MY Crusty Wuertemberg

[Jody]

Hi Guys,
When I obtained some SS cloth in April, this buckle along with a HJ buckle by CT Dicke was in the same trunk hiding behind some SS sleeve eagles.

This Wuertemberg is rather crusty, but I like it. I think it has character.
Regards,
Jody

[Jody]

My crusty buckle

Here is the reverse.
Regards,
Jody

[Kevin Rea]

Nice buckle there, Jody. It seems in good condition despite the tarnish, which begs the question -- to polish or not to polish. If the tarnish is actually corroding the buckle then a good polish may be in order. Polished brass naturally takes on a nice patina all by itself after a while. Maybe there are some more opinions on this subject out there?
Kevin

[buckle1]

Jody,


It is your call of course but I would clean the buckle. This type of corrosion if left as is will not do the buckle any good. I use sudsy ammonia to clean my buckles when needed. It does not polish the buckle it just removes all the dirt and crud from it. This cleaning may not take all of the corrosion off but it should help. I usuall repeat the process a number of time on really dirty buckles.

Bill

[David North]

To clean or not to clean - that is the question

I agree with Bill about cleaning this buckle, although my philosophy per se, is somewhat more vigorous.

The majority of the buckles that I hold have either a brass, nickle or nickle plated base which are generally, quite undamaged by a single clean.

I cannot see the point towards holding say a mass produced buckle such as a the SA, were the brass is heavily stained and marked. It does not represent the buckle at the time of the issue and furthermore, cleaning I think does not breach the integrity of the piece.

Certainly no degrade in value.

A rare medal, badge or coin perhaps so, however not a common and massed produced buckle.

There are exceptions and I would never dream of touching frosted aluminium or nickle, silver or gilt wash or a painted surface.

All very subjective of course, however I do prefer a sympathetically cleaned SA which shows all the detail, rather than a stained, marked and blackened piece which I often encounter.

You pay your money and you take your choice.

Regards,

David

[Jody]

Crusty Buckle

Hi Guys,
I cleaned on the buckle. I did not want to clean off all of the age, but I did get rid of most of the oxidation. It is not as shiny as it came out in the scans.
Regards,
Jody

[Jody]

Crusty Buckle

Here is the reverse. The oxidation came off in chunks.
Jody