Silver Art
Fine silver compared to sterling silver softness?
How much softer is fine silver (99.9% silver) compared to sterling silver (92.5% silver)? I have heard some people say that fine silve...
Silver Art

Fine silver compared to sterling silver softness?
How much softer is fine silver (99.9% silver) compared to sterling silver (92.5% silver)? I have heard some people say that fine silver is too soft to make jewellery, but metal clay (eg PMC or Art Clay Silver) is said to produce fine silver, and is supposed to be used to make, for example, silver pendants. So how soft is fine silver (compared to sterling silver) really?
I personally prefer working with half hard (or occasionally full hard) sterling silver wire for most things, but haven't been able to find it in the fine silver. The dead soft sterling won't handle most of my designs in 20ga or 22ga, but was perfect in 16ga. Fine silver is a little softer than dead soft sterling, so I never tried any. I guess the PMC would all depend on how thick you planned to make your pieces. Too thin, it would likely be very soft, indeed.
Get a little fine silver wire or sheet and play with it. At www.sfjssantafe.com (Santa Fe Jewelers Supply) they have really good prices. You could get a little of several types and thicknesses and play with a design or two.
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