I’m curious about what others experience when ordering either Fine
Silver or Sterling sheet from suppliers. Largely, these arrive in
horrific condition with scratches, dinged corners and occasional
gouge; the last had been doctored with a Scotch Brite pad.
Yes, I’ve returned these, but it is a pita, all the same. Somewhere
between their rolling mill and my bench someone is not taking care
of business. Couldn’t a tip be taken from coppers suppliers…? They
use a poly-film laminate and the surface is flawless regardless of
the size of the sheet.
If there is something I’m misunderstanding, or my expectations are
too high, let me know.
J Collier
Small Scale Metalsmith
I order mine from Rio and have never had problems.
Beth in SC
Somewhere between their rolling mill and my bench someone is not
taking care of business. Couldn't a tip be taken from coppers
suppliers... They use a poly-film laminate and the surface is
flawless regardless of the size of the sheet.
I don’t think your expectations are too high! I’ve had this happen a
few times too. If the marring was slight, rather than go through the
exchange hassle, I’d clean it up in finishing or work around it but
as you said, a pita.
The problem I saw was that the shipper placed the bare sheet(s)
between two pieces of cardboard and secured it with strapping tape.
It usually arrives without bending but the cardboard is abrasive and
the motion of the UPS trucks is similar to a vibratory tumbler.
When I called about it before returning the sheet for replacement, I
explained about the abrasive nature of the packing materials and
specifically requested that they place the sheet in a plastic bag
first to prevent scratches.
The replacement arrived in good shape but I’m not so confident that
procedure will always be followed.
Pam Chott
www.songofthephoenix.com
J.L. Collier, I don’t know which supplier you are ordering from, but
suggest you change to one that sends your silver in perfect
condition. I have ordered from Stuller, Rio, and Hoover and Strong,
and have never had a problem. In fact, Hoover and Strong, wraps each
piece of silver in heavy tissue paper, and then puts them in heavy
weight plastic bags, each clearly marked with the gauge, and weight
of the metal.
There is no excuse for a company sending you silver with scratches,
dinged corners and scratches…
Alma rands
I'm curious about what others experience when ordering either Fine
Silver or Sterling sheet from suppliers. Largely, these arrive in
horrific condition with scratches, dinged corners and occasional
gouge; the last had been doctored with a Scotch Brite pad.
I buy my sheet sterling from either Indian Jewelers Supply or
Thunderbird. I have never had a sheet arrived in anything but
pristine condition. I don’t know if IJS or Thunderbird produce their
own sheet or buy it already fabricated. No affiliation with IJS or
Thunderbird. Just a very happy customer. Plus when I call in my
order to IJS it makes my day when the female customer service person
calls me “hon”.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com
I'm curious about what others experience when ordering either Fine
Silver or Sterling sheet from suppliers.
my last Rio order of sheet came horribly scratched, oily
fingerprinted etc, and I called them and got a friendly telephone
answerer and she had the sheet replaced and sent out at no additional
charge to me- though it too came scratched, though less deeply…I
gave up on reporting it again and figured an extra sheet was
compensation enough for my time and everything involved in making it
usable (by the way it was a large er than 6"x3".999 sheet at that!)…
rer
I’ve ordered silver, sterling and various karats of gold sheet, wire
and tubing from a number of suppliers and have NEVER received any
that was scratched,or doctored with a scotch brite pad. I’m very
surprised by these comments.
My suppliers have been:
Hoover & Strong
Rio Grande
Indian Jeweler’s Supply
Thunderbird Supply
Houser & Miller
I order silver from Rio and I’ve never had a problem with banged up
sheets. They send their sheets between cardboard pieces.
Lauren Stineman
Just like rer I have received silver from Rio with oily fingerprints
and scratched. When I first unpacked the sheet I thought it was
firescale since it was faint in several places till I saw the larger
fingerprints.
I have had scratching while ordering mixed sizes of different
gauges, as Rio just piles it up between two sheets of cardboard, and
the smaller pieces shift during shipping and scratch each other and
the bigger sheet underneath.
jena
I order from Hauser & Miller in St. Louis and have never had a
problem. It is wrapped in a heavy tissue then placed in a manilla
envelope then placed in a heavy cardboard box with a little extra
crushed paper between the envelope and the mailing box. I’ve ordered
from Hauser & Miller for about six years. I almost always order 4" x
12" or 6" x 12".
