Thread: Another good wedge material

I've come across, what I believe will be, another good wedge material - pure .999 or .9999 silver.

Pure silver doesn't tarnish for the most part. Sterling, which is usually made with copper tarnishes because of the copper, not the silver.

The one ounce bars are 2mm thick. It is roughly the same hardness as lead. It is much less expensive than I realized. The price changes every day, though it is roughly $20 per oz if you pay with a credit card.

I can get about five wedges from an ounce. There is enough scrap to make another one, though silver has a very high melting point.

I'll be interested to see what you all have to say. Some of the more experienced may have great comments.

On a side note, I don't plan to use lead anymore. It is historically accurate, which is important for a lot of folks. I hope to be doing a lot of wedges and don't want to mess with precautions and cleanup from the dust when sanding it. As well, I'm starting a side business making custom scales and worry about prospective customers worrying about lead, even though they would be safe.

One small problem with this business is that I'm learning making scales properly sounds easier than it is. I'll get the quality where it needs to be, just taking a while.

Interestingly, you can't sell jewelry in California that has lead in it. While a straight isn't jewelry, I'll bet it falls under that regulation.