Brass for guards- Coin or Naval?

S

silverforgestudio

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Jan 13, 2010
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Hey folks! At the point where I will be buying some brass stock for guards- I have a choice of "Naval" brass or "Coin" brass. The major difference in the 2 is the copper %. Cutlers' Brass was not an option for me at to choose from.

Per the suppliers' website (Metals superstore in Columbia, SC):

Naval Brass has 59-62% Cu with remainder being Zn (31%) and Pb/SN and a below 1% amount of Fe.

Coin Brass is listed as Cu 97% with remainder being Zn/Mg/Sn.

Looking for advice on which would be easier to solder. Both colors match the handle and pins.
 
Not sure why it's not an option for you, I order all mine from out of state. That said, as far as I know I've never used coin or naval brass. I use a good bit of 360 brass, that's got the bright gold color and is soft and easy to work and is traditional. The other I use a lot of is bronze, it's harder and has a darker color and is harder to file, drill, and shape and finish, and doesn't tarnish or scratch as easily on the knife.

From looking at the alloys, I'd try a little of each and make a couple of knives with each and see which you like better. Nothing says you have to only use one guard material.
 
Naval brass is an industrial term for naval bronze .... same thing ...... S.A.E. CA464
 
Thanks Stacy- does the "bronze" solder the same as brass?

The designations are C464 (naval) and C260 (coin)

Will- its not an option due to using a gift certificate for the metals store. All they carry in the size I need is "coin" and "naval"... they have others- but in rod, square, hex and other sizes too big or way too small.

Cool thing is the plate of O-1 I wanted is basically free.

I goofed a bit and used an odd size cutter while I had access to a friend's mill- so Ill be doing a lot of fitting! Learning the hard way...

Kerri
 
Use what you want but know up front that eventually the brass or bronze WILL corrode. No way around it. I quit using anything but stainless in the early 80s. No corrosion problems ever
 
Naval brass is like cartridge brass quite yellow.
Coin is red almost like pure copper .
Both will tarnish.
 
I find naval brass/bronze has a nicer yellow/gold color that the high copper content coin brass ( what a penny outside is made from). It will darken to a nice brown patina with age as all brass/bronze will. A quick wipe with a cleaning cloth or Tarnex will bring it back in a second or two. The coin brass has an unattractive look when polished, and isn't as "bronzy" looking when patinaed.

I have never had a corrosion problem with it on any knife hardware.
Brass fittings have been used for a long time with good results. A few decades ago, stainless steel became popular as a blade steel and a fitting material. At that time brass was the norm, but was replaced with the love for the "white" look of stainless ( and nickel silver - AKA White Brass). Aged brass matched the dark color of patinated carbon blade well, but clashed with bright stainless steel. With the mirror poilish on stainless blades becoming common, the collectors flocked to stainless blade hardware. This change in metal attitudes wasn't unique to knives. The American public had been sold on the "white" look during the 60's and 70's. Everything became glass and chrome. When that became the norm, yellow gold jewelry gave way to white gold and platinum in the 80's. These metals had not been popular for over 50 years.
The trend back to more muted colors and yellows has slowly returned, and brass hardware on knives is becoming more popular. I doubt it will ever replace stainless again, though.
 
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