Using copper for wedge

[pmaster]

I am almost done restoring a nice wedge with some beautiful honey horn, but I'm struggling to decide on the wedge material. I find black horn or bone doesn't match as well as I would like it to. I've got some small piece of copper I could use as a wedge but I've read on some places that copper might not be the best material since it will corrode easily?

Has anyone used copper for their wedge? I have some old brass keys which I would've liked to use but they are simply too small.

 

[silver]

I'm not sure about copper, but I have seen some that have bone sandwiched between brass liners and they look very attractive like this.

 

[xMackx]

You can always put a coating to protect the copper from oxidizing. Or just polish it once in a while.

 

[pmaster]

hmm that one sure looks nice. I have some brass that I could use as a liner just like that, but then again its copper and not brass :/ I think I'll try it anyway and if it corrodes away I'll replace it later on.

 

[Gamma]

Neat idea. I think a copper wedge would look cool.

 

[pmaster]

I've just wedged some bone in between two thin copper liners and glued it all together. However, I found out my drill bit didn't work so well for metal, so I'll have to finish this later this week when I get the change to go to the hardware store.

I think it will look nice though I might use a full copper wedge for the next one to see which I prefer.

 

[Loner16]

Copper is used as roof flashing because of it's durability and patina. That patina may or may not be desirable to you, but a copper wedge would be durable .. Much more durable that lead, that was used in the old days for wedges.

 

[pmaster]

Success! I am VERY happy with how it turned out! Definitely my best work yet! The copper used as liners with bone in between is the perfect match, thanks for the link Silver.

A few quick pictures:

 

[Gamma]

Very cool, nice treatment.

 

[oakeshott]

Man, you knocked that one out of the park. Everything done nicely.

 

[mdunn]

Nice!!

 

[pmaster]

Thanks guys, this one actually took quite a long time for some reason. I had to redo one side of the horn scales because the blanks that I used had some sort of air bubble/lamination inside that just didn't look right.

Then after redoing one side of the scales, I put them together for the original blade (another wedge), I noticed I had done the scales just a little too long and there was too big a gap between the wedge and blade when closed. So I had another blade lying around which required a lot of work but was just a little longer (although there's still too big a gap in there for my taste). Then I had to wait until I could get my hands on some copper to change from the single white or black color.

Anyhow I couldn't be happier with the end result. I'll hone it up later on today and try it tonight

 

[eaterofdog]

Sweet. I did something like that with brass recently.

 

[pmaster]

Looks real good as well! Bone has a real classy look to it. I'm especially curious as to where you managed to find those cool pinning washers?

I have some thicker copper, I think on my next one I will use a full copper wedge on black horn.

Sweet. I did something like that with brass recently.

 

[Sando]

View attachment 369730

Very classy. You got a keeper there. Nice job!