I really hate brass sometimes.

kamagong

kamagong

Gold Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2001
Messages
10,966
I know its use is traditional in the making of slipjoints, but it is also heavy, dings too easily, and after handling leaves a funky smell on your hands. Worst of all is that it occassionally verdigrises when used on a knife with stag covers. I oiled up my Scout last night and made an annoying discovery. The area around the center pin is starting to pick up a hint of green.

:mad:

- Christian
 
I hear you Christian. I've got a few stag/brass knives, some of them very nice old Pumas, that
have developed verdigris over the years. I guess that's expected but it still discolored some very nice stag.

I don't mind the smell so much, but I don't walk around sniffing my bolsters either.
 
Yep...my stag Conductor that has been in my pocket for years now has the dreaded green around the pins. As an actual user of these knives I will usually advocate steel or NS pins/liners whenever I can for this very reason.
 
MercyfulfateXX said:
Brass is a great metal. I also love the smell of it.:D
Click to expand...

Interestingly from a purely chemical perspective brass as a metal by itself a does not have a "smell". The brass "smell" is caused by an almost instantaneous reaction of the metal with human skin that gives off the familiar copper/brass odor. If you sniff brass sitting on an inert, dry surface without touching it, it will not have that odor.
 
Peregrin said:
I don't mind the smell so much, but I don't walk around sniffing my bolsters either.
Click to expand...

It was only the one time, I swear...hahaha.

Slipjoints aren't really the problem. But I once used a Buck 110 to break down a bunch of cardboard boxes. When I was done I couldn't stand the smell it left on my hands. Of course the 110 uses significantly more brass in its construction.
 
I have heard others remark about this phenomena, and have thought that it must have to do with their individual chemical makeup of sweat, oils, that their skin produces. That, or they have a nose which is more keen to whatever chemical reaction is going on with the brass. I used Buck 112's for many years, and never noticed any smell whatsoever. For what it's worth, I have also seen nickel silver ( white brass ) get verdigris and discolor stag. Just goes with the territory I guess.
 
By coincidence I've just been cleaning up the brass on a Frosts (of Mora) Lapplander. I've had three of these knives 20-odd years, and the brass goes brown and plain nasty quite quickly. I'm not a fan of brass at all on the whole, it can look OK, but it can also look rotten, it pits easily, and (to me) it does smell - though I take your point monkapotamus - I think it's particularly nasty behind ivory, when the verdigris can permanently stain the ivory.
 
Christian,
for what it's worth, you are not alone.
I do smell my knives pretty often though...tasting has become dangerous after I improved my sharpening skills :p

Fausto
:cool:
 
Thanks guys. Good to know I'm not the only one with this condition.

okbohn said:
THAT made me laugh. "Hey Ed, take a whiff of these bolsters...I can't stop."
Click to expand...

"Derrick, come here. Does this smell right to you?"

Lol...

- Christian
 
There's nothing like the smell of a well used and oiled pocketknife. I've had the same problem on knives. I learned something new today. I didn't know there was a name for brass turning green. Verdigrises.
 
I once read about a clockmaker who would test every new apprentice and journeyman who came to work at the shop. During a tour of the workshop, he would hand them small pieces of brass and steel, let them handle them, and then he'd set the pieces aside for a few days to see how the metal reacted.

He said some people just naturally had a touch that was more corrosive than others who had drier skin. He would hire the latter, not the former, no matter how skilled they might be.
 
I played the trombone for years. Certainly, when you're that intimate with it, the smell is quite pungent. Evacuating the spit valve for instance can be pretty funky. It doesn't bother me though, I've known the odour since I was ten and have good associations with the smell. :)
 
navihawk said:
There's nothing like the smell of a well used and oiled pocketknife. I've had the same problem on knives. I learned something new today. I didn't know there was a name for brass turning green. Verdigrises.
Click to expand...

The green stuff is called verdigris. "Verdigrises" was my attempt at conjugation.
 
Peregrin said:
I don't mind the smell so much, but I don't walk around sniffing my bolsters either.
Click to expand...

Best quote so far for 2015 traditional forum! I believe I could live without brass on most of my traditional knives. I can't help but wonder how traditional they would be without it though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top