Codger_64
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- Oct 8, 2004
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Anyone who has spent much time buying and storing knives or guns has had to deal with the green crud that develops when they are stored in a sheath or holster. I find that while it sometimes is my enemy, it usually is my friend.
Verdigris is a green chemical compound (copper acetate) that forms when copper is exposed to acetic acid. Not a problem since you don't have a jug of acetic acid near your knives, and your knives don't have copper, right? Well, most sheath leather is acid tanned and gives off acetic acid fumes. And brass (rivets, snaps, bolsters and liners) is a copper/zinc alloy (70/30).
I recently acquired a new-in-the-box Sears Craftsman special edition knife for my Schrade 165 Woodsman pattern collection. New except that it had been stored with the beautiful custom "revolver flap" sheath since 1976. The brass guard, and brass sheath rivets and snaps were a brilliant green. And the green had migrated to the nickle silver fittings as well. No wonder verdigris was used in artists paints in the old days. Other buyers for this knife, more than by the Craftsman tangstamp, were turned off by the green crud, so I bought it at a very reasonable price.
I bought from a local dealer last fall a LB7 Bear Paw that had been stored in it's sheath also. Both the knife and sheath were a greasy green. I mentioned that verdigris can be your friend, well the dealer sold me this knife for a twenty, tax and all. It still had a sticker on the box with a price of $60, the 2002 retail.
Both knives and their sheaths cleaned up easily, and are once again in mint condition. Most times, verdigris can be simply wiped off with a rag and some hand work with a toothpick (wood won't scratch the brass), or some 0000 steel wool if you must. If the crud is more stubborn, it can be dissolved with alcohol, but as I found back in my days as a Rocky Mountain fur trapper of the 1830's, Hoppe's #9 on a Q-tip works like a champ. I usually follow up with a preservative wax or oil to keep the slime away, and NEVER store my knives in, or even with their sheaths.
Like a patina on carbon steels blades, you can put a patina on brass that acts to shield it from verdigris, depending on whether bright or dull brass appeals to you. But don't pass on a knife just because it makes you see green!
Codger
Verdigris is a green chemical compound (copper acetate) that forms when copper is exposed to acetic acid. Not a problem since you don't have a jug of acetic acid near your knives, and your knives don't have copper, right? Well, most sheath leather is acid tanned and gives off acetic acid fumes. And brass (rivets, snaps, bolsters and liners) is a copper/zinc alloy (70/30).
I recently acquired a new-in-the-box Sears Craftsman special edition knife for my Schrade 165 Woodsman pattern collection. New except that it had been stored with the beautiful custom "revolver flap" sheath since 1976. The brass guard, and brass sheath rivets and snaps were a brilliant green. And the green had migrated to the nickle silver fittings as well. No wonder verdigris was used in artists paints in the old days. Other buyers for this knife, more than by the Craftsman tangstamp, were turned off by the green crud, so I bought it at a very reasonable price.
I bought from a local dealer last fall a LB7 Bear Paw that had been stored in it's sheath also. Both the knife and sheath were a greasy green. I mentioned that verdigris can be your friend, well the dealer sold me this knife for a twenty, tax and all. It still had a sticker on the box with a price of $60, the 2002 retail.
Both knives and their sheaths cleaned up easily, and are once again in mint condition. Most times, verdigris can be simply wiped off with a rag and some hand work with a toothpick (wood won't scratch the brass), or some 0000 steel wool if you must. If the crud is more stubborn, it can be dissolved with alcohol, but as I found back in my days as a Rocky Mountain fur trapper of the 1830's, Hoppe's #9 on a Q-tip works like a champ. I usually follow up with a preservative wax or oil to keep the slime away, and NEVER store my knives in, or even with their sheaths.
Like a patina on carbon steels blades, you can put a patina on brass that acts to shield it from verdigris, depending on whether bright or dull brass appeals to you. But don't pass on a knife just because it makes you see green!
Codger
