nickel silver

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German silver hair comb by Bruce Caesar (Pawnee), Oklahoma, 1984

Nickel silver is a metal alloy of copper with nickel and often but not always zinc. The usual formulation is 60% / 20% / 20% copper / nickel / zinc.^[1] It is named for its silvery appearance, but contains no elemental silver unless plated. Other common names for this alloy are German silver, paktong, new silver and alpacca (or alpaca).

Uses

Nickel silver first became popular as a base metal for silver plated cutlery and other silverware, notably the electroplated wares called EPNS (electro-plated nickel silver). It is used in zippers, better-quality keys, costume jewellery, for making musical instruments (e.g., cymbals, saxphones), and is preferred for the track in electrically powered model railway layouts as its oxide is conductive. It is widely used in the production of coins (e.g. GDR marks, Portuguese escudo). Its industrial and technical uses include marine fittings and plumbing fixtures for its corrosion resistance, and heating coils for its high electrical resistance.

After about 1920, its use became widespread for pocketknife bolsters, due to its machinability and corrosion resistance. Prior to this point, most common was iron.

Musical instruments, including the flute, saxophone, trumpet, and French horn can be made of nickel silver. For example, some leading saxophone manufacturers such as Keilwerth,^[2][3] Selmer, P.Mauriat, Yanagisawa, and Yamaha offer saxophones made of nickel silver which possess a bright and powerful sound quality; an additional benefit is that nickel silver does not require a lacquer finish. For that reason, it is the most commonly used woodwind keys material — most clarinets, oboes and similar wind instruments have nickel silver keys. It is used to produce the tubes (called staples) onto which oboe reeds are tied. It was used in the construction of the National tricone resophonic guitar. Guitar, mandolin, banjo, bass, etc. frets are typically made of nickel silver. Nickel silver rails are also considered superior to steel in model railroading.

Toxicity

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According to the Merck Manual, prolonged contact of copper alloys with acidic food or beverages (including boiling milk) can leach out the copper and cause toxicity.^[4] Long term, low doses can lead to cirrhosis.

History

Nickel silver is first known in China, and was known in the west from imported wares called paktong or pakfong (白銅, literally "white copper") where the silvery metal colour was used to imitate sterling silver. According to Berthold Laufer, it was identical with khar sini, one of the seven metals recognized by Geber.^[5] It was discovered to be a copper-nickel-zinc alloy in the 18th century. In 1770 the Suhl (Germany) metalworks were able to produce a similar alloy and in 1823 a competition was initiated to perfect the production process by creating an alloy that possessed the closest visual similarity to silver. The brothers Henniger in Berlin and Ernst August Geitner in Schneeberg independently achieved this goal. Alpacca became a widely known name in northern Europe for nickel silver after it was used as a trademark brand by the manufacturer Berndorf. A form of German silver was also invented in Birmingham, England in 1832.

Nickel silver became widely used after 1840 with the development of electroplating, as it formed an ideal strong and bright substrate for the plating process. It was also used unplated in applications such as cheaper grades of cutlery.

See also

• Cupronickel
• Britannia metal
• Sheffield plate

References

1. ^ Tim McCreight, The Complete Metalsmith
2. ^ http://www.schreiber-keilwerth.com/englisch/keilwerth/instruments/bari_sx90r_shadow.htm
3. ^ http://www.saxophones.co.uk/keilwerth_saxophones.htm
4. ^ Merck Manual of Diagnosis and Therapy, 17th ed., p. 56
5. ^ Holmyard, E. J. (1957). Alchemy, p. 80. New York: Dover.

External links