Making rings and bracelets from old silver forks and spoons

[Neve]

Hi, I have been wanting to experiment with recycling old vintage hallmarked forks and spoons into rings and bracelets. So, I used my piercing saw and cut off 50mm of fork handle, to make a little pinky ring. I annealed it until it was red, quenched it then tried to form it around a ring mandrel, but it was hard as stone, did I not heat it up for long enough do you think? It is quite chunky and thick, about 4mm x 2mm wide oval shaped. Any tips would be appreciated

[Joe]

Britannia silver is a bit harder than sterling, but not that much... have you had a good close look at those hallmarks? Are you getting any cracking of the metal as you form it or is it quite ductile but just tough?

[Dennis]

Thanks for your reply to the other question Neve. As Joe has hinted, you might well have EPNS or some other plated metal.

I don’t know much metallurgy, but to anneal silver I think it is best to heat it only until it just begins to glow in subdued light, hold that temperature for a few seconds and then quench it. Please let us know what happens next, or it's like a book with the last page missing.

Regards, Dennis.

[Neve]

Hi, thanks for your replies, I will let you know what happens next, I can't bear the thought of me not replying and then you having a book with the last page missing, that's just torture!! The hallmarks are tw & s pelican n s silver. I can't form the metal at all, after I have annealed it. I think cutting it in a 50mm strip didn't help, it may have been easier keeping it whole, forming it then cutting? I won't be looking at it again now 'til next week (busy Mum of three). Have a good weekend x

[Goldsmith]

Hi Neve,
May I join in here, what you describe as being the mark on your cutlery is not a Hallmark. In the UK a Hallmark is an official mark stamped on by the official Assay Office. It is called a Hallmark because the Assay Offices in the UK are linked to the Goldsmith's Hall, hence the term "Hall" mark or the mark of the Hall. The rest of the world has adopted the term hallmark as a general meaning of metal marking, but only here in the UK are Hallmarks official.
By what you describe, your marks are for nickle silver, which is an alloy of copper, nickle and zinc and is quite hard to work. May I suggest if you anneal it again, let it cool slowly without quenching and it may be softer to work. Nickle Silver is sometimes called German Silver and will polish to a grey colour, which is why it needs silver plating.
Good luck
James

[Neve]

Hi James, thanks for your comments, very interesting! I have looked at the markings on the fork again with a loupe, they are really quite beautiful! It is a pelican bird, the word PELICAN with what looks like a snowflake over the p and the c, then S SILVER, there is no n as I originally assumed, looking at it with the naked eye, there is also the initials T W & S. I have no idea what it all means, but I wonder if it is sterling silver now?

Nicky

[Goldsmith]

Hi Nicky,

The T W & S mark is possibly Thomas Wilkinson and sons, silversmiths in Birmingham circa 1875. As a company they made silverware in sterling silver and plated metals. They also made pewter ware. Most of their silver ware has a Birmingham hallmark of the makers mark ,TG&S ,an Anchor, then a lion and finally the date letter,each in their own shield shape.
Thomas Wilkinson & sons did make a collection called Pelican Ware which was mostly silver plated base metal, so your cutlery could be something other than sterling silver. The only way to be certain is to acid test it. Below is something I found online about the company.



James

[Neve]

James, thanks so much for your reply and the info on Thomas Wilkinson. The hallmarks are really interesting. The forks I have are definately not sterling silver, they must be plated or pewter. I would love to know for sure. How would I go about having an acid test? I have made a piece of jewellery though, using a prong from the fork and combining it with sterling silver. I will figure out how to upload a photo of it if you like.

Nicky

[Neve]

Here is a photo of the piece of jewellery I made using part of the mystery fork!!

Nicky

[Dennis]

James, thanks so much for your reply and the info on Thomas Wilkinson. The hallmarks are really interesting. The forks I have are definately not sterling silver, they must be plated or pewter. I would love to know for sure. How would I go about having an acid test? I have made a piece of jewellery though, using a prong from the fork and combining it with sterling silver. I will figure out how to upload a photo of it if you like.

Nicky

Most suppliers sell a test kit, for instance Cookson 999 ALR, About £45 with tax. Or you cold take one of your forks into a high street jeweler who is bound to charge less for a one off test. However all you will learn is what you know already, that they are not solid silver.

I think what you have made is very attractive, but I am not clear about the benefit of using a fork for this? Regards, Dennis.