How to identify silver filled

[Former_Member]

Hi I wanted to join aspiring metalsmith because that is what I am but they are a closed group now so hope you don't mind me being here. :) I have few mixed wires. Do you know how I might can identify which is silver filled or sterling other than testing them with magnet and by soldering the wire. Some actually smell awful but still balls up. Some will ball up and spit out non sterling metals. Some are harder to tell. Any tips will be helpful! Thanks! And sorry I'm typing on my phone so I only have access to one line of my writing. Hope I made sense and thanks in advance!

[cgwhitfield]

Hi, Azeria. You're welcome to be aspiring here too.

Others will be more familiar with silver filled wire than I. Your question might get overlooked here but feel free to pop into the main chat thread. Many are familiar with it, and nobody bites.

At some point, everyone started from scratch....

[Untwistedsister]

Hi Azeria. I know about gold filled but not much about silver filled. I know before I started silversmithing I did more wire work with argentium and was really careful to keep it separate from the Sterling and marked. I bet someone at Rio Grande could give you a way to test it without destroying it.

[Former_Member]

Do you have a sensitive scale? You can calculate the expected weight for a length and gauge of sterling wire. If the actual piece of wire doesn't match that, it's not sterling. I would expect sterling to be heavier than silver filled, but I guess it depends on what they are using for the base metal.

(And now I'm thinking of Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- the scene where they decide someone must be a witch if she weighs the same as a duck.)

[Untwistedsister]

I just found this on Rio: http://riograndeblog.com/2011/09/what-silver-filled/

Plus an ounce of sterling 16 gauge round dead soft wire is 7.5 ft long whereas an ounce of 1/10 sterling filled 16 gauge round dead soft wire is 8.5 ft long.