Gassing

[boykinlp]

I am new to Case knife collecting and saw a term and did not know what it meant. The poster wrote that he was concerned about gassing in his collection. What does this mean and what are the results? Pictures would be nice, if appropriate. Thanks.

[Dinadan]

Here is a link to a thread with some discussion and photos of the effects outgassing. Check out page three for the photos.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=54367&hilit=outgassing

[Gunsil]

Gassing is a term for celluloid breakdown. Some but not all celluloid is prone to disintegrating and there is no rhyme nor reason why it affects some knives but not others. The Case Classic series uses German celluloid which seems to be problematic yet many 100 year old celluloid handled knives are still in good shape. Many collectors shy away from celluloid handled or scaled knives because of this problem, preferring natural materials such as bone, stag, or pearl. When celluloid breaks down it releases a gas that is highly corrosive and causes tarnish to nickel silver bolsters and liners and does the same to brass while causing steel to rust where the gas settles on it. The celluloid itself cracks, falls apart and eventually turns to dust. This is a shame since many celluloids make beautiful knife scales. The fancier celluloid known as Christmas Tree is very pretty but is perhaps the most prone to gassing. The plain yellow celluloid seems to be much more stable as does black.

[XX Case XX]

I know your question was concerning Case knives, but keep in mind that outgassing can happen to any knife at any time.

_________
Mike

[rea1eye]

Had a Case celluloid go bad on me once. Easy way to destroy a knife if not taken care of immediately.

example pic worth 1000 words:

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=ht ... mrc&uact=8


Bob

[treefarmer]

boykinlp,
Here's one that I was given a week ago, the one at the bottom of the picture. It's a Case Tested 31024 1/2, I think, and the spring is broken due to the outgassing as well as the handles are shot. The blade could be salvaged but for what?
Treefarmer

outgassed Case Tested

[tongueriver]

Here ya go.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Buck-Creek-Ind ... SwvAda2K1U

[wlf]

Notorious. They frequent eBay.

[TwoFlowersLuggage]

You may already know this, but just to inject a little science into the discussion, "celluloid" is a compound typically containing camphor and cellulose nitrate. The damage is done when it breaks down and creates highly acidic nitric acid. That's what attacks the metal. I'm no expert, but I do know this is a problem that exists in many, many different collector areas. In the late 1890s and well into the 1900s, celluloid was used for EVERYTHING - jewlery, toys, fountain pens, watch fobs, you name it - and many of those things are now collected. This is a really good (and short!) article from someone that collects celluloid fountain pens: http://vintagepensblog.blogspot.com/201 ... ption.html

I think that article makes a good point - it does not talk about stopping the breakdown of the celluloid - instead it talks about ways to absorb and neutralize the nitric acid. I think this is brilliant. I suspect it is not possible to stop the out-gassing and that it is simply a matter of time based on many, many factors, including the specific compound used and the way that particular piece of celluloid was created. I think that may be why there seems to be so much variability in whether and when it occurs - the fact is, manufacturing of the material was not very consistent.

The article linked above talks about using paper impregnated with zeolite. I have a little knowledge of zeolite because it is a major component of the products my company makes. It is a fascinating material, and we use it to trap Nitrogen gas molecules. It works great. However, I also know that it becomes saturated with Nitrogen from simply being exposed to the air in a room, and it must be stored in a completely air-tight container or the shelf-life is very short. So, I question whether simply wrapping a knife in a zeolite paper would protect it for very long unless you are willing to continually refresh the paper.

[boykinlp]

Thank you folks very much for enlightening me. Since I am only collecting stag handled knives I won't have to worry about it. But I am sure, if I was offered a knife with the celluloid handles, I would have taken it and put it in with the rest of my knives. If I had had problems with my knives, and not known what I now know, I would have been freaking out trying to figure where the rust came from. Thanks for the help!