Will brass work for a frame or liner lock?

[flame boy]

Will brass work for a frame or liner lock? I have seen old timer knives with brass liners used to lock the blade. Thanks

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

It would work, but the lock would probably wear out fairly quickly, as brass is much softer than the blade tang.

On the Old Timer knives you've seen, the brass liner lock was just a safety to keep the blade from accidentally closing. The knives were slipjoints, with the backspring being the main mechanism keeping the blade open. Not quite the same thing as the modern liner/frame lock.

 

[mete]

I have an old Schrade that has a brass liner lock, it works fine . You can't use annealed brass, it has to be hardened .Buy at least 1/2 hard maybe even full hard.

 

[Nathan the Machinist]

I would think that bronze would work better