Stromberg-Carlson 1243 handsetI’m going to throw out something that I’ve found curious about handsets, particularly those of the bakelite variety. It seems that the screw-on receiver/transmitter caps often exhibit deterioration to a much greater degree than the other bakelite parts. It is also common for one screw-on cap to be worse than the other. Why? Those who have dealt with bakelite handsets know the sort of damage I’m talking about, a dull, rough finish that is more than cosmetic, as if corrosion of the plastic has taken place. Frequent handling, something all phones are subjected to, can certainly cause wear, but this type of damage isn’t the sort I would expect from handling. If frequent handling/rubbing during use was the culprit, wouldn’t it result in shiny areas rather than dull? Wouldn’t this texture be more prominent on the handset itself rather than the caps?
The different formulations of plastics tend to share certain attributes, but bakelite, one of the earliest plastics, does seem less stable than others. It’s entirely possible that this erosion is chemically induced. I’m suspicious, and I’m not the first person to think of this, that hair products and/or makeup could contain an ingredient that breaks down bakelite over time. Another possible cause could be a cleaner that was used to disinfect the phone. Short of contracting a lab to conduct tests, I don’t see how this can be confirmed, unless such data already exists and can be located. It’s interesting that the damage is usually exclusive to, or predominant on, just one of the caps of a given handset, and it could be either the receiver or transmitter cap. My personal observance is that the receiver is typically the most distressed of the two, but that could just be my imagination. The photos are of a Stromberg-Carlson 1243 handset, and they illustrate the deterioration well. The handset itself is in pretty good shape, as are the sides of the caps. It’s on the face of the caps, particularly the receiver end, that the problem can be seen. As the close-up shows, it’s rough. I’m going to do further study on this phenomenon, and will report back with my findings… if there are any!