German Eye brass liner question

G

Glen Juntunen

Joined
Aug 10, 2024
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122
I recently got a German Eye folder in a trade with a coworker. When I got it home, I noticed that the liners had a bunch of rusty colored spots on them that wouldn’t come off. I don’t have pictures at the moment, but I’m curious if this is something to be concerned about. Thanks
 
If the knife is thoroughly cleaned now, it shouldn't be much of a concern. One thing to be careful with, about brass, is never to use some kinds of gun cleaners / lubricants that are designed to dissolve copper deposits in gun barrels. Some have run into problems using these on knives with brass. Since brass is an alloy of copper, such solvents / lubricants will attack and corrode brass used in knives (pins & liners). That may have been a factor with the knife you have. But so long as such cleaners aren't used again with the knife, I'd think you'll be OK.

That said, all here will welcome some photos, so the advice you get will be more definitive.
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
If the knife is thoroughly cleaned now, it shouldn't be much of a concern. One thing to be careful with, about brass, is never to use some kinds of gun cleaners / lubricants that are designed to dissolve copper deposits in gun barrels. Some have run into problems using these on knives with brass. Since brass is an alloy of copper, such solvents / lubricants will attack and corrode brass used in knives (pins & liners). That may have been a factor with the knife you have. But so long as such cleaners aren't used again with the knife, I'd think you'll be OK.

That said, all here will welcome some photos, so the advice you get will be more definitive.
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Thanks for the reply! I will try to get some pictures posted after I get home from work this evening.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
If the knife is thoroughly cleaned now, it shouldn't be much of a concern. One thing to be careful with, about brass, is never to use some kinds of gun cleaners / lubricants that are designed to dissolve copper deposits in gun barrels. Some have run into problems using these on knives with brass. Since brass is an alloy of copper, such solvents / lubricants will attack and corrode brass used in knives (pins & liners). That may have been a factor with the knife you have. But so long as such cleaners aren't used again with the knife, I'd think you'll be OK.

That said, all here will welcome some photos, so the advice you get will be more definitive.
Click to expand...
IMG-8325.jpg
 
That's curious. I don't know if I've seen that much red/orange rust on brass before. When brass corrodes, it usually goes green. The rust looks like it's from steel/iron, based on the color of it. Bill D. mentioned it might be from direct contact with rusty blades, which seems possible here. Makes me wonder if the blades had been heavily rusted and cleaned up sometime prior.

If it were mine, I'd be scrubbing that out with the aid of some WD-40. If it came from contact with rusty blades, I'd think it might be very loosely attached to the brass and might scrub off fairly easily. A popsicle stick with one end whittled to a point can be useful for getting in there. If it's more stubbornly attached, some fine grit wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around the stick or the edge of a credit card might work as well. Something like ~600 grit or finer would do. Then thoroughly flush it out with WD-40 until it runs clean without any of that rusty color.

I'm sure Bill D. would also have some suggestions for cleaning that up. Might wait for his input too. I'm still thinking that rust probably won't hurt the brass itself much.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
If the knife is thoroughly cleaned now, it shouldn't be much of a concern. One thing to be careful with, about brass, is never to use some kinds of gun cleaners / lubricants that are designed to dissolve copper deposits in gun barrels. Some have run into problems using these on knives with brass. Since brass is an alloy of copper, such solvents / lubricants will attack and corrode brass used in knives (pins & liners). That may have been a factor with the knife you have. But so long as such cleaners aren't used again with the knife, I'd think you'll be OK.

That said, all here will welcome some photos, so the advice you get will be more definitive.
Click to expand...
Pics are posted!
Obsessed with Edges said:
That's curious. I don't know if I've seen that much red/orange rust on brass before. When brass corrodes, it usually goes green. The rust looks like it's from steel/iron, based on the color of it. Bill D. mentioned it might be from direct contact with rusty blades, which seems possible here. Makes me wonder if the blades had been heavily rusted and cleaned up sometime prior.

If it were mine, I'd be scrubbing that out with the aid of some WD-40. If it came from contact with rusty blades, I'd think it might be very loosely attached to the brass and might scrub off fairly easily. A popsicle stick with one end whittled to a point can be useful for getting in there. If it's more stubbornly attached, some fine grit wet/dry sandpaper wrapped around the stick or the edge of a credit card might work as well. Something like ~600 grit or finer would do. Then thoroughly flush it out with WD-40 until it runs clean without any of that rusty color.

I'm sure Bill D. would also have some suggestions for cleaning that up. Might wait for his input too. I'm still thinking that rust probably won't hurt the brass itself much.
Click to expand...
It surprised me too! I actually questioned whether it was actual brass or some kind of steel.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
I'd never heard of that. Interesting. What little I'm reading of it now, it sounds like it's a very slowly progressing form of deterioration of the metal, with one mention that it usually takes decades to do serious damage. Hopefully not too much to worry about.
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At this time it appears to be on the surface, so it must not have been going on too long.
 
Glen Juntunen said:
At this time it appears to be on the surface, so it must not have been going on too long.
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Reading a little more, there's also a mention that if it is deep, it will weaken the metal enough that if probed with something sharp, it might punch a hole clear through. That might be an easy way to see if it's serious or not. And the scrubbing or sanding I mentioned earlier would also reveal if it goes deep or not. If you see clean brass immediately after sanding a little bit, it's likely OK. I'm still thinking it's not deep and just on the surface, based on what I see in your photos.
 
Obsessed with Edges said:
Reading a little more, there's also a mention that if it is deep, it will weaken the metal enough that if probed with something sharp, it might punch a hole clear through. That might be an easy way to see if it's serious or not. And the scrubbing or sanding I mentioned earlier would also reveal if it goes deep or not. If you see clean brass immediately after sanding a little bit, it's likely OK. I'm still thinking it's not deep and just on the surface, based on what I see in your photos.
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That’s what I’m thinking as well!
 
Another thought just came to me. Eye Brand has apparently made some knives using yellow celluloid for the handles. Celluloid can be unstable at times and outgas corrosive vapors, which can severely corrode any metal parts, including the brass and the blades & springs. Do the blades look pitted at all? Hadn't considered it before now, but the gaps seen between the handle covers and the bolsters might also indicate shrinkage of the covers, which is another known issue with celluloid.
 
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Obsessed with Edges said:
Another thought just came to me. Eye Brand has apparently made some knives using yellow celluloid for the handles. Celluloid can be unstable at times and outgas corrosive vapors, which can severely corrode any metal parts, including the brass and the blades & springs. Do the blades look pitted at all?
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Thankfully, no! I don’t think the handles are celluloid on this one. I’ve had some old Buck Creeks with celluloid handles and those things were a disaster. I try to steer clear of them nowadays.
 
Glen Juntunen said:
Thankfully, no! I don’t think the handles are celluloid on this one. I’ve had some old Buck Creeks with celluloid handles and those things were a disaster. I try to steer clear of them nowadays.
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Just keep an eye on it over time. I'd think in an old knife like this one, if the covers had been outgassing much, there'd probably be a lot more obvious damage to all the metal parts (liners, blades, springs & bolsters). Maybe still not much to worry about.
 
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