Post by 1dave on Aug 22, 2020 11:54:00 GMT -7
It is often used in jewelry because it is inexpensive, looks good, is the same color as solder, and even bezels are nearly impossible to be melted and ruined by beginners.
www.riogrande.com/Search/German-silver
With a little begging, I believe @jamesp could beat these prices ??
I prefer the term "White Brass" because I feel the other two, although most often used, are misleading.
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@jamesp - Is this the stuff?? -> 60% copper 20% nickel 20% zinc?
Similar to today's nickels 75% copper 25% nickel --------------------
That's a hole pile of fun there!
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Nov 24, 2013 21:57:19 GMT -7 @jamesp said:
I think so Scott. The only german silver i ever worked with came out of those german trays. I learned on that material because it would rarely crack w/abuse(excessive hammering/stretching). They were so heavily silver plated. You can tell a lot about the quality of old silver plate by the thickness of the plating of course. Of the 8 german trays, two of them were a good bit harder to hammer form. They had the designation 18 8. Which is old for 301, and 18 10 is old for 316. Check it out:"The 18/8 and 18/10 designations are older terms, and refer to the amount of chromium and nickel alloyed with the iron, to comprise the stainless steel. The 18/8 name has been pretty much replaced, in the States at least, by several other designations. 301 stainless steel has 16-18% Cr, and 6-8% Ni 302 stainless steel has 17-19% Cr, and 8-10% Ni 304 stainless steel has 18-20% Cr, and 8-10.5% Ni. That may explain your difficulty in finding information on these alloys. Similarly, 18/10 is usually referred to as 316 stainless steel, with 16-18% Cr, 10-14% Ni, and also 2-3% molybdenum, which greatly increases the resistance to pitting corrosion in seawater. Good stuff, that moly."
And a flat ware maker has this to say about 18 10 and 18 8:
"The difference is in the corrosion resistance (which I assume you're not interested in, since all will be fine for flatware) and in the ductility. A lower alloyed 301 has more ductility when work hardened than the higher alloyed 316. So after you stamp out your quarter hard sheet into forks, you can bend one of the tines more often, or farther, if it is of 301 rather than if it is made of 304 or 316, before it will crack."
Making the 18 8/301 friendlier on the anvil.
Nov 25, 2013 7:03:42 GMT -7 @jamesp said:
I am a true hack Dave. I have no experience other than industrial. I am around a lot of talented jewelers but insist on not letting them teach me anything so i can come up with my own perversion.I hold my own competitively in a couple of tiny urban retail spaces. They used to roll their eyes at my creations until the clients were intrigued. Now i am being copied a bit.Ha Ha
I may buy a new load of scrap and often have to adjust to softer or brittle or richer colored stock. Cookie cutter repetitive stock material can limit your flexibility.
Have gotten away from metal work for couple of years.