History of silversmithing
Documented as far back as 301 AD a silversmith is a craftsman that uses silver as his media.
The silversmith makes objects such as plates,silverware and jewelry out of sheets of silver.
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Silversmiths would saw or cut specific shapes from fine silver sheet and sterling metal or bar stock, and then they use hammers and form the metal using anvils and stakes. Silver is usually hammered at room temperature. The metal as it is hammered, bent, and worked, 'work-hardens'. Sometimes the silversmith will use a technique called Annealing which is a heat-treatment to make the metal soft again.Once metal is work-hardened, if it is not annealed periodically then the metal will crack and weaken the work.
Silversmiths also use casting techniques to create items like knobs, handles and feet for the hollowware they are making, today casting is also used to create artwork. Stacker and collectors love silver art, you can find it as bars or rounds and just about anything else you can imagine.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silversmith
The terms "silversmith" and "goldsmith" are not exactly synonyms as the techniques, training, history, and guilds are or were largely the same but the end product may vary greatly as may the scale of objects created. However most goldsmiths have also worked in silver although the reverse may not be the case.
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After forming and casting the individual pieces, they may be assembled by soldering and or riveting.
Until modern times silversmiths used charcoal or coke fired forges, and they used lung-powered blow-pipes for soldering and annealing. Modern silversmiths commonly use gas burning torches or electric furnaces as heat sources. Silversmiths commonly work with copper and brass, usually this is when they are testing a mold, as those materials have very similar working properties and the cost is much lower than silver.
Silversmithing has been a trade with guilds since almost the beginning. The biggest boom of silversmithing was in Colonial America as they flexed their new found freedom, but that is a story for another day.
Thanks for reading and happy stacking!
