Burning Brass Rocks!

[KG Richard]

I cannot say enough good things about Burning Brass! My father called and ordered a brass marver for me. The folks he talked to were very patient with him, he was wow-ed. I love the marver so much that I ordered another (larger one) just 2 days ago. Today, I got the marver! For those of you that are left handed, I cannot believe what I have been missing (using left handed marvers). These new left handed ones are fantastic. Thank you Burning Brass for your great service and wonderful products!

[barbaracollins]

Burning Brass is great. I have a number of marvers from them and the marvers are beautiful!!

[KG Richard]

Hi Barbara! Yep, I should have bet you had them all! You are my favorite tool junkie! Karen

[mtarara]

Link or phone #?
Mary T.

[brassman]

Link or phone #?
Mary T.

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800 504-1981

Jim McConnell (aka Brassman)

[brassman]

I cannot say enough good things about Burning Brass! My father called and ordered a brass marver for me. The folks he talked to were very patient with him, he was wow-ed. I love the marver so much that I ordered another (larger one) just 2 days ago. Today, I got the marver! For those of you that are left handed, I cannot believe what I have been missing (using left handed marvers). These new left handed ones are fantastic. Thank you Burning Brass for your great service and wonderful products!

Karen,

I remember your father's call. He sure was excited to find some leftie tools. I don't know how he found us, but he was reading from a printout of our web page and knew exactly what he wanted.

You could tell that he is very proud of you and your glass work. It wasn't but a minute or two before we were talking about your work. It was a pleasure talking to him.


Glad I could help and thanks for the kind words.

Jim

[castaway]

Err, excuse me if I seem a bit nonplussed here but a "left handed" marver marvers are such a simple thing I cant see how someone could make one left or right handed, someone must have complicated a very simple thing.
B

[Hels]

I have to agree about burning brass. I had never heard of them before the Winter Challenge, but after getting some of their tools.... wow.

My favorite one, which I've already begun to use, is their octagonal reamer. They come in both 1:10 and 1:7, and work a LOT better than $80 graphite reamers. Graphite is great for heat resistance, but not many people need to actually stick their reamers IN the flame (not to mention that this will oxidize their graphite sooner, leading to crumbling).

My graphite reamers, only a few months old, had parts of the 'octagons' already worn away to rounds, making them inaccurate. Not to mention that graphite is delicate and I was always worried about dropping one on the ground or table and snapping one in half. I already lost the tip off my 1:10 octagonal graphite 2-15mm while using it on glass and NOT from dropping.

The brass doesn't stick to the glass (well, neither does the graphite), but more importantly, never leaves icky yellow/black soot stains on the glass, maintains it's shape at all times, helps with shaping because of the cooler temp, and finally, the tool is beautiful on your table (hey, given the choice, the asthetics matters to me). Oh... octagonal reamers are used to open the lips on vessels... if you make vessels, you will need one eventually.

I also got their V-necker for narrowing vessel and goblet necks. I don't have another V-necker to compare to, so don't know how others of this type are, but their is very stable, does not require bolting, and is a good size to just permanently leave on your table under the torch (and it's very pretty too).

And finally, I got a push with a nipple... not sure exactly how much use I'll get out of this tool yet, but I'm glad I have it, as it looks like something that can be adapted to make flowers (because you can stick the nipple into the center of the flower and use it to evenly round the surrounding petals - perfect for roses, tulips, any rounded flower type).

Oh... I also got a bonus knife. It is VERY well made and durable, but probably a bit heavy for the things I make yet. It's good to have tho, and I can see it coming in handy on larger pieces.

I think their brass is different from other brass tools, it seems heavier and denser. On their site, it says they use 'naval brass'... so I'm assuming they are made of the same material used in naval ships... the stuff they recovered intact from the sunken Titantic? Naval brass is what they make old style cannons out of right?

The handles are made of hardwood, not pine. Beautifully crafted, they feel of a nice quality and have heft. Yesh, it's REALLY hard to not want all their tools, it's apparent they would all last forever, though I can't see how he makes any money at the prices he's currently charging for this quality level rarely seen in glass tools.

Beautiful tools on every level... and dang... 1/2 the price of graphite!!!! (dunno how long he can maintain these prices for. $40 for a naval brass reamer that costs $80 in cheap graphite. whew). It was seriously hard not to want one of every tool they make, but I know I'll be back at their store every time I have spare tool $$:).

Oops... edited to add that I'm right handed, no clue about left handed marvers... nor do I have any of their marvers since I have about 10 graphite ones already.... but ugh... another thing to want from them.

[brassman]

I think their brass is different from other brass tools, it seems heavier and denser. On their site, it says they use 'naval brass'... so I'm assuming they are made of the same material used in naval ships... the stuff they recovered intact from the sunken Titantic? Naval brass is what they make old style cannons out of right?

That's pretty close except for the Titanic part.


Brass and bronze are both alloys; which means they are made up of 2 or more different metals. There are a number of common brass / bronze alloys, each with a slightly different combination and percentage of metals. This gives them a different set of properties and uses. The primary base metal in both brass and bronze is copper.

Common Brass is a mixture of Copper, Zinc, Iron and Lead.
Navel Bronze is a mixture of Copper, Zinc, Iron and Tin.

Naval Bronze is commonly used in seawater conditions for propellers and such. This is where the term Naval comes from.

We use Naval Bronze for our round / pointed / sharp tool tips because it has a higher melting temperature and is also harder than common brass.

There is nothing wrong or inferior with common brass. For molds, imprinters and stamps; common brass works nicely and we use common brass for these types of tools. These tools generally do not have fine edges or points that are placed in the flame, so they are not subject to the heat that a reamer tip would be.

Hope this helps.

Jim

[Hels]

Thanks Jim:). My point was that your tools are superb.

Oh... wanted to mention... I torch outdoors in Florida, and the humidity here is very high. Most brass tools tarnish for me VERY quickly, as in days if not hours. Yours are still all shiny, which is great!

[Cherine Perrin]

Burning Brass is great. I have a number of marvers from them and the marvers are beautiful!!

I just have to say Barb, you crack me up. I swear you have everything!
See ya at the JC Herrel class, it should be a blast!:waving:

[KG Richard]

Thanks Jim for your kind words. My dad will be happy that you remembered him! I had a chance this weekend to use the bigger marver, all I can say is WOW!
I too got a bonus knife/pusher that works better at moving glass than anything I have been using.
For you right handed folks out there...you wouldnt believe the difference. The beveled edges of these lefty tools are on the "correct side". The angles are such that they actually work for us! Unless you had a left handed tool in your hand, you probably wouldnt understand the difference! It is truely a relief to be able to work with a tool that makes sense and makes it easy! Thanks again Mike for helping us lefties out!

[barbaracollins]

Cherine: I will bring my burning brass tools!

[Karen Leonardo]

Jims tools are awesome and great quality....thanks again Jim!

Karen