Steel fittings vs. Brass fittings

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
2,671
What do you think of the pros and cons of steel and brass hardware?

I like steel because of it's durabilty and looks. The only problem I can think of with Steel is that if moisture gets under it it could rust from the inside out. Uncle Bill or anybody, do you know if the steel is polished on the inside befor it is put onto the knife? This might help with corrosion/rust forming.

Brass also looks great and will not rust only tarnish but is not as tough as steel. You can hammer with a steel butt but not a brass butt.
 
I seal around all of my bolsters and buttcaps with a thin bead of SuperGlue after I've removed any burrs or uneven fit. If the Laha underneath the brass hasn't eaten it away over the long life of the older Khuks, then the brass may be the longevity champ. The only steel-fitted Khuk (so far :D) is the M43, and I think the glue bead has solved the problem of any outside moisture getting in. I also ran a bead around the outside edge of the scales, to keep moisture away from the tang, and all of the metal on brass or steel fittings has a coat of liquid Turtle wax. If rust/carbon spots ever become a problem on the M43 cap and bolster, I'll take it down to bare metal, blue them, and re-wax. Or, dip into Federico's bag of tricks and put a patina over the whole thing. Lots of options, so little time :)
 
Originally posted by SkagSig40
What do you think of the pros and cons of steel and brass hardware?

I like steel because of it's durabilty and looks. The only problem I can think of with Steel is that if moisture gets under it it could rust from the inside out.
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I like and prefer steel myself.

As far as steel's longevity there are an awful lot of old, old khukuris around that have steel furniture, not withstanding that John Powell has the most of them.:rolleyes:

Personally Walosi's idea is great, use it.
I wouldn't worry to terribly much about it myself.
 
What about stainless steel? Brass tarnish, it's heavy, and not that hard. Steel rusts. I'm a big fan of stainless because it's very tough, lasts forever, and keeps shiny. It's terrible to work with though, but you get something that really lasts. :p
 
Bear introducing stainless steel to the kamis of Nepal would be like re-introducing the wheel there.
While the kamis may find it interesting I imagine the material would lay in the corner never rusting while the kamis continue to use what they've always used.

There's a saying for such behavior in Nepal

It's Nepal Ho!!!!!!!

However given enough time, a couple hundred years or so, a modern improvising kami may try to make some jewelery from the old by now stained stainless.:p
 
Maybe if the kami has a stainless steel watch, they'll learn to enjoy that wonderful material... Anyway, point understood.
;)
 
What would a translation of "Nepal Ho" be in English?

- Word for word?
- Thought for thought?
 
Originally posted by Abear
Maybe if the kami has a stainless steel watch, they'll learn to enjoy that wonderful material... Anyway, point understood.
;)
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Bear it's a dayumed shame in some ways that the kamis and I suppose so many other tradesmen or craftsmen resist change so much.
In Nepal Uncle Bill has said the phrase, "But we have always done it like this!!!!" is classic in it's use.
And to not give you too much of an idea of the backwardness that exists in Nepal, stainless steel watches and Bic lighters are all very familiar items.
The advent of the cigarette lighter in Nepal lead the kamis to quit making the little tinder and flint pouches that used to be in every khukuri scabbard.
The lighters made the pouches obsolete and the kamis being like people everywhere all over the world with a huge dose of lazyness built in thought, "Now I don't have to make any more of those dayumed pouches that takes up so much time and leather."

The farther one goes away from home he finds out just how similar the everyday people of the world are to one another.
To us ndns that fact gives us much hope that the world isn't totally doomed.
And to quote Martha, "And that's a good thing.";) :rolleyes: :p :D

Oh by the way, Welcome to the Cantina!!!!!!!:D

Bruise wrote:
"What would a translation of "Nepal Ho" be in English?

- Word for word?
- Thought for thought?"
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Bruise I am not evn getting close to that question tonight. What little that's left of my mind is on censored overload.:rolleyes: :eek: :p
 
Thanks all! Wal, I think I'll seal everything up with JB weld unless you know something better?
 



Bruise I am not evn getting close to that question tonight. What little that's left of my mind is on censored overload.:rolleyes: :eek: :p
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That's OK. My mind gets like that when I think about what kind of gum to buy. :) For some it takes a little more mental stimulation.
 
While the kamis may find it interesting I imagine the material would lay in the corner never rusting while the kamis continue to use what they've always used.
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Probably right. However, some of Uncle's comments about Bura's ideas on modernization (using hand electric grinder etc..) make me wonder about this...

Cherokee rose with Stainless guard, Chitlangi with stainless furniture, YCS, etc....etc....:D :cool:
 
What about Silver. At least it doesn't tarnish like brass. Are the HI silver fittings solid silver. Does it break easier compared to the brass. Has anyone use a silver fitting kukri to chop lots of wood. :confused:
 
I dislike brass because it looks tacky and cheap, except when it's being used as decoration, and only sparingly at that. Steel is still king of khuk furniture, in my opinion, especially when it's as well polished as on my 18" WWII.
 
I've not compared brass vs steel rig in even condition. But my experience and chemistry say brass prevents rust of steel if they are connected. That's why I love old fashioned brass bolster and brass butt cap.
Difference of tendency to ionization will give electron from brass to steel (iron) as a small electrical flow, prevent Fe to be combined with O2. Brass rusts (loses shine) but steel doesn't as far as surface of brass are fully oxydized. Silver rig will do as well or better.
Not sure about the effectivity, but hybrid rig of steel & brass will be a good compromisation between practicality and aesthetic.
 
So I guess silver is too soft for practical usage. Looks good though...
What kind of brass do you use. I heard some third world country knife makers use brass from ammunition shells. I guess that's pretty tough stuff. Where does HI get it's brass, Mercedes brass fittings;)
 
One note silver tarnishes as fast if not faster than brass. Sterling is pretty tough, at least as tuff as brass, but dunno if .999 fine is the only thing available (.999 is amazingly soft I always liked doing the old prospector routine and bite .999 rounds and leave a tooth print for the ages). I personally love silver, when properly polished it puts stainless to shame any day. One option to prevent future tarnishes on brass or silver or whatever fittings you got is to seal it. You seal your blades in with oil, so why not the fittings. Though Ive been usin car wax(there's better out there but Ive been too lazy not to mention stingy to buyem),polishes up nice and lets the shine through and doesnt feel slippery like oil when touched. I like patina and all (for some reason shiny brass never really appealed to me except on my zippo), but particularly with silver I prefer a nice gleam so I seal it. Shine lasts real long when properly sealed, one piece hasnt gotten a touch of tarnish after almost a year.
 
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