Testing for bakelite (by Lottie van Sloten)
If you are not sure your item is made of bakelite, there are ways to find out. You may find a marking on it, that tells you the item is made of bakelite. You can find a marking like ‘Philite’, ‘Futurit’ and more names that end with ‘it’ or ‘ite’. If you can’t find any markings, you can do one of the following tests.
This test relies a great deal on the sense of smell. Rub the surface of the object in question with a very clean and dry finger. Rub until you get a friction and feel heat. Then smell the area you rubbed immediately. Bakelite has a chemical smell like formaldehyde and is very sharp.
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