[Jewelry making - Article 00159] - Re: [Orchid] Silicon Sterling

[Trevor F]

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Now Marc,

>     Now Trevor, you used the figure of 1/2 ton because you thought that
>     it would bolster your case that there is, in fact, a crapload of
>     this alloy being sold to China. 

    I used the figure of 1/2 ton because that's what I understand has
    been shipped to China from the US manufacturer. Your original post
    said "its' use is non-existant" which is untrue and I offered the data
    to show that. 

    While it was very generous of you to give us a lesson in converting
    to metric I don't particularly care, nor does it really matter for the
    sake of this discussion, how much that may or may not be in terms of
    all the silver used in all the factories in Asia. The point is that: 

    (a) Argentium Sterling (AS) is being used in territories where you
    said it is not; (as it happens it has been in factory use for years
    in other territories --Europe for instance-- but that wasn't the
    specific point of our discussion). 

    (b) the people using AS in Asia are happy with it and are not
    experiencing the problems you claim they are; 

    (c) your attempts to belittle Argentium Sterling are motivated by
    your efforts to promote or assist in the promotion of what you
    consider to be a competing alloy (Sterilite Sterling) not a benign
    desire to pass on useful information. 

    (d) the basis of your arguments seems to be "something could go wrong
    and that means you should avoid it". I don't find that a very
    convincing case especially when the same could be said of virtually
    every alloy in use be it silver, gold, brass or whatever. I think
    everyone here knows that the metals they use need to be handled in a
    manner appropriate to that alloy. Failure to do so will very likely
    yield unsatisfactory results whether it's in a factory or a workbench
    situation. If the factory is using 100,000 times as much metal as the
    artisan then I should think it would behove them to get it right or
    yes, I would imagine they would have to deal with the consequences of
    failing to do so. 

    You've also said that AS "it isn't all over the place like you would
    like everyone to think it is". If we ignore for the moment your
    attempt to insinuate that I am I trying to mislead my fellow
    Orchidians I think you'll find that I've only ever cited two specific
    locations regarding their production use of AS: Kultakescus in
    Finland and the factory use in China. I haven't cited more than that
    because I simply don't know more than that. 

    Unlike you I have not travelled the globe in attempt to promote a
    product because aside from the jewelry I have made in my own shop I
    have nothing to promote. In particular I have no vested interest in AS
    nor the Argentium Silver Co. I am as we've so often said here on
    Orchid, "just a happy customer". It has been good of you to include
    your own affiliations in your signature to alert us to the fact that
    you are not, and presumably will not, make a similar claim. 

    As you implied in your recent post I do have a decided _personal_
    preference for Argentium Sterling and my blog clearly indicates why,
    including (as it happens) the results of my own experiments with
    Sterilite. (In fact I declined to name Sterilite specifically in the
    blog because the results of those tests were not particularly
    complementary.) 

    Then, and now, I advise anyone to take sample of the "de-ox" alloy,
    or any alloy they plan on using, and subject them to the same
    procedures they would use in their own day-to-day working practice. If
    the proper use and handling procedures for the metal have been
    observed and your results are unsatisfactory then I suppose you have
    your answer. However if you've misused the alloy and/or failed to
    follow the recommended procedures then one might look to oneself and
    not the metal for the source of the difficulties. 

    And, finally, yes there is the occasional instance, especially during
    the introduction of a new alloy, where a specific batch of the alloy
    may not be up to par. Again I'd wager that anyone who has worked with
    purchased alloys over an extended period of time will have
    experienced the same. For instance I once had a unusually brittle
    batch of regular sterling silver sheet. Should I then have claimed
    that "sterling is brittle, don't use it"? Perhaps, but I'd have been
    misinformed if I did so and my peers would not have hesitated to
    point that out. And so they should. 

Cheers,
Trevor F.
in The City of Light
Visit TouchMetal.com at http://www.touchmetal.com

 
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