Steve56
Ask me about shaving naked!
Gentlemen,
This is a tale of two razors, cell rot, and getting a nasty surprise which fortunately turned out relatively well. When cellulose scales go, they can go very quickly.
The two razors are an especially nice Especial, bought from one of the Spanish eBay vendors, and a Tuckmar Welt-Ruf, also an eBay acquisition. Both were acquired about 3-4 years ago. When I got the Especial, I noted that there was a sour smell to the scales, a bad sign, but Especials are gen 1 Filarmonicas with Bakelite scales that don’t decompose. Unless someone has replaced them….. The Tuckmar was a user razor at a cheap price and when I got it, there was a little bend in the blade at the toe, dropped or banged on the sink maybe. I honed up the both, but set the Tuckmar aside in favor of other razors. It resided in an oak barber’s razor box with other razors.
I kept an eye on the Especial, never comfortable with the sour smell, though over a year or so there were no signs of corrosion. But eventually I contacted Alfredo about a scale swap and sent him both razors. He couldn’t smell the sour smell, but does say that his nose is not sensitive. so the scales were swapped and everything is fine for another couple of years and I checked the Tuckmar when I changed the razors in the box or cleaned and waxed the box. Never saw any corrosion, but yesterday, here is what I saw, and I’d probably looked at the razor about 6 months before. The vinegar smell was pronounced and the scales were actually deforming and changing shape the way advanced cell rot does. So these scales had stayed at least somewhat stable for 2-3 years, then ‘exploded’ in just a few months.
The Especial that dodged the bullet is shown below, any visible marks are just reflections, the blade is very clean and the gold in good shape. If not for my unease at their original smell, the nice Especial might look like the poor user Tuckmar. That said, I’m sure that the original Tuckmar scales that are now on the Especial are cellulose too, so I’m still looking for more stable replacements for the Filly and have a sheet of black Bakelite on the way, and black horn would also be an excellent material.
As a side note, none of the other razors in the box are showing any corrosion at all, even though some were only a 1/4” away or so. I usually have Ren Wax on the blades, and I never latched the box lid closed because I know air circulation is a good thing for carbon steel. I chucked a wonky Gold Duller in the Tuckmar’s slot, and if it is undamaged I’ll consider it safe to use.
This is a tale of two razors, cell rot, and getting a nasty surprise which fortunately turned out relatively well. When cellulose scales go, they can go very quickly.
The two razors are an especially nice Especial, bought from one of the Spanish eBay vendors, and a Tuckmar Welt-Ruf, also an eBay acquisition. Both were acquired about 3-4 years ago. When I got the Especial, I noted that there was a sour smell to the scales, a bad sign, but Especials are gen 1 Filarmonicas with Bakelite scales that don’t decompose. Unless someone has replaced them….. The Tuckmar was a user razor at a cheap price and when I got it, there was a little bend in the blade at the toe, dropped or banged on the sink maybe. I honed up the both, but set the Tuckmar aside in favor of other razors. It resided in an oak barber’s razor box with other razors.
I kept an eye on the Especial, never comfortable with the sour smell, though over a year or so there were no signs of corrosion. But eventually I contacted Alfredo about a scale swap and sent him both razors. He couldn’t smell the sour smell, but does say that his nose is not sensitive. so the scales were swapped and everything is fine for another couple of years and I checked the Tuckmar when I changed the razors in the box or cleaned and waxed the box. Never saw any corrosion, but yesterday, here is what I saw, and I’d probably looked at the razor about 6 months before. The vinegar smell was pronounced and the scales were actually deforming and changing shape the way advanced cell rot does. So these scales had stayed at least somewhat stable for 2-3 years, then ‘exploded’ in just a few months.
The Especial that dodged the bullet is shown below, any visible marks are just reflections, the blade is very clean and the gold in good shape. If not for my unease at their original smell, the nice Especial might look like the poor user Tuckmar. That said, I’m sure that the original Tuckmar scales that are now on the Especial are cellulose too, so I’m still looking for more stable replacements for the Filly and have a sheet of black Bakelite on the way, and black horn would also be an excellent material.
As a side note, none of the other razors in the box are showing any corrosion at all, even though some were only a 1/4” away or so. I usually have Ren Wax on the blades, and I never latched the box lid closed because I know air circulation is a good thing for carbon steel. I chucked a wonky Gold Duller in the Tuckmar’s slot, and if it is undamaged I’ll consider it safe to use.
