I like the look of brass... there, I said it!...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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Aug 4, 2013
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I know that brass is usually loved or hated. When it comes to knives, (and other objects), that are pocket carried and meant to be hand held, the smell of brass is sometimes disliked. Then, there is it's color... Whether it be browned with age, or golden shiny in it's polish... everyone simply has their own views and taste on this metal, (which is usually a basic mixture of copper & zinc... and, in that order).
I like the look of brass. When I see it browned with age on an object, it looks beautiful to me. It can be held in that appearance state by occasionally wiping it down with some oil, preventing it from going into the "green rust" state that can follow if left untreated. Green rust is not what I want to see on my brass. I see green rust on brass to be the equal to red active rust on steel. Aged browned brass is what I liken to a nice gray patina on steel. As for the fresh look of gleaming gold colored brass, I liken it to a polished carbon steel blade on a brand new knife.
Now, if an item is older, and has the browned brass look, I choose to maintain it looking that way, no more, no less. If it's an object that was acquired in mint or new condition, and has the shiny gold look, I maintain it as such, (since I love the look of new shiny brass even more than I love the look of aged browned brass).

While at the local thrift shop yesterday, (which I enter once in a blue moon), I ran into a little batch of displayed candlesticks. They were mostly China and India made, and not of particularly high quality. Amongst that batch, there was a pair that stuck out like a sore thumb, the quality was visually apparent. I picked one of them up, and it's pound to maybe a pound and a half of weight, and it's two piece solid brass construction, were obvious signs of a higher grade product. Turning it over to check for markings, my curiosity was answered. The markings were a tell tale sign of the candlesticks being of somewhat recent manufacture, (likely made within the past 40 years). Made by the Virginia Metalcrafters company, (which went out of business in 2006), this pair of candlesticks were faithful reproductions of originals that were/are showcased at Colonial Williamsburg. They were made in the USA to a very high quality standard. Well, at $5.98 for the pair, they were being sold just as inexpensively as the lower grade India & China made specimens that they were all grouped in on the store's display shelf.
I, of course, purchased them and took them home.

Then the project began...
They had that typical clear lacquered factory finish that is oftenly applied to modern day brass to protect them from tarnishing. This works great when new, but as time passes, the laquer begins to deteriorate from age and handling, and tarnish will begin to form under it, (since the lacquer's protection is compromised). This means the lacquer is no longer fully protecting the metal' finish, and it also prevents one from removing any tarnish that may be developing.
First step was to submerge the items into acetone. This quickly breaks down the lacquer and it makes for an easy task to then wipe off that coating.
My next step was to judiciously use some 0000 steel wool to remove a few spots of tarnish, and it was all superficial enough as to not cause too much effort.
I then used Brasso polish to even the entire surface shine to a mild brushed finish, and followed that with a soapy water & rinse to remove all residues, (Brasso having ammonia, which I've heard can be harmful to brass in the long run).
The final step was to give it a high luster polish that would equal it's original factory finish, (sans the lacquer application, which I did not want to replace). I did this with Mothers brand Mag & Aluminum polish, which has been my replacement for Flitz on doing final polishes of metal, (imo, Flitz is also great stuff, but find Mothers to be just as good, if not slightly better, and at a much better price).

Here are the candlesticks waiting to be rinsed off after having been cleaned in warm soapy water to remove the Brasso polish residues...

2r572f5.jpg



And here is the final result after having used Mothers polish to give them their final luster...

18g9yd.jpg


Anyhow, brass... I just love the stuff! The majority of my ownership of brass is on knives that were new or mint when purchased. I maintain their shiny gold look by simply using a bit of oil on a soft cotton cloth to routinely wipe/rub them down, and it keeps them that way.
Yup, I love me some brass! It has fallen out of favor with most folks, but there was a time in America when shiny brass was worth people's time to have and maintain. That belief is still alive and well with me... Long live Brass! :)
 
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While I fully support your choice in this matter, I respectfully disagree on the matter of brass.

I despise brass and gold, be it on a knife, pen, jewelry, fixture etc.
Honorable mention, I hate carbon fiber. Certain shred is pretty sweet but the standard basket weave, nope none for me.

Copper, bronze, nickel, silver, nearly anything else is absolutely fine by me.
 
I totally understand the "love it" or "hate it" on the brass thing. It's all good, it would be boring if we all agreed on everything :)

Brass does take a lot of maintenance to prevent it from tarnishing, and if one dislikes it being tarnished, it can certainly be a PITA to maintain.
And that smell thing... yup, like the smell left on your hands after holding a bunch of copper pennies... Yuck! lol!

The color thing is obviously a sticking point for some folks. Just like some people hate gold colored jewelry, while they love silver colored jewelry... (And, of course, some folks may feel the opposite of that, or not like either).
Again, all good, Sir :)
 
No e work cleaning those up! I love seeing the process of things being transformed. Be it something created from scratch, or restored like these. Got any before pics?

