As an experinment, I was able to purchase locally a tube of Mass paste polish and bottles of liquid Flitz and Brasso.

I used clear plastic from a food carton as a test surface and polished three sections of it using each of these three polishing compounds.

I used my fingertip to do the polishing, so that there would be no abrasive effects from a cloth or paper towel.

With the Maas, I could not feel any abrasive component in it. However, I could feel about the same amount of abrasive in the Flitz and the Brasso.

After washing the residue off the plastic, and drying it carefully so that it did not get rubbed in the process, the areas polished by the Flitz and the Brasso were visibly more affected by the polishing action than the area where the Maas was used.

Bottom line, For the most highly finished surfaces that I want to maintain, I will use the Maas. The Flitz and the Brasso will be reserved for more general duty--and I need to find lots of stuff to polish with them in order to use up what I now have on hand!

By the way, my 8x loupe suggests that for most of the surfaces on my Randalls, the Flitz and the Brasso probably will work just fine without any adverse effect on the shop finish. However, I will only use Maas on my RMKs just to make sure, and certainly on knives that have very high gloss polishing on the blades or any hand rubbed blades that have a distinctive direction in the finish.

I did not have the paste Flitz available for this experiment, nor a tube of the paste Simichrome, so even though I have concluded that the liquid Flitz is more abrasive than the tube of Maas, I will still be interested to compare Mass to both of these later.

Larry

Larry,

Interesting comparison and very informative. I think the MAAS Cream is an exceptional product, I have never used anything else on my Randall Knives. I remember reading somewhere in their marketing materials that it leaves a microscopic protective coating on the surface even after it is wiped off, I figure there is a lot of hype to a statement like that but I swear by it for the storage a carbon blades (01 steel). I have a couple of 01 blades that would show early signs of a carbon spot after storage for a couple of months but after using MAAS cream, no more. That's just my experience for whatever it's worth.

Bottom Line: I think it is a fine product. Thanks for taking the time doing your comparison and posting the results.

I ordered a matching pair of knives through Gary Clinton about a year ago, both with Ivorite handles, and both configured the same. They came in last Fall, and I finally have good photos of them. The first is a #2-8", and the other as Tom Clinton Special.

#2-8":





TCS:

I ordered this Model 24 Guardian last Summer just to see what it looked like "in the flesh". I'm impressed.

Think I'll order another one this month for Fall delivery.

Earlier someone asked about staining with the shop Ivorite, in particular blood. Has anybody used their knife with the shop Ivorite and gotten blood on the handle, and did it stain the handle? Were you also able to get the stain out if it occurred?

I would like to order some knives with this material instead of real Ivory for durability and cost reasons, and plan on using the knife to gut and skin deer and other critters.