I’m done with buying pewter candle stick holders.

[Tripplebeards]

I couldn’t resist yesterday because it was half off day on certain colored price tags. I was going to pass them up but the smaller candle stick holders were ninety nine cents each. I found out that the smaller ones were completely filled with plaster...even the top part which normally In most cases have some thick pewter build up. Nope, the part where the candle sits in was like thick tin foil over plaster exactly the same as the bottom in the photo below. I ended up with 3 oz of tin between the two small holders after I melted them. The big candle stick was hollow and weighted 14.5 oz. it was $2.99 so almost a pound for $2.99 with the tall stick. No more Weighted candle sticks for me. I think in the past I get about three oz. a stick but these put me over the edge. The smaller ones had a black plastic bottom. I always find ones with a pewter bottom that looks like a tin can. Some days you win, some days you loose. Lesson learned. Nothing but cups and plates from now on.

[Tatume]

That is useful information. Thank you.

[marek313]

I only made that mistake once and the one I got was filled with some nasty greasy wax or something. It was ugly, smelled bad and wasnt worth the trouble. Soon after I learned that i could get all the tin I needed from my local scrap yard that had it mixed in with lead so I was getting puter, solder and lino at $0.99/lb. I bought enough that i still have some left but that dried out too.

[kevin c]

After the disappointment of the first pair of candlesticks marked "weighted pewter" I only go for ones where I can see that the base is not filled in. The weighted versions are a lot hassle and too much money for the tin gained.
Other items to be cautious about are salt and pepper shakers. Some are solid pewter, but a lot are just thin sheet pewter over a wood or plastic core.

[NyFirefighter357]

I got a tall candle stick for free, turned out to be sterling silver. The metal was very thin like you describe and the filler was some nasty pine tar looking, stinky stuff. All said & done I bet it wasn't half an oz of silver.

[cwlongshot]

I have been buying tin off eBay. There is a seller there selling in two # lots for 35$ shipped. Fair cost IMHO. HE HAS "bb" sticks and ingots. All same cost.

Its cheaper then roto metals and mine has come with pureness testing sheets. (No idea if authentic)

CW

[15meter]

I have been buying tin off eBay. There is a seller there selling in two # lots for 35$ shipped. Fair cost IMHO. HE HAS "bb" sticks and ingots. All same cost.

Its cheaper then roto metals and mine has come with pureness testing sheets. (No idea if authentic)

CW

I worked at a small steel shearing plant, they sheared coil steel into blanks for stamping houses.
The owner would make up specification sheets to go out with each load as if the tests had actually been done. 10-20+ ton batches.

Hard core christian, was told so during the job interview.

I'd be doubtful if a test would be done on that small a lot. Time and expense kind of lean away from that.

[cwlongshot]

While agree that testing a 2# lot would be prohibitive. I assumed that m2# was part of a much larger lott and just a copy of that lotts testing was what I received.

CW

[Tripplebeards]

I have a pretty large stash of pewter. I've been buying on and off from the thrift stores over the last couple of years. I just melted down a little over 4 pounds of plates in to ingots to trade another member for some GCs. My ingots are bright shiny silver with a hard metal ringing noise when they are tapped together. Would make one heck of a hard boolit.

[redhawk0]

I stopped buying them too. You end up paying $3-4 for them and end up with 5 oz of pewter when it's all said and done. Besides...If you miss some of the camel dung filling left behind...it really stinks during the melt.

redhawk

[Land Owner]

I bought four CHEAP pewter goblets at the Thrift Store that I cannot now bring myself to melt. They're pretty nice, have other intrinsic (Net searched) value. fortunately, I have other pewter and tin of lesser craftsmanship. So much for cheap tin from those goblets.

[William Yanda]

Tough lesson. Weighted pewter is a crap shoot-pun intended-the plaster of paris is much easier to deal with than the resin. That stuff stinks when heated and is hard to get rid of. The pop just allows the maker to use a skin of pewter, reducing the yield enormously. I once tried to start a thread on the yield from various pewter objects but it didn't get any traction. In my experience it is rare to get more for a pewter object than the value of the pewter melted into ingots but it can happen. I once found 8 full size plates weighing nearly a pound each for $.99 that sold for 10x that, but that is an exception.

[redhawk0]

I don't purchase pewter that isn't stamped with a hallmark. I only purchase plates, bowls, cups, candle wall sconces. I gave up on candle sticks, picture frames, pewter trinkets....etc....it just isn't worth the aggravation and cost for what you actually get.

redhawk

[dondiego]

Mine work great for holding and burning candles!

[Tripplebeards]

I believe a have a few more laying around. Their going on eBay.

[brassrat]

I figured I would hunt for this. Came from one of those candlesticks

[Ozark mike]

Mine work great for holding and burning candles!

Yup nicer to look at than plastic too

[Harter66]

My last score of plates and bowls cost me about $2.40/lb the one before had several heavy items including mismatched candle sticks , closer to $1.50 .

I did buy a bunch of RWS pewter marked stuff , but it was not pewter . I'm more careful now . I guess I have about 40-50# on the shelf now .
I have a bunch of sorted range scrap that's way tin rich . I'm probably set for life for tin enrichment .

[brassrat]

No one believes me

[kevin c]

Isn't that the scat of the elusive and rare pewter possum? I hear you can distinguish between the Canadian and the lower 48 versions by how much paraffin versus beeswax is in their leavings...