarding the use of true celluloid (you're spot on about use use of the term "modern celluloid by the way, I get careless in my use of terminology sometimes), but what you say makes alot of sense to me, and th link is interesting reading, thank you.
 
I've hesitated myself, though I own at least one cell knife (Fightn Rooster "End of Day" covers). The Eye Brand yellow is different from the others and I'd really like to try one. Then again, their stag looks terrific too, so I'd probably go stag :D and save the yeller for Case and Buck.
 
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