Celluloid
Posted: Sat Nov 15, 2008 11:58 pm
Are the new Bulldog knives made out of celluloid still or are they made out of acrylic?
I doubt it is real Celluloid unless they changed the formulation from the formulation used in the past.
Here are some quick facts about Celluloid that I found online.
Celluloid is the name of a class of compounds created from nitrocellulose and camphor, plus dyes and other agents. Generally regarded to be the first thermoplastic, it was first created as Parkesine in 1856 and as Xylonite in 1869 before being registered as Celluloid in 1870. Celluloid is easily molded and shaped, and it was first widely used as an ivory replacement. Celluloid is highly flammable and also easily decomposes, and is no longer widely used.
Formulation
A typical formulation of celluloid might contain 70 to 80 parts nitrocellulose, nitrated to 11% nitrogen, 30 parts camphor, 0 to 14 parts dye, 1 to 5 parts ethyl alcohol, plus stabilizers and other agents to increase stability and reduce flammability.
Products still made from celluloid include the table tennis balls, and some musical instrument accessories and parts: guitar picks and pickguards.