Zirconium as a knife guard?

[shqxk]

I recently bought a thick piece 0.5" x 2 x 12 of Zr and plan to use it as a guard. As far as I know, these metal is soft like brass but also heard the oxide are pretty wear resistance. Are there anyone who ever use these metal as a guard to give me pro/con of these metal. Thanks

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Use the custom search engine in the stickys and you will find lots of information:
Enter"Zirconium as guard" or "working with zirconium".
https://cse.google.com/cse?cx=012217165931761871935:iqyc7cbzhci


Here are some hits:
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/zirconium.1323502/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/zirconium.1365976/
https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/zirconium.1323502/

 

[kuraki]

I love Zirc. I love the colors you can get from it. It's easy to work. The oxide is pretty scratch resistant. It's a little gummier than brass or bronze, but not detrimentally so.

 

[Maelstrom78]

Nice Skagel with the leather.