I am sick and tired of these self-proclaimed 'masters' on forums telling people that 'brass is brass' when it comes to ordering sheet stock for gear cutting. It is absolutely NOT the same. If you actually look at the spectral analysis of 19th-century English grandfather clock plates versus the garbage C360 free-cutting brass they are peddling now, the lead and zinc ratios are completely warped. They want us to believe it is just 'modern safety standards' to reduce lead, but that is a total cover-up. The lower lead content in modern alloys makes the metal significantly more brittle under constant mainspring tension, meaning your hand-cut teeth are going to shear off in ten years instead of lasting two centuries. I had some guy in a Facebook group tell me I was overthinking it and that modern synthetic lubricants make up for it. What an absolute clown. Synthetic oil is a joke designed to gum up your pivots so you buy more 'eco-friendly' ultrasonic cleaning solutions that actually strip the microscopic protective patina off the plates. Wake up. They are literally trying to kill the longevity of mechanical timekeeping so we have nothing left but those garbage silicon chips that fry the second an EMP or a solar flare hits. Buy vintage brass stock from scrap yards, melt it down yourself if you have to, but do NOT trust the commercial suppliers.