This project has been on my list for many years, but I keep putting it off for one reason or another. I'd like to make a targe to hang on my wall along with my basket-hilt backsword, with tartan draped behind it. Although this targe would likely never leave the house, I'd like it to be built in a fairly traditional and accurate manner.

I'll get into my intended construction details later, but at the moment I'm still in the process of finding the hardware I want on this targe. Over the weekend, I happened across some old bronze drawer pulls that are about 3" in diameter and thought they would work nicely as either center bosses or just decorative plates outside the center boss that I could work some designs around with tacks. They actually look like mini-targes themselves.

But before I go too far with these, tell me if you think these would be appropriate on the front of a Scottish targe. The design is most likely a Greek "key" pattern, although this aesthetic seems to cross over with early Pictish or Celtic designs. Would this look out of place on a targe?

As you can see below, they looked pretty bad when I bought them at the architectural salvage place. Lots of corrosion. I went through multiple steps of soaking them in lemon juice & baking soda, vinegar/flour/salt, Lime-Away, and even tried using Nevr-Dull on them. They cleaned up somewhat, but I still can't get them back to a clean bronze. Ideally, I'd get them clean and shiny, then let them darken naturally. I don't want to go overboard with scrubbing them or doing anything that would score the surface or round off the edges.

So, any advice on whether these would look OK on a targe, and any tips on getting them cleaned up?

Before:


After: