Pyremite vs. Celluloid

[enuf]

thanks for everyone's patients with me.

[edge213]

thanks for everyone's patients with me.

You're quite welcome. We were all new at this at one time. Most of us our still learning,
I know that I am.

[bestgear]

by looks or feel?

you can determine if your knife handles are celluloid either by rubbing the knive handles between your finger and thumb until it’s hot or running hot water over the handles and then smell it. If you detect a camphor or moth ball smell, your knife has celluloid covers.

[btrwtr]

Pyremite and Celluloid are one and the same thing but the difference is that pyremite is Remington's proprietary name for celluloid. The "rem" letters in the word pyremite were taken from the Remington name.

Given this Remington knives with celluloid handles are pyremite but other brands of knives with celluloid handles should not be described as pyremite.

[Froe]

I don’t know how to explain it other than celluloid seems to have more color depth and a softer surface feel to it.

[btrwtr]

I don’t know how to explain it other than celluloid seems to have more color depth and a softer surface feel to it.

Pyremite is celluloid. Not all celluloids are created equal. You will find a great variance depending on time and place of manufacture and color, but celluloid is celluloid. Celluloid manufacture in the US was halted in the early 1940s because of the inherent danger of fire and explosion. It is still made overseas in China, Italy and Japan.

[Ridgegrass]

Celluloid is a compound of cellulose nitrate camphor and alcohol. Research seems to say its stability seems to depend on the relative amounts of each in the formula. Some are very unstable and sublime (out-gas) easily, while others seem to be much more stable. Many of the old "picture" knives seem to have broken down badly while some, like KA BARs, seem very stable. When they do out-gas they can ruin many more knives around them. I keep my knives displayed on plaques and the open air seems to have kept them just the way I got them years ago. Or maybe I've just been lucky.

Cattaraugus called their celluloid "Fiberloid" . J.O'.