Hardness: Argentium Sterling® VS Gold Alloys

Today I decided to research a question I’ve been wondering about for quite some time now; how hard is Argentium Sterling® Silver compared to various karat gold? After doing quite a bit of searching on the WWW, I found two sites that helped me somewhat understand how the many alloys compare.
A great page to help understand the hardness of silver is from the Rio Grande Jewelry Supply. This page, from the Tips and Tricks section, was full of great information. One of the charts on the page shows the hardness in Vickers of Fine Silver, Sterling Silver, and Argentium Sterling® Silver. According to the chart Argentium Sterling® Silver can be both the softest and the hardest of the three.

http://www.riogrande.com/tips/all_tips.asp?offset=100

The technical guide offered at http://www.argentiumsilver.com/ gives the following information: After casting, if the flasks are left to air cool a hardness of approximately 100HV is achieved (this is what I prefer to do when I cast…it‘s very hard!). Precipitation Hardening will achieve a hardness of approximately 120HV.

Finding a good chart for gold (without getting into a bunch of technical data) was much harder. After quite a bit of searching, I found a web page that had a pretty good chart on the hardness of gold alloys. It’s from the U.K. so they show 9 karat gold instead of 10 karat gold as is used in the U.S.. The only thing I don’t like about this web page is it’s one of those that are hard to get out of once you are there.

http://www.24carat.co.uk/hardnessofgoldalloysframe.html

Note that gold doesn’t necessarily get harder as the karat weight goes down.

My First Attempt at Granulation with Argentium®

Above is my first attempt at granulation with Argentium Sterling® silver. Because it is so easy to fuse AS, I decided to try granulation (my first attempt with any metal). Everything on this pendant was fused, no solder what so ever. Even the bail was fused. The piece is about the size of a US nickel. This was accomplished using a completely fusion process to prevent contaminating the Argentium®.

Here are a few things I noted while making the pendant.

1. I am going to need a smaller brush to more accurately place the granules.

2. If the piece is granulated after doming, the piece must be supported from the bottom to prevent the piece from slumping during heating.

3. Do not move the piece when it is too hot. This will result in the metal breaking.

4. Care must be taken during buffing to prevent the granules from being worn down. You may wish to just use a brass brush to buff the piece.

Using MY-T-FLUX with Argentium Sterling

For the past month I have been testing Rio Grande's "MY-T-FLUX as suggested by Peter Johns. When using the flux, the silver came out very clean, and the solder flowed well. The flux seemed to work exceptionally well when used while fusing Argentium Sterling. I've been applying the flux with a needle-tip dispenser that I recycled from a printer ink refill kit.

Argentium Sterling at Rio Grande's Catalog in Motion

I recently had the honor of meeting Cynthia Eid at the Rio Grande Catalog in Motion Show in Tucson. The link below tells of the experience. What a great show!!!
http://newjewelry.blogspot.com/2006/02/rio-grande-catalog-in-motion.html

Argentium Sterling® Casting details

I have had a few requests for more details on the methods I use to cast my jewelry. For me, it's got to be cheap! I have been collecting lapidary and silversmith equipment for several years, most of it used. Some of the equipment I started with, has never been replaced simply because I have become so accustom to it and there seems to be no need for replacement.

Please note that when I cast, I usually cast around two troy ounces of AS at a time.

The torch I use is a BernzOmatic® Jet Torch Kit (JTH7). Using this torch with MAPP gas, produces a flame that, at least for me, is perfect for casting with Argentium Sterling® Silver. I turn it up full blast and the AS melts rapidly, and yet doesn’t overheat too quickly. Although I have other torches now, this is my favorite for casting because it helps me be as consistent as possible.
As I am melting the Argentium Sterling® Silver, I add a pinch of Borax. I try to heat the AS only as long as needed. As soon as it is liquid, I start the centrifuge.

The centrifuge I use is a simple to use Neycraft® Centrifugal Caster. I take the flask directly from the kiln to the centrifuge. The time it takes for me to put the flask in the centrifuge, and heat the metal, seems to allow the flask time to cool to the proper temperature for casting. After the piece is cast, I allow the flask to cool to room temperature before removing the piece. This helps make the Argentium Sterling® Silver stronger and more durable.

Although this process is quite simple, it has bought me very consistent results that I am very pleased with. Hope this helps! Good luck and Happy Casting :).

If you need Designer Cabochons for your work, you can help support further work on this blog by buying them directly from me at Artfire.