German silver vs. Nickel silver?

[TAH]

Are they exactly the same?

I have heard that German silver is more "silver" in color and Nickel silver has a more yellowish tint.

Thanks for your help!

 

[sunshadow]

same thing

-Page

 

[TAH]

Thanks Page. :thumbup:

 

[mete]

They are both copper/zinc/nickel alloys . They do have a yellow cast to them especially when they are sitting for a while .This can be seen comparing stainless steel to nickel silver. There are a few alloys depending on whether it's for cast or wrought.None of the alloys have silver !

 

[james terrio]

None of the alloys have silver !

Right. The original purpose was to find a lower-cost replacement for real silver.

I wish it was more popular, I love the look of it.

 

[LRB]

Buy no less than 18% nickel content, or it will yellow. Many castings used to be 12%, and they look pretty bad if not kept polished.

 

[Alarion]

Are they exactly the same?

I have heard that German silver is more "silver" in color and Nickel silver has a more yellowish tint.

Thanks for your help!

They are two name of the same genre of alloys, which can vary a bit from maker to maker, and from region of origin, much like pewter.

 

[Hengelo_77]

It is also known by the name 'alpaca'

 

[A. Brett Schaller]

It was called German silver up until WW1, when "German" temproarily became a dirty word - so the term nickel silver was coined.

 

[Alarion]

It is also known by the name 'alpaca'

"Alpacca" to be exact

because this is an "alpaca"

 

[Hengelo_77]

Yeah I came across those animals, looking for German Silver

I never knew about the double C

 

[mete]

Alpacas hunt nickel silver like dogs and pigs hunt truffles ??

 

[deloid]

Alpacas hunt nickel silver like dogs and pigs hunt truffles ??

Hey...I was going to write that very same thing you whacky thought thief

 

[ultrafine]

Alpaca

i think they are some kind of llamas

 

[Hengelo_77]

Alpaca

i think they are some kind of llamas

No, they are made out of copper, zinc & nickel

 

[SBuzek]

But they don't hold up well for guards and bolsters
Stan

 

[LRB]

How do you mean, "They don't hold up"? NS is as tough as brass, maybe more so. The drawback is that NS shows every little scratch.

 

[SBuzek]

Sorry I was refering to the alpacas trying to be witty.NS holds up just fine but as you stated will show every scratch.That's why most makers have switched to 416 SS instead.
Stan

 

[ultrafine]

I think the alpacas would do fine just as guards.

 

[LRB]

Ahhh, "my" apologies. It is my cocktail hour. Carry on Sir. In my arena of knife making, even NS is too modern, although I used a lot of it in the eighties, and got to where I hated it for it's inherent ability to scratch, just from sliding it into a sheath.