For a gorgeous metal, brass has gotten a bad rap over the years. In Hush, Little Baby, if the diamond ring turns to brass, papa will have to buy a looking glass instead (as if that is better than a diamond on a brass ring!) . The word brassy is used to describe hair that is obviously not a natural blonde … and not in a complimentary way! And if you are bold and brassy, then you are cheap and just a little bit unsavoury.

But brass has been a staple of life for centuries – and we think that ‘unsavoury’ really just means ‘more interesting!’. The beautiful nearly-gold colour of the metal comes from its parent metals, copper and zinc. There is usually around 50-80% copper in brass, with the rest being zinc and occasionally another metal such as tin or even selenium. Apparently it is likely to have existed even before zinc was discovered, all on its lonesome – since prehistoric times.

Apart from intricate and exotic door hardware, from Victorian, to French, to Eastern, brass is most often used to make musical instruments. Mixing the copper with varying percentages of zinc gives you a variety of malleabilities in your metal – and the precise shaping of a lot of musical instruments (think all of the metal keys on a trumpet or saxophone) means you need a very flexible metal. As a side virtue, it also has excellent acoustic properties. So when you are shouting at your door furniture, it will shout back at you in a beautiful musical tone! A great selling point, obviously.

People will include other metals in brass alloys, such as aluminium or tin, where the brass needs to be extra-resistant to corrosion. So the ‘top brass’ in the navy (sorry!) would usually have tin added to them, as the salty sea water makes ionization and corrosion happen quite quickly. If you happen to be redecorating your home with a focus on brass and live near the ocean, look for types of brass like admiralty brass. Or alternatively, just lacquer your brass!

The copper in brass makes the metal a natural disinfectant … so rather than washing your hands when you get n from the garden or homes from work, just wipe them all over your door handles and Bob’s your uncle! Only kidding :-). Seriously though, brass usually disinfects itself within 12 hours at most, and so has found good use in hospitals and other places where being sanitary is absolutely critical. However, to get the effect the brass can’t be lacquered, which makes it look that bit dirtier, when really it is much cleaner!

If you would like to know anything about brass care, there is an extensive guide on our site. And as for purchasing beautiful, artistic, eclectic pieces of brass door hardware … !

Photo credits: Brass-headed by ‘o¬.’
Photo credits: Salvation Army brass band by Leo Reynolds

          

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