Ohhh, I've Got Gas !

The thing that bugs me a little is the use of celluloid 20 or 30 years after it was known to gas off. The same Guy used it on some Case Classics that are turning into dust.
 
I store mine in a different drawer in my box. It's always slightly open with little or no sunlight. I think if it's in the open air it's more stable. Mine are all older though.
 
This oddity from Bulldog may well be Cell even if it's 2008....:eek:

Can't take the risk, I'll get it re-handled as I like the Saddlehorn but that colour is not only potentially lethal, it's revolting:barf::D

Otherwise it's really nicely put together and sharp.:thumbup:

IMG_3640.jpg


Ah for the wonders of modern acrylics, no gassing here. With this GEC you can have your cake & eat it, or rather, your dead skunk without smelling it:D:D

IMG_2477.jpg
 
wazu013 said:
The thing that bugs me a little is the use of celluloid 20 or 30 years after it was known to gas off. The same Guy used it on some Case Classics that are turning into dust.
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Yeah. I imagine they would have needed to make the celluloid fresh too because I doubt if they had a load of old Celluloid lying around the basement for 50years. Why?
 
There was old celluloid lying around in old buildings in Solingen. Some of it might have been shipped to USA.
Is there a way to distinguish celluloid from acrylic ? Both can show bright colors.
Some of the 'third generation' of Fight'n Roosters have acrylic handles, or are all of the composition handles acrylic by then ?
kj
 
Someone was selling sheets old stock Real celluloid on the knifemakers forum last year. I think it was xmas tree.

Best regards

Robin
 
kootenay joe said:
There was old celluloid lying around in old buildings in Solingen. Some of it might have been shipped to USA.
Is there a way to distinguish celluloid from acrylic ? Both can show bright colors.
Some of the 'third generation' of Fight'n Roosters have acrylic handles, or are all of the composition handles acrylic by then ?
kj
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:D Cut a sliver off and light it up.

R
 
That is really unfortunate. I hope you end up getting them rehandled, because it would be a shame to see such nice knives gone for good.
Now I'm really curious about how the rest of your collection looks.
 
" Now I'm really curious about how the rest of your collection looks. "
In this instance it looks like only 2 knives gassed off and they affected 1 other knife. This storage case was in a gun safe which is packed full with knives in storage cases, knife rolls, and lying loose in open top plastic containers. The damage seems limited to just the knives shown in that 1 storage case. I have another gun safe which similarly is packed with knives but this is located in my 'bush cabin' and i will check it when i next go up there. I also have knives in knife rolls stacked on book shelves (no books, just knives). There are cell handled knives scattered throughout many of these storage cases and knife rolls. I need to go through all of these stored knives and remove all cell handled knives and check all other knives for damage. There are about 10,000 knives to check so this inspection will be ongoing for some time.
kj
 
Not entirely out of the question. Someone sent me a picture showing a crowd of over 250,000 people. You could zoom in anywhere on this picture and see each person's face just as clearly as if they were standing a few feet in front of you. This technology is how police can ID individuals like the Boston Marathon bombers.
kj
 
The real issue here is that you have too many knives to care for. So, send at least 20 of your best to me and I'll watch after them for you. We'll have no gassing!!

Anyway, that sucks to have happened to your knives. I don't have any celluloid but do have a few of the newer acrylics. I hope you're able to get the one congress cleaned up. Sad days men, sad days.....
 
I'm sorry to hear that you suffered this outgassing attack, Joe, but at least it sounds like it could have turned out much worse.

Is the outgassing of a particular chunk of celluloid completely random, or are there storage measures that can minimize the risk? I have all of my celluloid-clad knives separated from the rest, and they're currently out in the open atop a wooden window frame. My rationale is that if one of them starts outgassing, it's better to be out in the open where the "noxious fumes" can dissipate in, or at least be diluted by, the surrounding fresh air than to be enclosed where the "fumes" can "have their way" with the steel. But that's purely a guess on my part. Maybe I should be storing each knife in a vacuum chamber??

Kind of like to know what "best practice" is, since I've got a couple of Chinese Imperial canoes coming in with cracked ice celluloid covers. Is modern celluloid more stable than the vintage stuff?

- GT
 
Bummer. That rust fuzz is amazing!

Looks like some one burst a few batteries on the knife!
 
5K Qs said:
Is the outgassing of a particular chunk of celluloid completely random, or are there storage measures that can minimize the risk?

Kind of like to know what "best practice" is,

I've got a couple of Chinese Imperial canoes coming in with cracked ice celluloid covers. Is modern celluloid more stable than the vintage stuff?

- GT
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If those covers really are celluloid, then they are no more stable than older celluloid, since the chemistry is defined by the name. But these days there are other materials which give a similar appearance, are less hazardous to work with, and which are stable in use. I'd be surprised if those Imperials really had celluloid covers.

Robin's post is spot on. Read the article:
Pipeman said:
Oh buddy, you have a BIG job ahead of you. Glad you caught it now.
For everyone, this is a worthwhile read. http://www.oregonknifeclub.org/celluloid_02.html

Best regards

Robin
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kootenay joe said:
I am trying to bring some order to the great many knives that lie about my house. I came across a storage case labelled "Bulldog" and since i have not looked at them for at least 2 years, decided to.
To my great surprise i found this:



It was in the now vacant slot lower left corner:



But as i looked at all the other knives, no others here showed any gas effect.
The side that was down is much less affected:



I then looked at the other side of the case and found this knife:



And, both sides are equally affected and the handles are an imitation Stag that i now realize must be celluloid.



Here you can see that it came from the lower right corner slot:



These 2 knives were lying one on top of the other but with 2 sheets of red felt cloth in between them. You can see one other knife with similar handles starting to off gas
I am going to throw out the 2 gaseous knives and clean up the Stag Congress and then take out all other cell handled Bulldogs and put them in a separate storage case.
But the work does not end there. I have 5 or 6 storage cases of Fight'n Rooster knives and celluloid is perhaps the most common handle material in these knives.
So, maybe you too should check your dogs and roosters !
kj
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This is one reason as to why I keep my Cells seperate - as this has been a topic that spreads fear within our community for sure- I have over the years slowly got rid on nearly all my Celluloid knives simply because of the two things - Fear that these will gas out and destroy my other knives, and secondly because I love keeping everything together and in order - and when I have to keep certain groups that should be together separate - it really irks me ( i think they call this some sort of Obsessive Order lol ).

KJ - That Bulldog looked like Elk to me, so it looks to me as the Bulldog was the victim of the Case celluloid?

Keep us posted on the rest of the collection KJ - as I see so far that your collection is outstanding from what you have shown in the Old Knives Thread Sir.
 
knarfeng said:
If those covers really are celluloid, then they are no more stable than older celluloid, since the chemistry is defined by the name. But these days there are other materials which give a similar appearance, are less hazardous to work with, and which are stable in use. I'd be surprised if those Imperials really had celluloid covers.

Robin's post is spot on. Read the article:
Click to expand...

I hope you're right, Frank. The website uses the words "cracked ice celluloid", but maybe they're bending the truth in the interest of eliciting nostalgic feelings in a geezer like me. (It worked. :()

I read the article; very informative. Thanks, Frank (and Robin).

- GT
 
That is an interesting article. I had a little knowledge of celluloid from it's use in musical instruments. (i.e.: pick guards on guitars).
I have a collection of guitar picks, and many of them are celluloid. Guess I better assess my storage situation.
 
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