Finally Got one ! MOD Brass Cantle sporran

**artificer** · 22nd November 13, 01:19 PM

Welcome to the club Thomas, now for the Rites of Initiation!

Someone get the brass paddle, we have a new member!

ith:

**Thomas H** · 22nd November 13, 01:45 PM

Thank you all for the kind words , I would like to point out the new bag was made by our very own David Pope . I have not made one yet but looking forward to it.

Thank you all for helping ID my cantle -it is really nice having a piece of history .

**OC Richard** · 23rd November 13, 05:50 AM

I'm a club member too!

But I'm still waiting for it to come back from the sporranmaker, who is making a new bag (18th century style) for it.

He said sorry for the delay, but he's having so much fun, he's made three or four different bags for it and is currently making a long Angora fur one. He loves the way the cantle is made and the cleverness of the snap system so that one can easily switch bags.

If I can come across another of these cantles for a decent price I'll buy it and give it to him, so he can have his own to wear.

Here's mine

**Thomas H** · 12th December 13, 11:14 AM

Any suggestions on how to clean a MOD cantle ? I was thinking Brasso but wanted to see what you all think , I understand there are company's that clean brass but I have not found one yet . So what say yee ?

**McMurdo** · 12th December 13, 11:28 AM

An MoD sporran or at least a cantlehave been on my wish list for some time, congratulations on the lovely addition.

**artificer** · 12th December 13, 11:35 AM

Brasso if just fine. If you find yourself having a difficult time removing the tarnish it MAY be that the brass had been varnished at one point.

If that's the case a soak in acetone or similar may be required to remove the damaged finish first.

ith:

**MacRobert's Reply** · 12th December 13, 11:42 AM

Cleaning depends a bit on how badly oxidised or pitted the brass is. If it is badly pitted, I recommend a wash with detergent followed by soaking in a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice for a few hours or overnight. Then a scrub with an old tooth brush and finish off with Goddard's silver polish which is less aggressive than Brasso.

In really bad cases, you can use a polishing mop in a power drill with wax-based abrasives. First using a brown abrasive that is suitable for silver and brass, and finishing with blue. You will need at least two polishing mops - one for each grade of polish. Brass musical instrument dealers often have this polishing kit.

**Tobus** · 12th December 13, 11:59 AM

I struggled with getting mine clean too. I worked tirelessly for hours and hours with Brasso, trying to get it new and shiny looking, with only marginal success. Finally, my wife ended up taking it over to a silversmith (I needed one of the snap-knobby-things soldered back on). He put it to a polishing wheel with some jeweler's rouge and had it looking new in a few minutes.

After that initial polishing, it's now easy to keep it clean and shiny with Brasso. But Brasso is not so great for trying to get through decades of crud and tarnish and green scale. My advice is to just take it to someone who can make short work of it.

**Harold Cannon** · 12th December 13, 12:11 PM

Find a local musical instrument repair shop. They can clean it better than anyone and the put a real high polish on the outside. DO NOT let them laquer it though. They will ask you but say no. My horn shop here does a fantastic job and much better than you can ever get at home.

**Thomas H** · 12th December 13, 12:21 PM

Originally Posted by Harold Cannon

Find a local musical instrument repair shop. They can clean it better than anyone and the put a real high polish on the outside. DO NOT let them laquer it though. They will ask you but say no. My horn shop here does a fantastic job and much better than you can ever get at home.

I have been looking for a horn repair shop , I will keep looking . thank you all for the great advice , I will post pic's once I get cleaned up .