Our Product Story
An alloy of copper and zinc, brass is usually yellow in color, therefore sometimes mistaken for gold. Some types of brass are called bronzes, despite their high zinc content.
Brass has been known to man since prehistoric times, long before zinc itself was discovered. It was produced by melting copper together with calamine, a zinc ore. During this process, the zinc is extracted from the calamine and instantly mixes with the copper. Pure zinc, on the other hand, is too reactive to be produced by ancient metalworking techniques.
The ancient Romans often used brass for some of its base metal coins, and it was frequently used for counters in the late 18th century.
Brass is a valuable manufacturing material because of its hardness and workability. Alpha brasses, with less than 40% zinc, are malleable and can be worked cold. Beta brasses, with a higher zinc content, can only be worked hot, but are harder and stronger. White brass, with more than 45% zinc, is too brittle for general use. Some types of brass have other metals added to modify their properties.
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