When is cleaning up Knife Brass wrong?

[Jack500]

I bought a US made LB7 and although this isn't exactly an antique, is there every a time you wouldn't polish the brass bolsters on a knife, antiques included?

Even though it just has a little surface discoloration, I don't think unchecked that will stay just a surface issue.

Thanks.

 

[Insipid Moniker]

Personally, I would keep the patina. One of the reasons I enjoy materials like brass and copper is because of the character they take on with use. Those metals don't rust, so there's not much worry about them further deteriorating.

 

[ferider]

I'd clean it only if it becomes green.

 

[Alberta Ed]

I like 'em shiny.

 

[drawkcaB]

^ What cleaner do you use? What would be safe for the wood, say on an old Buck 112?

 

[RustyIron]

is there every a time you wouldn't polish the brass bolsters on a knife, antiques included?

If the knife is rare, museum quality, or collectable because of its originality, then it can be detrimental to just start rubbing on it with an old towel slopped with brass polish. But if it's a knife that isn't particularly rare or historically significant, and can easily be replaced, then it doesn't really matter. Make it sparkle if you want!

 

[ferider]

^ What cleaner do you use? What would be safe for the wood, say on an old Buck 112?

Try CLP.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Simichrome polish is what the professionals use.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Brass looks GREAT with a high polish. But it's next to impossible to keep it looking pristine, if the knife is handled at all. Between the patina that inevitably comes and the fingerprints & dirt, the high polish won't last without a lot of constant fiddling and cleaning up.

I cleaned up some dings & scuffs on an older Buck 112 (4-dot) a few years ago. I used a sequence of wet/dry sandpaper to remove the dings and then take it up to near-polished (800+ grit), after which I used green compound on a felt wheel (Dremel) and then followed that in polishing by hand with a clean rag and some Simichrome polish. Results made me happy - pictures below. But since then, I've decided it's OK to 'de-shine' the brass and let the patina come. I later used a green ScotchBrite pad to put a satin finish on the bolsters, which hides the fingerprints pretty well. And being that the knife is maybe the most comfortable-handling of all of mine, I carry and use it without worrying about the polish anymore. So the brass has quickly taken a patina and looks like a knife that actually gets used, and I'm fine with that. The ebony covers are almost worry-free - I don't do anything special with them at all. They've sometimes gotten just a little bit of mineral oil (a drop or two) applied & then wiped away with a clean rag. That generally only happens if or when I've just lubed the pivot or resharpened on oil stones.

 

[eveled]

I cannot think of an instance that polishing the brass would be detrimental the patina will be back soon anyway.

Just don't alter the actual shape or blur any lines.