What is soft strike alkeme

Jewelry Discussion
1

I 'm just curious. I went to the Bead show in Milwaukee Friday and
got a flyer from Impress Art(R) about this metal “for stamping.” I
don’t stamp, because I want to do stuff an eight-year-old cannot do,
but I gotta know what it really is. Sounds like a whiter variation on
pewter.

http://www.ganoksin.com/gnkurl/ep81f9

From their blurb: " Alkeme^™ is the new alternative to silver.
Developed by ImpressArt specially for metal stamping, Alkeme is easy
to stamp, non-corrosive, and costs a fraction of the price of silver.
Alkeme is lead, nickel, and cadmium free. Some discs may have light
scratches and blemishes that can be polished."

Obviously a proprietary alloy, but any hints? I tried a price
comparison (retail, pack of 2 1.25-inch circles) for a clue.

They also sell (domed?), textured pewter at $4 for two 15/16-inch
punched circles.

TIA,
Carol in Chicago

2

Hi Carol,

just a guess, but its probably a 5000 series ALuminum alloy. ALkeme
would be a clever trade name, for alchemy. 5000 aluninum series is
workeable, vs 6000 series for anodizing. However aluminum does
oxidize to white powdery surface when simply exposed to distilled
water which is acidic. To demonstrate that I suggest taking a piece
of aluminum foil over a tall, transparent, empty glass. Fill the top
concave foil form with distilled water. Watch how long until iit
eats thru and spills down.

Just a guess.
Eileen

3

Buried in the verbiage is a statement that it’s tin based. I don’t
know why they try to keep it a secret - chemical analysis of alloys
is straightforward.

Al Balmer