Brass: To polish or not to polish?

J

JayBird

Joined
Apr 28, 2000
Messages
132
I have a couple of knives that have brass trim; a Case XX-Changer and a Buck Vanguard. When I polish the brass, they look really good. But it doesn't last and both knives are user's, not show pieces. I've finally quit fighting it and let them build up a patina.

What do you do?
 
I knew a guy once who had a brass Zippo lighter. It would discolor almost immediately after he polished it, and he handled it all the time (since he smoked), so there never seemed to be any point.

If the knives weren't users, I suppose you might as well polish them up and then try not to touch the brass when you set them aside. Since they're going to see handling a lot, polishing would probably be a waste of time.
 
IT's the nature of the beast man,but they do look great tarnish free.I've noticed that when I used Flitz polish,though a little pricey,it left a protective finish that seemed to keep the brass tarnish free for a significantly longer period of time.Flitz is good stuff,I say keep'em polished!:eek:
 
When I was in the Marine Corps, I used to swear that all the brass items which were part of the USMC uniform had been made by the company that sells Brasso. Brasso worked wonders on scuzzy brass. It lasted between 12 and 24 hours. Then had to do it again. One of the best parts of Vietnam, was that all that Mickey Mouse S&$t was left behind for most Marines.
 
Flitz it.

I Flitzed my Perrin Bali once when I first got it several months ago. Just took a pic of it today and it's still sparkling like polished gold.
 

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After you clean it, warm it up a little then use a thin varnish on it.
Clock varnish is best if you can find it, otherwise a clear protective nail varnish (see the lady in your life about this) should do the job. When it starts to wear off, clean it off with thinners and re-apply.
 
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