Celluloid Gassing Out???

[Arathol]

Case, and many other US cutlers were using Dupont Delrin exclusively in the manufacture of their knives, as well as Solingen origin knives, since the 1960's; that said, would be safe to say that virtually all US and German folders made in the last 50 years or so have been using Delrin or a similar formulation of polyoxymethylene.

That would be incorrect. Many recent German knives have celluloid handles. Frank Buster sold a lot of Fightin Rooster knives with celluloid. Charlie Dortons Bulldog Brand knives had celluloid, as did some of the later Bulldogs from PKCS. These were all sold from the late 1970s through the 90s. Olbertz made a lot of those knives.

 

[Alnamvet68]

That would be incorrect. Many recent German knives have celluloid handles. Frank Buster sold a lot of Fightin Rooster knives with celluloid. Charlie Dortons Bulldog Brand knives had celluloid, as did some of the later Bulldogs from PKCS. These were all sold from the late 1970s through the 90s. Olbertz made a lot of those knives.

While this may be the case, the fact of the matter is that Delrin, or the German equivalent (the German's did, after all, invented what we now know as Delrin), have been using this new synthetic since the 60's, but continue to manufacture knives with cellulose for reasons that have everything to do with aesthetics, and not stability and durability. Case in point is a recent new manufacture Bulldog in cellulose....the only reason I bought it was because it is 100% Solingen made, and the price of $25.00 delivered. It is cellulose, and will not occupy any space in my safe.

 

[Classic Case]

I keep my solitary celluloid suicide bomber in a sealed glass jar so it doesn't take out my entire collection.

I think the worst thing you can do, is seal the knife in an airtight container with all the noxious fumes that the celluloid is giving off. Better to leave it in the open air if you ask me.(although not with the rest of the collection)

I wouldn't worry too much about knives made in the last 30-40 years,

Many knives made into the 90's have cell handles,.IE, Bulldog, Case Classics, I have seen a S&M with candy stripe handles disintegrating as well.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

I think the worst thing you can do, is seal the knife in an airtight container with all the noxious fumes that the celluloid is giving off. Better to leave it in the open air if you ask me.(although not with the rest of the collection)

Many knives made into the 90's have cell handles,.IE, Bulldog, Case Classics, I have seen a S&M with candy stripe handles disintegrating as well.

Those are the 'persistent' exceptions to which I referred. 'Many' is sort of misleading, in that it's still a tiny fractional percentage of the sum total. I sort of view those as limited-availability 'niche' knives that have an appeal to collectors specifically looking for them. I've found it's not that easy to acquire too many of those by accident, if any at all, without knowing (or at least eventually suspecting) what they are. In the 300+ knives I've accumulated in the last 25+ years, I found none of them. The main-line knives from most of the major mfrs (Case, etc) moved away from celluloid a very long time ago, which is why I don't worry about accidentally finding a bunch of them in my accumulation, and why I certainly wouldn't encourage anyone to toss out any plastic-handled knife made in the last 30-40 years. Even most of the cheaper ones were actually acrylic that mimics celluloid in appearance, but isn't the real deal. With the long & known history of the problems associated with this type of celluloid, I think most mfrs would be fool-hardy in continuing to use it, unless they do have demand among those 'niche' collectors specifically looking for it, and specifically warn buyers of the risks associated with it.


David