Whats happened to Brass?

Ed Fowler said:
There once was a great teacher in the world of Art, Robert Henri, he wrote a book called "The Art Spirit".

I make every knife for myself first, when I am satisfied with her attributes others can give her a home.
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Truer words could not have been said.

Have you ever heard good enough for who it’s for?

Is it good enough to put your name on it for all eternity?


Joe Foster
 
From what little I undertstand about Aluminum, and I haven't worked with it in about 20 years and therefore hope I am actually wrong about this: soldering won't work - has to be done electrically. Any welding I have see it has always been electric.
If this is really the case, try using pins or fine screws of the same material.

So what's the JB Weld trick?
 
Wild Rose and Sando:

Thanks for the Aluminum flux and solder link. Cool. Next time I work with Aluminum (some day) I'll have to try it out. Temperature seems to be pretty manageable.

Thanks for the JB tutorial - pretty, simple, nice and neat. Just have to be a perfectionist to make the joints so tight. Glad I work a lot with files.
 
The one single aspect that makes for impressive knives is freedom. The knifemakers freedom to make what he feels he must make, freedom from those who seek to define art and dare to inforce their prefferences upon others. The knifemaker who knows true freedom does not seek approval, the knives are for himself with purpose in mind. He can defend each and every aspect of his art, there is a reason for every thing that you can see, feel and discover from its use.

Handles from corncobs to solid gold can qualify. The knifemaker who learns to fly higher and faster through his knives does so without speed limits or restraint, it simply being there, his perfection that makes the knife. If your knife touches you, it qualifies as art. If it honestly touches you it will touch others. Many artists live in poverty, their gift is to those who share his dream, dreams are not an economic entity, they are expressions of freedom when a healthy mind seeks self through his art.

When organizations seek to define art, when they seek to judge art, they fall into the muck of critics that have plagued art since the beginning of time. They also make the artist who knows true freedom special.
 
elaborating my position on brass, but I will not buy knives with brass for the bolster. Period. I hate brass with a passion, because it makes my hands stink when I handle it, and it requires constant attention.

There are only two ways to make brass work, IMHO. Polish the snot out of it, degrease it, and lacquer it with instrument lacquer(what they use for tubas, trombones and the like), or gold plate it. I have used both methods, and they both work, but stainless steel or damascus fittings are still better. Don't even get me started on fire-bluing damascus fittings. :barf:
The color(depending on the method used) has the lifespan of a fruit fly if you have acid skin like me.

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
I have seen brass patina in many shades depending on it's alloy. In the recycling yard I sometimes roam there are many shades and tones, depending on what the peice was in its former life. It is all beauttiful, laying amid the piles of rusted steel and iron, the yellows and reds with the burnt oranges.

After I have shaped a guard, and given it it's final polish, my only wish is to hurry the hand of time so I may again see the wash of color. I know I will never see the gentle shades return as my knives go into the world without me.

IN my youth the boys always coveted the knives of the men in their lives. Old stockman pocket knives worn from years of hard use. Brass liners, and bolster smooth and gleaming from years rubbing against the trouser pocket. Then were the were old sheath knives without stamp or mark, hanging from their belts in the Fall. IN the moments of sharing that come with growing up, it was a prized moment when a yonker could hold a "real " knife. For those precious minutes, I can remember the soft edges of a true working knife. And always there was the brass gaurd. Yellow and worn but still with a sleepy vibrance.

An artist...a true artist can find beauty in all things and use them to his best advantage. He does not allow trend and fashion to shape his vision. Nor does he scoff at another's idea of grace.

Possibly, it is my ignorance, and I readily admit that it is wide sweeping, but I have never noticed an odor from finished brass. But then maybe that is because my hands are already dirty from the chores a knife must perform.. I wonder if I should begin to run olfactory testing on my knives so as not to offend any new customers. Should I learn to de-scent the leather sheath as well?!?!
Shane
 
Wow - there sure has been an impassioned and poetic defense of this humble substance. But I think it somewhat overstated to suggest that creative freedom or artistic license are under siege. Some like brass fittings, plenty don't. Each maker is free to make what he or she likes and each buyer is free to buy what he or she likes - surely that much is beyond debate.

