The stocks on S&W since the introduction of the black molded varieties were made of hard rubber. Some call hard rubber a plastic, but definitely not Bakelite plastic. Bakelite was claimed to be the first material made from synthetic resins, phenol formaldehyde, in about 1909. I believe the term hard rubber was adopted as a generic name for Ebonite. This material, containing up to 30% sulfur, was vulcanized and produced a very durable product that could be easily molded. The smell of warm hard rubber stocks is quite distinctive and that is the sulfur combined with rubber odors. Plastics, on the other hand, have a different distinctive chemical order when warmed.
__________________
Gary
SWCA 2515
|