I have had minor problems with Rio, mostly on chain by the foot.
Mary Atwater, Chief Design Officer
www.jewelryforthejourney.com
Hi
In the UK it seems to be that all of the silver and gold sheet
suppliers use a poly-film coating - I’ve never had any without
(Cooksons green, Baird blue etc). I always leave it on at least on
one side until the last moment - you just have to remember to remove
it from BOTH sides - its bad to remove when its been heated for
soldering 
Robin Key
Clavis Jewellery Aberdeen,
Scotland
If there is something I'm misunderstanding, or my expectations are
too high, let me know.
After thirty eight years in this business, though in the last month I
have withdrawn from metal work itself, I have only gotten a single
order that I wanted to complain about. This was an issue of a three
ounce bar of 6 ga. platinum square wire from a smaller dealer.
Rather than having been pulled thru a drawplate, the smelter just
rolled into square wire which naturally had flattened edges. It was
in fact more octagonal than square. Otherwise, I would finish my
jewelry. Saw, file, sand, rubber wheel and polish or whatever
finishing calls for.
Bruce D. Holmgrain
JA Certified Master Benchjeweler
goldwerx.us
my last Rio order of sheet came horribly scratched,[snip] she had
the sheet replaced and sent out at no additional charge to me
What a contrast to my last experience (a few years ago) with Hagstoz!
I recieved a sheet of 18k gold that was badly scratched. When I
called, I was told that was just the way it came, and I would have to
sand and polish it! Need less to say, I’ve never ordered from them
again.
Noel
Everyone, thanks for your input on this subject.
In the cases where the sheets were scratched it was not due to
packaging or shipping abuse. Looked sort of like the metal had taken
a ride in a jail wagon. Perhaps the guy cutting didn’t clean the
cutter table as one side was much worse than the other. The service
reps were always prompt and friendly in dealing with the problem.
However, the replacement sheet in each situation while being better,
left something to be desired. No point in banging one’s head against
the wall repeatedly, so I kept the replacement.
Buying fine silver sheet 6 X 10 in 20 ga is not a inexpensive
investment. I tend to think that it should arrive in the same
condition it left the manufacturer’s rolling mill. For convenience
most orders included items other than metal and were one stop
shopping. For future metal purchases I’ll be splitting the order.
I’ll re-post on this subject later with an update.
J Collier
Small Scale Metalsmith
silver and gold sheet suppliers use a poly-film coating - I've
never had any without (Cooksons green, Baird blue etc). I always
leave it on at least on one side until the last moment
I also do the same. I cut it and bend it to shape before removing
the film, just prior to fluxing and soldering it. It protects the
metal from some scratching and of course finger grease. Although it
is a PITA as my catch tray is full of little bits of statically
charged and very clingy plastic and I don’t know whether I have to
spend hours going through it all and removing it before sending in my
scrap for refining?
Helen
UK
Looked sort of like the metal had taken a ride in a jail wagon.
Perhaps the guy cutting didn't clean the cutter table as one side
was much worse than the other.
The problem is how they store and handle the sheet silver. My local
rock shop sells silver wire and sheet. It’s in wooden shelves
similar to office document storage shelves. The sheet gets scratched
from handling. Most of their customers are hobbyists and buy an inch
or two at a time. So it depends on when they received the silver and
how many times it has been taken off the shelf. I go there to pick up
an odd piece of silver rather than order a small amount and pay the
higher fabrication fee so if I need sheet goods I can anticipate
dealing with scratches. Plus they put it on sale twice a year and
let me rummage picking up all the odds and ends and bent stuff they
can’t sell for a good price.
Rick Copeland
Silversmith and Lapidary Artisan
Rocky Mountain Wonders
Colorado Springs, Colorado
rockymountainwonders.com
Hi Helen,
Don’t bother to remove the plastic film from scrap before you send
it away from refining.
It will be burned off during the refining process. Also, I don’t
bother removing it from small pieces of silver prior to annealing as
it burns off without leaving any residue.
Richard UK