Copper bolsters in use

russde

russde

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For those that have AND use them, how are the copper bolsters standing up to use? I am considering one of the 112's but have vowed only to buy knives I will use (at least for now, next week might be different), but am unsure of the durability of these bolsters/frames.
Let me know what you think about them if you have used them.
Thanks,
Russ
 
I don't own a copper bolstered knife (out of my price range) but from what I know of copper, the bolsters should be at least as durable as brass, if not more so, although they may (I'm not sure) tarnish a little faster than brass.

Copper, Brass, and, of course, Bronze are used under the waterline and above the waterline on ocean going vessels. The electrical grounding plate on the exterior of the hull is copper, and back in the day a lot of wooden sailing vessels had the hull sheathed with copper from the waterline down, to prevent sea critters like barnacles from hitching a ride. At any rate, if copper can survive a saltwater environment long term, it should last generations on a knife.
 
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russde, I am also on the fence when it comes to this offering.
luckily we have until august to decide.
However, I have a hard time staying away from
unusual 112's.
 
I am all ears on this topic as well. I haven't bit on this model yet. I've seen hardened copper resist scratching on the level of brass. I doubt if anyone's had time to use them. DM
 
yowser I knows that when used fer a still there are two types of copper tubing
hard and soft and neather are close to being as hard as brass
I likely would thing that the copper tey used is like hard copper tubing
don't know but I would think the copper would scratch easer then the brass
sure is nice looking stuff ...
purt sure it will turn jest as green if ya leaves it in a leather sheath
 
Copied from elsewhere on the net....
According to this, copper and brass are equal.
Obviously there will be minor differences in alloys.

The Mohs Scale of Hardness for Metals:
•Lead: 1.5
•Tin: 1.5
•Zinc: 2.5
•Gold: 2.5-3
•Silver: 2.5-3
•Aluminum: 2.5-3
•Copper: 3
•Brass: 3
•Bronze: 3
•Nickel: 4
•Platinum: 4-4.5
•Steel: 4-4.5
•Iron: 4.5
•Palladium: 4.75
•Rhodium: 6
•Titanium: 6
•Hardened steel: 7-8
•Tungsten: 7.5
•Tungsten carbide: 8.5-9
 
We have been here before on this issue: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-with-USA-made-sheath?p=13604571#post13604571


oregon said:
Hardness of copper vs brass (about the same) shown on Mohs (scratchability) scale (both are about as hard as calcite):


Apparently there are a number of hardness tests for metals, some of the most common being Mohs, Brinell, Rockwell, and Vickers, among others. The Mohs test is, as Oregon has stated, a scratchability test (I don't know how the measurement of scratchability is accomplished) that is primarily used for jewelry. The range is from one (for talc) to 10 (for diamonds); brass is a 3.5 while copper is a 3, so a 0.5-point difference here should be quite significant when one considers that only 10 points separates talc from diamonds. The Brinell, Rockwell, and Vickers tests all impress a sphere or cone into a metal to determine hardness, measuring the resistance to that impression pressure. On the Brinell scale, brass measures 192-202 while copper measures 80-85. On the Rockwell scale, brass measures 93 while copper measures 40-54 .

So, the bottom line still remains, at least for me, that copper is considerably softer than brass and likely will not hold up as well with use.
Click to expand...
 
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Tin Sue said:
We have been here before on this issue: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...-with-USA-made-sheath?p=13604571#post13604571

oregon said:
Hardness of copper vs brass (about the same) shown on Mohs (scratchability) scale (both are about as hard as calcite):

So, the bottom line still remains, at least for me, that copper is considerably softer than brass and likely will not hold up as well with use.
Click to expand...

Thanks Tin, I knew I read that when we talked about the 110 but couldn't remember the details nor could I find it when I searched.
Best,
Russ
Click to expand...
 
You are welcome russde. But, like you, I would actually like to see at least one that has been put to some reasonable use over a period of time; however, I am betting that, considering their price, just about all of these are going to be "safe queens."
 
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