Hello, all.I wonder if anyone has ever thought about this one...I know steel escape wheels are supposed to be superior to brass.Brass ones were around long before steel came into use for escape wheels.Many really fine high-grade watches had brass escape wheels.I guess the question is, there's no real performance difference between brass or steel,other than durability is there? Has anyone seen or heard of a worn out escape wheel?Thanks!...Ted Brown.

Hey Ted,
I have seen brass escape wheels with worn,bent,and damaged teeth. I don't have any idea how this happens,but maybe steel doesn't damage as easily as brass.

As far as I am concerned, the finest escape wheels that I have seen were brass, and even better beryllium copper.

As for the difference, Steel vs. Brass I see the differences as cost and mechanics.

Cost; Steel cost a lot more to make and has a more serious effect on the Pallet Stones unless properly super-polished and lubed.

Mechanical;

A. Brass was easier to machine and finish accurately and wore better as it is a "slippery" metal.

B. Steel wore badly unless (and even when) super polished.

C. In the rare event that the safety pinion failed to unload when the main spring broke, the steel escapment wheel might not flatten out when torque-shocked by the "speeding" train.

Hey David,
I never thought about the mainspring breaking,but that could explain the bent and broken escape wheel teeth that I see once in a while.

Thanks Cecil and Dave.You can always get great answers to such questions on here!