Silver recycling is hot – as is the metal

Recycling is hot. Literally, when it is about silver recycling.
I have always been fascinated by melted metal. In my Soviet youth the steelworker was a prestigious profession and a fruitful topic for art, music and literature. I remember this song claiming that though forests, meadows and flowers are beautiful, melted metal remains the most beautiful thing in the world.
Funny enough, I now  agree with that propagandist statement. Melted metal is pure magic, and our ancestors knew that. Since I have the same primitive tools  (OK, I might have a butane hand torch and titanium solder pick, but they are definitely primitive as compared to the modern silversmith’s equipment), I melt it the same way as our ancestors did.

1. Silver cuttings are collected in the melting pot.

2. The cuttings are arranged in a desired shape (here – a cat’s tail) and the heating starts.

3. The magic moment – the silver reaches the melting point and starts flowing. The titanium pick  helps to align the flow in a desired direction.

 

4. This kitty is melted from silver scrap using this technology. First I shaped the main elements,such as the head, the tail, the paws and the body, then I melted them together. As you see, the melt structure is irregular, but I think it has its charm, so I did not polish it off.

It is also a lot of fun – silver recycling in the primitive – or shall I say ‘basic’  – way!