Roger
 
I am not a professional knife maker so I lean towards the artistic side of the ladder. I earn my and my families keep at a 55 hour per week job. It pays the bills and keeps us fed. Making knives feeds my soul, relieves my stress, and gives me a sense of accomplishment. I can understand fully why some of you guys dont use brass because it doesnt sell. If this was how I chose to support my family then that is what I would do. Do what sells. Its what I do at my regular job. I dont try to change the world (at work) I just do my job to the best of my ability and skill to support the four folks that mean the most to me. I thank God that I live in a place where I can support my family, take care of their needs and wants, and still be well off enough to dabble in whatever hobby I choose.

If I ever decide to become a professional knife maker I will have to do what it takes to make ends meet. I hope I will not be so closed minded as to tell someone what is "in" or what is "passe". I will not critisize their taste or preferences because they differ from my own. True arts value is in the eye of the beholder. I have seen some art that I wouldnt give wall space to in my home (assuming it was meant to hang on a wall) but that doesnt mean it doesnt hold great value to someone. I marvel at the technical process of creating art as well as the creative aspect. Art is someones time. Time taken out of there lives to create something meaningful.

True artists try to please themselves. Business men try to please everyone. I hope that I never forget which one I am.
 
Nomoemuny said:
I have noticed that alot of knife makers dont use much brass in their handles anymore. I was wondering what was the reason? Maybe I am fond of the stuff but I use it on just about all my knives except kitchen untensils. Is brass just not the "in thing" or is it just me? Here is a very bad shot of my last knife (my digital camera is really, really old) but as you can see I like the traditional use of it on both ends of the handle.
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not since 1969
brass has no class
harley
 
Owch! Dang, Now I wish I wouldnt have put brass on about 300 knives and sold them! I thought all those customers had more class than that. My mistake.
 
Bruce, you crack me up! There isn't a smiley that illustrates my laughter right now!

Great.

"Art is not subjective or objective, true art is interactive" --Jay Fisher
 
I dont use it so it must suck. Oh wait , I do use it. Must not suck that much.

Must be my lucky day. I hear the circus music on TKN about hollow VS Flat grinds. Now here about brass. Must be about some weird cycle of the moon. Not that there's anything wrong with cycles of the moon.

I'm working on a forged camp knife right now with the dreaded brass for a guard and pommel. I'm going to take two pictures of it tomorrow. One with shiney brass, the other witha chemical patina. I dare you not to like one or the other :)
 
Hey, Mark, I'm just a dumb old knifemaker who never learned to work with his mind, just his old hands. And they do get stinky in all that ole' metal and dust and stuff.
I guess it's better than joinin' the circus, but the view ain't near as nice. My dream is some day to make a knife outta' pure uranium. Got sum here that just glows and shines...
I think I'll callit the nucular, or nuclear or somthin' likea that...


Merry Christmas!

Jay
 
As many knives as you've made Jay, I'm kinda shocked that you havent made one from Uranium :)

I did have a fella that wanted a bullet from the Phalanx gun system forged into a blade. They are depleted Uranium I understand. Turned that job down.

How'd you hear about the forums Jay? You just kinda burst onto the scene.
 
If a rhyme establishes a materials worth, I've a few more ideas:

* Brass has no class

* Bronze has no cons

* Steel has no zeal

* Wood is no good

* Bone just gets thrown

* Pins never wins

* file work for a jerk

How about:

* Bolsters have no holsters

* Tangs have no fangs

* Hollow grind is for the blind

Steve

PS Have I offended everyone?
 
Mark, Good thing you didn't work with the DU ammo - still has some nasty residual rads coming out of it. Becoming a problem in Iraqi neighborhoods. Some areas that have been pouded heavily with the stuff are experiencing a climb in birth defects. Won't be really safe for another 50,000 years according to a quick news report a few weeks ago. Inhaling the dust will still kill you.
 
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