Everything about Nickel Silver totally explained
Nickel silver is a metal
alloy of
copper with
nickel and often but not always
zinc. 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).
Composition
Many alloys fall within the general term of "nickel silver". All contain
copper and
nickel, while some formulations may additionally include
zinc,
antimony,
tin,
lead or
cadmium. A representative industrial formulation, Alloy No. 752, is 65% copper, 18% nickel, and 17% zinc. In metallurgical science, such alloys would be more properly termed
nickel brass. The white alloy of 75% copper and 25% nickel used in coins, such as the
United States nickel, is better known as copper-nickel, cupro-nickel or
cupronickel.
Some nickel silver alloys, especially those containing high proportions of zinc, are stainless (
corrosion-resistant).
Nickel silver alloys are commonly named by listing their percentages of copper and nickel, thus "nickel silver 55-18" would contain 55% copper, 18% nickel, and 27% other elements, most probably entirely zinc. A two-element alloy may be named for its nickel content alone, thus NS-12 is 88% copper and 12% nickel.
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 (for example,
cymbals), and is preferred for the track in electrically powered
model railway layouts as its
oxide is conductive. Also, 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.
It is widely used in the production of
coins (for example
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.
It was used in the construction of the Arly tricone
resophonic guitar. It is also used to produce the tubes (called staples) onto which
oboe reeds are tied. Guitar frets are made from it, as well on mandolin, banjo, bass, etc.
Musical instruments, including the
flute,
saxophone, and
French horn can be made of nickel silver. For example, some leading saxophone manufacturers such as Keilwerth,
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 doesn't require a lacquer finish. For that reason also, it's the most commonly used woodwind keys material - most clarinets, oboes and similar wind instruments have nickel silver keys.
Toxicity
According to the Merck Manual 17th edition p56, prolonged contact of copper alloys with acidic food or beverages (including boiling milk) can leach out the copper and cause toxicity. Long term, low doses can lead to
cirrhosis. It should be of interest that cadmium is known to cause renal failure.
History
Nickel silver is first known in
China, and was known in the west from imported wares called
paktong or
pakfong (literally "white copper") where the silvery metal colour was used to imitate
sterling silver. 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 A. 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Nickel Silver'.
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