Argentium® Soldering Problems Update

Thanks goes to Judie Raiford and Trevor F. for their comments about not using steel wool when soldering. Trevor also mentioned that he preferred to use Thessco F flux when soldering Argentium Sterling® Silver. I believe Thessco is from Europe. I’m going to try some other fluxes that I can get locally and let you know how it goes.

Heat Hardened Argentium Sterling® Silver

I am amazed at how hard Argentium Sterling® Silver turns when it is heat hardened. Last week I made a beautiful turquoise ring. The ring was made so that it could be adjustable. After hardening, I realized the ring was no longer adjustable. Just another one of those things that needs to be kept in mind when working with Argentium Sterling®. Because the properties of Argentium are so different, I have trying to treat Argentium Sterling as though it is a totally different metal, rather than comparing it with standard Sterling Silver. The two metals have very different properties. Standard Sterling conducts heat well, AS does not. Oxygen must be kept away from standard Sterling silver. Oxygen is desirable when working with AS. The melting temperatures are different. The way the metal reacts when heated is different. Working with AS is not that hard, it’s just different.

Argentium® Soldering problems

I've been having some problems using the Argentium® solders. I tried just about everything I could think of. I made sure the surfaces matched well. I made sure my silver was clean and scrubbed it down with steel wool. I tried several types of flux. My easy and medium solders worked just fine. It's taken me a couple of weeks to figure it out. I simply needed to clean the solder itself. I started with soap and water and then I scrubbed it with steel wool. Works great now.