As for brass specifically, like all materials, for me it all depends on the application. Buck 110, or similar style lockback, looks perfect with brass bolsters. But don't try to put CF scales on one. Works in reverse too.... a modern ZT with CF scales is pretty cool, but don't add anything brass to one.

As a designer, all materials have a place and use.
 
Nope, I sure didn't use any electric tools on them... I just simply used a few helpful things like acetone, steel wool, metal polishes, and some good old fashioned elbow grease :)

Of course they being all brass, it makes for an easier project than something like a knife that usually has other materials attached to them, and therefore a wee bit harder to work on.
A few years back, an older gentleman gifted me a Schrade lockback folder that he himself had received as a gift years earlier. The knife was part of Shrade's Scrimshaw Series. It was new when he received it, and he had never used it. He was kind enough to place it into my possession, but it had been stored so long in it's leather sheath, that the knife's brass had somewhat pitted with the green rust that had developed on it. It was a little trickier on that project to get the brass right again. I had to contend with the masking off of the blade and the synthetic ivory handle scales. I did bring it back up to par, so it went well... But, it was a tougher refurb than the above candlesticks.

Here is a picture of the knife, (the top one), in one of my smaller displays. Like I said, it had some pitting and what I call "green rust"...

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prefer bronze, but also like brass, copper, nickel or German silver, sterling and gold. hard not to like shiny and heavy in weight metals.

since it's a brass discussion. I like it high polished and gold colored. it doesnt last long even with waxing and various protections unless its left to sit and not touched. which I guess those candlesticks might qualify as that. as it brown and turns colors I dont mind it but prefer that gold shine.

not to be rude I like the discussion but how's this fit in with general knife discussion...unless we are talking buck, as an example, who uses a lot of brass fittings and frames etc
 
I've got a Buck 112 from the Custom Shop and a 110 Limited Edition, both with polished brass. I loved the look of them and the contrast between the glossy brass and steel despite the fact that they scratched so easily. I foolishly stored them in their leather sheaths and early in this past incredibly hot and humid summer was horrified at the deep tarnish that they developed. I was not able to completely remove it and have since wrapped the knives in micro-fiber cloths and added a couple desiccant packs to their drawer.

I checked a couple other knives with brass parts/accents and found that by Al Mar Eagle and Talon had fared better, their polished brass liners having dulled--the older Eagle moreso than the Falcon--but they don't look irredeemably tarnished. The dull brass hardware on my RHK XM 18 has some tarnish which I expect will come out, and the brass beads on some of my lanyards have dulled but look fine that way.

I do like brass but think that polished is too hard to maintain in my coastal climate. As a builder I've found that unprotected brass door/cabinet hardware is a problem here too. Oxidized hardware finishes like US10B are better choices for building hardware here as their uneven wear patterns protect the metal where generally untouched but expose the underlying brass where worn by handling, said handling keeping the metal largely "polished" and rendering, at least to my eye, an attractive appearance. Some (cheaper) polished brass hardware is coated which creates a hideous, pitted, flaky appearance as it wears.

Back to knives, though, I'm not going to buy any more polished brass, but will continue to enjoy, acquire, and more easily maintain dull brass finishes on cutlery hardware, beads, etc.
 
The brass frame on the Buck 110 is a beauty, imo. By looking at it carefully, it seems that it's an all one piece cast brass design. I don't believe the bolsters are separate pieces.
Yeah, it's certainly a very thick and heavy knife, but it's also such a cool classic :)

I purchased a fixed blade General 120 in faux cocobolo and brass hardware for that beautiful combination, (at least in my eyes) :)
 
jaseman said:
No e work cleaning those up! I love seeing the process of things being transformed. Be it something created from scratch, or restored like these. Got any before pics?

As for brass specifically, like all materials, for me it all depends on the application. Buck 110, or similar style lockback, looks perfect with brass bolsters. But don't try to put CF scales on one. Works in reverse too.... a modern ZT with CF scales is pretty cool, but don't add anything brass to one.

As a designer, all materials have a place and use.
Click to expand...
Oh, and sorry I forgot to answer your question concerning the before pics. No, I should have taken some, but did not. They really were not in bad shape to begin with, conservatively being in about 85% condition. They had some minor under lacquer tarnish developing, and some minor scratches here and there.
But, the after appearance still makes them look much better now. They literally look brand new again, and no more pesky factory lacquer finish to worry about :)
 
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I like it. I like it even more when I have to modify a guard or pommel and then fine sand it back to a glorious shine. Right now I'm finishing a big seax with a brass guard that I will post pictures of later, sanded to 400 grit and wiped with blue magic (although I agree, Mother's is great stuff but my tub is at home and the guard was at work, where I keep the blue magic).
 
Wood and brass is a classic! Also, I don't know what it is, but the C&C 112 w/ brass + black G10 somehow gives me a retro 1930's Chicago dock worker feel (in a good way).
 
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