Grips

[John Sabato]

Late model reproduction grips are not made of bakelite, but some form of plastic. When you burn a late model reproduction grip, like with the tip of a red hot pin or needle you will cause a hole to be created in what you touched and the unmistakeable aroma of burnt plastic. Try this experiment on a non-structural interior surface...

Extracts from Wikipedia:

Bakelite (/ˈbeɪkəlaɪt/ BAY-kə-lyt), or polyoxybenzylmethylenglycolanhydride, is an early plastic. It is a thermosetting phenol formaldehyde resin, formed from an elimination reaction of phenol with formaldehyde. It was developed by Belgian-born chemist Leo Baekeland in New York in 1907.

By controlling the pressure and temperature applied to phenol and formaldehyde, he produced a hard moldable material and patented in 1907 known as Bakelite. It was the first synthetic thermosetting plastic ever made.

Phenolic sheet is a hard, dense material made by applying heat and pressure to layers of paper or glass cloth impregnated with synthetic resin. These layers of laminations are usually of cellulose paper, cotton fabrics, synthetic yarn fabrics, glass fabrics or unwoven fabrics. When heat and pressure are applied to the layers, a chemical reaction (polymerization) transforms the layers into a high-pressure thermosetting industrial laminated plastic. When rubbed or burnt, Bakelite has a distinctive, acrid, sickly-sweet odor.

In the early 20th century, it was found in myriad applications including saxophone mouthpieces, whistles, cameras, solid-body electric guitars, telephone housings and handsets, early machine guns, pistol grips, and appliance casings. In the pure form it was made into such articles as pipe stems, buttons, etc.



I now believe that all three of these grips are genuine originals, but the one that is deteriorating (on the left in the photo)
appears to have been subjected to some form of solvent that attacked the bakelite composition. The fuzzy appearance is because some of the fiber used to reinforce the material has been exposed.