ever-ready handle stinks

[Kentos]

Hi all, just removed the old knot from my ever-ready handle and while everything went well, the handle smells like my grandfather's old craftman screwdriver...any ideas on getting rid of the smell? Or am I stuck with it? It smells like cheese...stinky, stinky cheese lol.

[Munxcub]

I just did one too and it smells like old library book vomit.

[Moai]

Soak it in white vinegar for about 20 hours.

[Kentos]

I have it packed in baking soda now. I'll try that next if it doesnt work. Thanks!

[Moai]

I'm interested if that works. Sounds like a valid idea.

[Kentos]

So far...no love. Does the vinegar just overpower the smell or does it neutralize it somehow? I am not sure which smell would repulse me more in the long run....

[routeinfo]

I had that problem with a few of my older handles. For me the stink came from the old knot base and glue. Once I removed all that nasty stuff the smell was gone.

[Snick]

I guess the knot never dries out and becomes an eternally moist breeding ground for mold and and fungi. Maybe I'll just have to get me a live badger for lathering up! :001_tt2:

[Jethro1984]

I had that problem with a few of my older handles. For me the stink came from the old knot base and glue. Once I removed all that nasty stuff the smell was gone.

I was wondering if that's what it could be. The handles are plastic aren't they? Get all the gunk out and then just dip it in some boiling water.

[Kentos]

My fear is that it's inherent in old vintage plastic items. From the tool talk forums:

The smell of the Xcelite screwdriver handles is because they are made of a plastic known as cellulose butyrate. One of the components of that is butyric acid, which is the stench of rancid butter and vomit. So that's why they smell,
decomposition.


I guess I need some vinegar...

[Moai]

Vinegar smell should go away after a few good rinses or a quick soak in water.

[Lando]

This is the reason I gave up trying to restore a bunch of vintage brushes I had acquired and sold them off. I couldn't stand that smell, and it comes from the plastic/bakelite handles. The old bakelite razor cases smell the same way. Phew!

[JPDyson]

The Xcelite nut drivers my Dad has introduced me to this scent, and I found it again in some vintage brushes. Old plastics can just flat out stink.

As for beating it, no clue.

[Hawkeyeted]

I just did one too and it smells like old library book vomit.

:blink:

[Deltaboy]

A good soaking in some vinigar will do the trick.

[Telecaster52]

Both of my everreadys had that moldy resin smell, it seemed to be mainly concentrated in the old knot. Once you get the old nasty chunk of hair and glue out, the smell fades. In the cases of my brushes, the plastic funk subsided before the initial badger funk, so I think the funk comes from the brushes sitting around in dark, possibly damp places (under a sink) for a few years/decades.

[Munxcub]

I did the "get the funk out" procedure to defunkify the new knot. And since sitting out on my shelf for a week and a bit the handle stank has diminished considerably. Another week or 2 and I bet it'll be pretty much gone.

(that get the funk out sure worked! It even softened up a VDH boar I got for Christmas.)

[Telecaster52]

I did the "get the funk out" procedure to defunkify the new knot. And since sitting out on my shelf for a week and a bit the handle stank has diminished considerably. Another week or 2 and I bet it'll be pretty much gone.

(that get the funk out sure worked! It even softened up a VDH boar I got for Christmas.)

The super badger i put in my 500pbt had a stank so rank that it took 5-6 runs of the GTFO method to get all the eau de roadkill flavor out :lol:

Was it sitting next to a sad keanu? :lol:

[rickboone1]

Everyone I've ever picked up stinks. New brushes are cheap enough, those things get tossed.

[Munxcub]

Was it sitting next to a sad keanu? :lol:

one shelf down and a few inches to the right actually... :001_smile

[Telecaster52]

Everyone I've ever picked up stinks. New brushes are cheap enough, those things get tossed.

you can send 'em my way

[Kentos]

Thanks for the advice all. I packed them in some vanilla coffee grounds, which masked the smell really well for now. Hopefully the stank will be gone by the time the coffee smell goes too. If not I will try out the vinegar trick.

[mikey]

Those old Craftsman screwdrivers do have an "interesting" smell.

Thanks,
Mike


...the handle smells like my grandfather's old craftman screwdriver...

[Toff]

The vinegar will remove the left over soap scum, fungus, and crud better than anything that I have tried. It does not bother the plastic at all. Soak and rinse a few times. My answer to collecting the old brushes is to mix water,vinegar, and Barbercide in an ultrasonic cleaner and do a brush for a few minutes and rinse in plain water. Then repeat a few times. They will get surprisingly clean and the plastic won't stink either.
Respectfully
~Richard

[maxman]

I was eating lunch when I came across this thread.
I had to put my sandwich down.
It had cheese in it.
:sad:

[Kentos]

I was eating lunch when I came across this thread.
I had to put my sandwich down.
It had cheese in it.
:sad:

Next time I'll label it NSFCE


Not Safe For Cheese Eaters



My condolences to your stomach. ;-)

[Kentos]

Stinky handle vs baking soda-advantage stinky
Stinky handle vs coffee grounds-advantage stinky

Needless to say it's soaking in vinegar/water as I type. Thanks all!!!

[Moai]

Let us know how it worked. Good luck

[Munxcub]

I'm keeping an eye on this one.

Stinky Handle vs time in the open on the shelf: too soon to call, leaning towards time in open.

It has subdued, if I get my nose right to it I can smell it, but it isn't apparent during regular use.

[tvldatsi]

This is good information, any of ya'll noticed this with wooden handles?

[Munxcub]

This is good information, any of ya'll noticed this with wooden handles?

I don't have any experience with old wooden handles, but would not expect this behaviour. I think it's more a characteristic of the old plastics and what they were made of.

[Telecaster52]

This is good information, any of ya'll noticed this with wooden handles?

old wooden lacquered/shellacked handles will pick up a similar (albeit much lighter/milder) funk to them with age, similar to old furniture

[Kentos]

Well I soaked the 2 plastic ER handles in a 50/50 solution of white vinegar and water for 24 hours, and I must report that it works quite well. There is still a little funk left which will likely go away after a 2nd soaking. My sense of smell is quite sensitive so for some people a single soaking may be more than enough.
The finish on my red/white seem unaffected, but the black/green has lost some shine on the black...a shine that was most likely due to a layer of oil rather than being from a polished surface.

All in all I am happy with the results and all my stinky brush handles will go through this soaking in the future. Thanks again for the advice!

[Preacher]

re: removing stink:

get a bag of cedar shavings, (small bags are available at most department stores in the pet section)
bury the brush handle in the shavings, check it in about a week. Smell should be completely gone.
If not, just put it in for a bit longer. I saved an antique oak desk that smelled so bad you could not even get near it with this method, I now use it every day. I have done this to all sorts of materials, (wood, plastic, cloth,books ) have not had a failure yet. It DOES take a while sometimes, but the best thing is it will not affect the item at all. I did an antique rubberset longhandle barbers brush, use it now, no odor at all. (and it was FUNKY)
Hope this helps.

[BluesAndBrews]

OK. Stinky cheese, yeah, I was a bachelor at one time, so I know the smell. Old library book vomit? The first thing that came to mind was a novel on eating disorders, that someone literally, uh, errr...took literally.