# I Need Brass Rubbing Supplies **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 5, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588 "2004-07-05T03:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/1 "2004-07-05T03:20:11Z")
I’m trying to find supplies for making brass rubbings. There’s not a whole lot on Google about it, but I did find that it’s done with something called “detail paper” and “heel ball” wax. Making brass rubbings appears to be a fairly popular pastime in England, where the old churches are full of brasses, just waiting to be rubbed, but for all practical purposes, unheard of in the US. Once I got past the porn sites, I found that heel ball wax is an apparently long-ago common item at cobbler’s shops, and is a hard wax with carbon black added. Sounds rather like a crayon, but harder. Detail paper might be a British term for something like vellum, but I’m not sure. I can order all of the paper and wax I want from British suppliers, but fear the shipping costs would sink me. Also, the shops that carry the wax have it in a variety of colors - black, gold, silver, etc. Does anyone know where I might be able to find these items in the US? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/2 "2004-07-06T18:45:08Z")
Just a little bump to keep this alive. Surely, someone here has to know where I can find paper and crayons, even if they are special paper and crayons? ---
**Author:** ![Chimpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@Chimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimpy)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/3 "2004-07-06T19:39:18Z")
Immediate response to the thread title- Astroglide and porn. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/4 "2004-07-06T20:04:51Z")
Yeah, porn does clutter up the world… For the curious, here’s a decent site explaining brass rubbing: [www.brass-rubbing.com](http://www.brass-rubbing.com) ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/5 "2004-07-06T21:33:25Z")
I saw a sign for a small brass rubbing center in Palo Alto sometime in the 80s. They apparently had replicas of brasses that you could get use. Dunno if it’s still there. I’ve forgotten exactly where it was anyway. You could try checking with the Episcopal Grace Cathedral on Nob Hill in SF. They might have some info. The only thing I could find is this brass rubbing center in Washington DC: [http://gallerydriver.com/index.cfm?method=Gallery.GalleryDetail&GalleryID=489DEE4F-3048-28EB-920FBD2B36681FCB](http://gallerydriver.com/index.cfm?method=Gallery.GalleryDetail&GalleryID=489DEE4F-3048-28EB-920FBD2B36681FCB) ---
**Author:** ![djelliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@djelliott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djelliott)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/6 "2011-08-28T21:41:21Z")
Yes, they are hard to find, especially here in the U.S., but also in the UK. White Winds is the last supplier in the UK and, yes, the price plus shipping is a killer. Here is what I do Use crayons that are real WAX, not crayons. Sometimes, eBay will have terrible plastic kits that do have wax colors. Crazy expensive laster printers (xerox) sometimes use wax for ink and those are amazing. I’ve found on eBay colorstix for xerox 850 which are pricey, but last and last. As for paper, you want thin, tough paper. Rice paper, 100% rag paper, linen paper, or wall lining paper will work. Practice with paper that is for felt tip markers. Glossy paper won’t work well. I have seen interfacing NOT IRON ON suggested, but I haven’t tried it myself. What is hard to find is black paper. Just about nobody does brass rubbing anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2011, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/7 "2011-08-28T23:56:14Z")
Are there a lot of brasses to be rubbed in the US? ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/8 "2011-08-29T04:09:38Z")
There are a few zombie brasses to be rubbed at some Renaissance Faires still. I do know that back in 2004 and 2005, we eventually found tolerable results with copier paper and crayons. Good enough to get the ideas across, but certainly not museum-quality result. ---
**Author:** ![djelliott](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@djelliott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/djelliott)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/9 "2011-09-28T22:09:18Z")
Monumental Brasses are usually associated with the Middle Ages–dying out during the Tudors. Although brasses were popular throughout Europe, almost all existing brasses are in England. (Brasses on the continent were largely melted & the brass reused for bullets.) The number varies, but there are around 4000 brasses left in the UK. There are no native monumental brasses in the US, although any ‘incised’ (non-repousse) brass can be _rubbed._ During the 70’s, there was a concern that monumental brasses would be harmed by avid enthusists. Exact facsimiles of brasses were produced for hobbiests. Centers with a variety of brasses, and in a variety of sizes, proved popular. Some of these brasses made it over to the states, where they may show up at medieval fairs etc. I think the replica Globe Theater in Ashland, OR has some brasses. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/10 "2011-09-28T23:39:40Z")
Detail paper is like unwaxed greaseproof baking paper - in fact, if you can find that, it would probably be just fine. Brass rubbing isn’t just for brasses - it can be used to capture a likeness of anything that has relief detail - gravestones, cast signs and boilerplates, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2011, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/11 "2011-09-28T23:52:21Z")
More information re: posts #3 and #4 from Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > What distinguishes rubbings from frottage is that rubbings are meant to reproduce the form of something being transferred, whereas frottage just desires to use rubbing to grab a random texture. Huhuhuhuhuh, it said “texture”. ---
**Author:** ![mishakachina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecc23a/32.png) [@mishakachina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mishakachina)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/12 "2015-11-19T00:34:02Z")
If you are still interested, I have brass rubbing supplies. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2015, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-need-brass-rubbing-supplies/253588/13 "2015-11-19T00:39:05Z")
I’ve done it plenty of times (in the US, where I never knew it was rare), and ordinary paper and Crayola crayons have always worked just fine for me.