Remington

Jamie ~ are you saying my knife is over 80 years old?

Jake ~ what do you mean by the " straight line" stamp?
 
Clyde, It's just collector jargon. Your tang stamp has Remington in a straight line. Take a look at the stamp on Jamie's knife and it has a circle. The different tang stamps were used at different times. I believe that your knife is from the 1930s. There are reproductions and a lot of fakes since Remington is a popular brand. Your knife is not one of those knives. If you do any modifications to the knife, it will no longer be original. I do understand that celluloid can be a problem. If you do want to modify the knife, look for a tutorial written by Glennbad.
 
22-rimfire said:
Off gassing... you mean like Chinese drywall? It turns copper black inside home that have it and eventually could be dangerous.
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blademan 13 said:
Looks like it's gassing to me. Keep an eye on this one. I would clean up what you can as recommended by others and if the conditions persist, pop the covers off and save the knife. You can always put new covers on later. If it were my grandfather's knife, that's what I would do.
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It appears to me to be off-gassing also. "off-gassing" is a term used to describe celluloid which has begun to decompose and is releasing nitric acid. Celluloid is made by treating cellulose with nitric acid. It reacts to form a plastic material. Over time the plastic begins to decompose. When it does, it releases nitric acid. Nitric acid dissolves a good many metals. Carbon steel is one of them.

Store this knife by itself just in case. If you clean it up and it rusts further, you will have to remove the celluloid. The stuff burns like crazy, so dispose of it with care.
 
supratentorial said:
Another nice oldie! Remington was of good quality. If I recall correctly...according to Levine's Guide, some of the knives with the "straight line" stamps from the 30s were made on contract by other companies like Camillus... this should not be confused with much later reissues although some of those were also made by Camillus.
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Good info as always, Jake. This place never ceases to amaze me with the wealth of knowledge and sharing spirit :thumbup:
 
ClydeWigg3 said:
Thank you all very much.
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I have seen lots of off gassing celluloid, I'm NOT sure yours is off gassing. A Picture of the other side of the knife would help. Remington celluloid is usually very stable. Your knife seems to have rust Under the scales which makes it look like it's got rot, I'm not sure it does.

Regards

Robin
 
Pipeman said:
I have seen lots of off gassing celluloid, I'm NOT sure yours is off gassing. A Picture of the other side of the knife would help. Remington celluloid is usually very stable. Your knife seems to have rust Under the scales which makes it look like it's got rot, I'm not sure it does.

Regards

Robin
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By rot you mean rust, or the scale are bad?
 
To me it looks like knives that are damaged by the celluloid decomposition. The distinct line where the blade is inside the handle, plus the overall evenness of the rust is what makes me think the celluloid is the source.

The mechanisms of decomposition and what accelerates or retards it I don't believe is fully characterized or known, although I've read a lot of speculation.

For long term life, the scales should be replaced because sooner or later they will disintegrate.
 
brownshoe said:
To me it looks like knives that are damaged by the celluloid decomposition. The distinct line where the blade is inside the handle, plus the overall evenness of the rust is what makes me think the celluloid is the source.

The mechanisms of decomposition and what accelerates or retards it I don't believe is fully characterized or known, although I've read a lot of speculation.

For long term life, the scales should be replaced because sooner or later they will disintegrate.
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I really wish I'd taken a photo, but I have a Ka-bar Barlow that exhibited that exact same oxidation pattern - everything above the liner, nothing below. It's a Delrin-handled Barlow, though, so either something completely different happened or a celluloid knife was stored nearby before I acquired it.
 
Thank you, Jamie. The same applies to you as well.

brownshoe said:
...The mechanisms of decomposition and what accelerates or retards it I don't believe is fully characterized or known, although I've read a lot of speculation....
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Causes of celluloid decomposition are known. What caused decomposition in a particular instance can be complicated and not straight forward.
 
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pesky celluloid.
mind you if its 80yo surely it would have gassed by now? is there a time frame?
Ive got a Schrade butter and Molasses cel handled small stockman which must be pushing 50 and it seems fine .(seems:rolleyes:).
Perhaps rehandle with acrylic that looks the same? .
 
meako said:
pesky celluloid.
mind you if its 80yo surely it would have gassed by now? is there a time frame? ... .
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There is no time frame for out gassing. It can vary from a year or two to over 100 years. From what I understand, it is not a question of "IF" celluloid will out gas, it is a question of "WHEN".

I'd contact Mr. Glennbad here on the forums. He does excellent work. I'm sure he could rehandle your knife with an acrillic or whatever you want.
 
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