The luster of silver

[Nordnecker]

I'm not sure how to ask this question. I assume the purity of silver affects the shine that we see. I also assume that the degree of polish also affects the shine. So, is pure silver inherently shinier than, say, 80/20 silver? Or is the surface preparation a greater factor?

[jerrywh]

Both fine silver and sterling will take a beautiful shine but sterling and coin silver will oxidize in time. 

[Craig Wilcox]

Almost all silver will shine nicely, but we also consider the hardness of the parent metal.
Fine silver is fairly soft.  Shines readily, but also scratches easily.  As noted above, it does not tarnish near as quickly as sterling or coin silver.  We label it as ".999 fine", but will consider it as 100% silver - Ag on the Periodic Table.

Sterling is, by definition, 92.5% AG, and it's alloy can change a little, but basically it is alloyed with Copper.  Pretty durable, reasonably hard, thus it's use a table ware and for trophies, etc.  Somewhere on it, if from a professional source, it will be stamped as ".925" or as "Sterling".  Polishes nicely, takes a high shine, it fairly scratch resistant (NOT scratch proof!).  It also tarnishes fairly quickly, but there are a number of polishes that quickly remove the tarnish.

Coin silver is usually 90%, but can vary down to 50%.  It can be very hard, depending on the alloy.  It takes and retains a polish easily.  Not as easily formed as Sterling.  Usually NOT marked as to percentage of silver - but you can look up coins and find what percentage it is minted at.  It does shine nicely, and is more scratch resistant than either Sterling or Fine Silver.  Makes great front sights or thumb pieces.  It is also usually more tarnish resistant than Sterling but that is due to the lower AG component.

So, you pays your money, and takes your choice.  I do like coin silver for anyplace that it may get damaged easily - wrist escutcheon, front sight, etc.  Fine Silver is great for barrel inlays, or for wire inlays.

Fine and Sterling Silver are generally sold by the Troy ounce, or by pennyweight (dwt or d)  20 pennyweight to the Troy ounce BTW.

Silver is, to me, harder to solder than gold.  Harder to work with as well, as it needs to be annealed more often than gold.  Let us know how you do, OK?  Best of luck.

[smart dog]

Hi Nordnecker,
In the photos below you can see the difference in color between fine silver (~99% pure) and Sterling (92.5% pure with copper).  In the first photo I show a fine silver thumb plate on the left and a somewaht tarnished original Sterling plate on the right.  Although tarnished, you can still see the underlying grayish hue of Sterling versus the bright white hue of fine silver.  Look closely at the 2 bottom photos. The silver inlays are fine silver and the wire inlay is Sterling.  The Sterling has a more grayish tone compared to the fine silver.  I mixed the metals for a reason.  I wanted the sheet inlays to stand out against the wire.





All silver will tarnish (although Dave Crisalli mentioned a non-tarnishing alloy containing beryllium in another thread)   but Sterling tarnishes must faster than fine silver because of the copper content.  In fact, it can almost turn black if not kept polished.  All silver alloys can be brought to a high polish and shine but how long they stay bright and shiny depends on the alloy.

dave

[davec2]

In addition to the beryllium silver I have mentioned previously, the following alloy is also available:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argentium_sterling_silver

[smart dog]

Hi Dave,
I used Argentium silver from Rio Grande on several projects and it does resist tarnishing very well.  I used it for the barrel key escutcheons on that pair of dueling pistols that I posted on numerous occasions.  I used it because the woolen baize lining can sometimes out gas hydrogen sulfide, which would tarnish Sterling silver very fast. The inlays have remained bright and shiny since 2009 with only a slight graying.  What I have not tried with Argentium silver is inlaying it in steel.  I wonder how easily it "putties" when punched? 

With regard to my previous post, I want to emphasize that fine silver will remain bright much, much, much longer than Sterling.  On the fowler I posted, which was completed last summer, the Sterling wire has already darkened considerably, while the fine silver inlays are as bright and shiny as ever.

dave

[Nordnecker]

At some time in the past, I read here that 80/20 reticulation silver was recommended and I bought some. I have used coin silver and this 80/20 for inlays and escutions. Neither of these is very shiny to me. It's not tarnishing. It's about as bright as aluminum. I have access to some original guns and the 200 yr old silver on them seems brighter, even though it is tarnished and almost black in places.
I wonder if that old silver was just polished to a higher degree? And is it possible to polish the 80/20 to get it to shine like the old stuff?

[Kevin Houlihan]

 FWIW... With help from my friend Clint, 20 years ago I sand cast a sterling silver forend tip for a single shot black powder cartridge rifle.  I finished the stock and forend tip with Permalyn and it is as bright today as it was when I installed it. 
Kevin   

[smart dog]

At some time in the past, I read here that 80/20 reticulation silver was recommended and I bought some. I have used coin silver and this 80/20 for inlays and escutions. Neither of these is very shiny to me. It's not tarnishing. It's about as bright as aluminum. I have access to some original guns and the 200 yr old silver on them seems brighter, even though it is tarnished and almost black in places.
I wonder if that old silver was just polished to a higher degree? And is it possible to polish the 80/20 to get it to shine like the old stuff?

Hi,
I have no idea why someone would recommend 80-20 silver over Sterling or any higher silver content alloy. Maybe it is some historical notion of using coin silver for some applications but the more copper there is in the alloy, the faster it will tarnish and the grayer its color will be. However, the silver should polish OK.  How are you polishing?  Are you also burnishing it?

dave

[Nordnecker]

It's been 2 years since I did it. Not sure exactly how I polished it. Probably just enough to remove visible scratches from filing flush with wood.
I bought too much of it and have plenty left. I'm debating whether to get something else.

[M. E. Pering]

Nordnecker… You can always buy some fine silver and alloy it with your 80/20 to make .900 or Sterling.  I have done this with .900 coin and fine to make Sterling before.

Matt