hi I’m trying to make mokume, in my country (Croatia) is no body who
can make mokume and I can ask only you First time I combined copper
and silver that went ok now I’m trying to join 14 kt yellow gold
with white 14 kt (not ok)
Wich gold alloys shold I use for best kontakt and kontrast
what is important for mokume, klean surface kiln ,materials
,thiknes,??
thanks Orhidians
Mario
Hello Mario, I learned to make Mokume during a workshop with Steve
Midgett. He has an excellent book and video that explains a very
clear and low cost (equipment wise) method. His “kiln” is made out of
2 bricks and a clamp. Anyway - that’s what I use to fire my metals. I
have had good success with bonding and color contrast of 18kt rose
gold and 14k palladium white gold and 18kt yellow gold and
14kpalladium white gold. I chose to use 14k palladium with 18k
because of the higher melting point of palladium golds. I’m sure
there will be many more responses to your questions. If you would
like more specific from me you can email me at
@Michelle_Meizner1 good luck, Michelle
I think you had best get the book.Mokume-gane by Steve Midgett.
$34.95U.S. Lots of suppliers carry it. It is packed full of good
and techniques. Well worth it timed saved.
Mario -
By all means, keep working and you’ll get it right. You do not say
what process you are using. I am using James Binnion’s process as
described at http://www.mokume-gane.com/Workshop/Mokume_Workshop.html
I have found that you can learn this by yourself (with beautiful
results) but it takes some time.
Cleanliness is very important for a proper bond between metals. I
scrub my metals 3-4 times with liquid dishwashing detergent, handle
them only with gloves and rinse them in distilled water.
I use a very old kiln that I fiddle with constantly but it works
fine. As long as your kiln can maintain temperature for many hours
you should be OK there.
Next, you need to make sure you are bonding at the correct
temperature for the alloys you’re using. Binnion suggests firing at
50-100 degrees F below the lowest melting point of all the metals in
the stack.
I usually use 24 gage metals in my stacks, usually about 15 layers.
I have never used gold
Steve Midgett has a book, Mokume Gane, a Comprehensive Study, that
is a very good reference. In it, he says that 14K yellow and 14k
Palladium white are “difficult to bond or difficult to work .” I
don’t know which. According to his chart (pp 42), all 14k yellow
gold combinations have this problem. The only recommended
combinations of golds are 18K green with 24 or 22K yellow.
Apparently Palladium white bonds well with copper, shakudo, kurimido
and bronze (but not brass).
I hope this helps. You will probably get other pointers from other
Orchid members.
Debby Hoffmaster
It’s cold here in Michigan