is 95% real pewter actual pewter?

[Don1357]

There's plenty of stainless imitations out there to use instead and they don't alloy worth a darn.

Yeah, but there is something to be said about avoiding soulless crap and surrounding ourselves with things we really appreciate. On this case we all really appreciate pewter for its tin so having them around would make him enjoy them all the better.

There is also the fact that best case scenario he'll always have on hand more than what he immediately needs. Nothing wrong with his tin reserves being kept on their original form.

[rdwarrior]

Been reading the ongoing discussion regarding melting or not melting these candlesticks based on my comment that if it wasn't usable pewter, I would keep it around for other purposes. To satisfy everyone's curiosity, I may eventually melt these candlesticks down, but they will be the last items I melt down and only when I need it. I do have some pewter already melted down into 1-2 oz coins, plus some 50-50 solder. But my reserve is very limited - hard to find pewter around here.

[Peregrine]

Frankly there's tons of pewter to be had from sellers on here, for a great price.

Personally I've acquired about 80lbs of it through scrounging thrift store for the last three years. Most of it in the form of semi modern tankards that no one will ever miss, but some very nice antique or otherwise very well crafted peices as well. I have a high degree of appreciation for a lot of them and could never melt them, I think it's a real shame some of the nicer peices I've seen people on here destroy in order to save a fraction penny a boolit.


Those candle sticks aren't a huge loss though, and that's a hell of a lot of pewter. I'd melt them too if I was hard up for some.

[kevin c]

Definitely true that I have collected pewter that my family has laid claim to, admiring form or workmanship.

In my area, while it took a few years, a few more dollars and lots of effort, I have found modern food service pewter for all my needs, enough that setting aside especially nice pieces isn't going to impact my casting. Not everybody is so lucky, though.

One motivator for many who cast is to save money. The S&S going rate for pewter is half or less retail; that's hard to ignore when dollars are tight. But finding your own is half or less that, and that's even harder to ignore.

Anyway, my experience is that finding something truly valuable, collectible, unique, beautiful or exquisitely made is pretty rare at a thrift or a professionally run estate sale. Those items won't be there or will be priced accordingly, and therefore won't make into my stash. Modern food service and reproduction pewter, especially in the battered and beaten up state I usually find it in, I have no qualms about melting down.

But, everybody ought to decide for themselves what is right for them. Good to think about and discuss it, so thanks for bringing it up.