Thread: Sterling Silver Pins

I see, I was just reading about the stuff on the web here and there. Not a silversmith myself, I did find a lot of places said to heat to about 600 degrees F for like 30 mins and then air coo to harden it.

I think that works for alloys - not for pure silver. 600F is about half the annealing temp of sterling silver. The hardness achieved is at the expense of other characteristics (which, as far as I remember are toughness, hardness, ductility, malleability - maybe a few more) so although harder it tends to fracture more easily - it becomes more brittle and less workable. Not the same as work-hardening or impact- or drawing it. I could be wrong though - it must be at least 30 years since I went on a rudimentary silversmith course! I remember burning my fingers more keenly than I remember the finer points they were trying to teach me!

Regards,
Neil

I am currently in Silversmithing classes so I am a little too familiar with annealing and hardening and burning my fingers.