Brass is bad?

[Cold_Under_Here]

How can brass cut you? The DIR II video states to use SS clips opposed to brass, as the brass will cut you.....?huh?

 

[IslandHopper]

Brass is soft... it nicks very easily ... this COULD leave little sharp points that could scratch/cut.

SS is WAY harder.

 

[Doc Intrepid]

Look at a boltsnap. The release knob, the one your thumb bears against, rides up and down in a slot. Over time, the movement sharpens the edges of that slot. You'll be fumbling to remove and replace your bottles, and afterwards you'll see little double cuts or scores across the pad of your thumb, especially after you've been in the water awhile and your skin softens up. Try doing it for a week (in a course), and the pads of your thumb can get pretty scored up.

Stainless steel boltsnaps don't sharpen the edges of that slot with use.

If you always wear gloves, then it may not matter to you. But most US caves in Florida don't require the use of gloves, and people who use gloves cut the fingertips off them to be able to manipulate and feel the line.

 

[Derek S]

Ditto what they said. As someone who has had frostbite on my hands as a kid, I always wear gloves (even if only 3mm), but I won't use brass simply for the fact that it will eventually get sharp.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

While I am not DIR trained, this is certainly one of the areas where you folks have hit it on the head. Brass clips will eventually cut you as has already been stated, but another important thing to consider is that especially in salt water brass boltsnaps become harder to use and jam and stick, making the cutting of the fingers problem even worse. They are just plain harder to use. Stainless Steel while initially more expensive work well in salt water and are far less likely to jam than the brass ones. I use stainless exclusively for both fresh and salt water.

Mark Vlahos

 

[Cold_Under_Here]

Ok..got yah. It just seemed like an odd statement, but I can see with bare hands, the brass would cut...cheers!

 

[teknitroxdiver]

Mine got sharp after 2 dives, and left nice double papercuts on my thumbs. Now I use stainless...the only way to go.

 

[wedivebc]

Interesting timing. I am replacing my dry gloves due to parallel cuts in the thumb. Now I know where they came from.

 

[cmalinowski]

wow, thanks for the info. I had no idea. Good thing I have 90% stainless. I guess I'll get rid of those couple brass. Well, I'll religate them to somethink in the bag or such.

 

[lairdb]

wow, thanks for the info. I had no idea. Good thing I have 90% stainless. I guess I'll get rid of those couple brass. Well, I'll religate them to somethink in the bag or such.

FWIW, a lone voice in the wilderness: I have a mix, and only one boltsnap has ever scored (pun intended) on my thumb: the SS one. (Supplied by Halcyon, no less.)

(Surprised the hell out of me, as I had always assumed sooner or later one of the brass ones would get me, when I saw the little black wisps coming out of my thumb and realized which snap actually had.)