Stede pewter or aluminum?

[Rooster]

I was at the Hospice thrift store today and they had a bowl and plate that looked like pewter with two hallmarks on the bottom. One was a horse head and the other said Stede if I remember correctly. I bought the bowl because it was cheaper by two bucks but now I'm thinking of going back to get the platter but I don't want to buy aluminum as I've been burned before with the wilton brand ware. Is anyone familiar with this maker and if so, is this pewter or not? Thank you. Does the muriatic test bubble on aluminun?

[captaint]

Don't know about the acid test, but any pewter I ever bought was ALL marked PEWTER, usually on the bottom. You are correct about Wilton stuff. It's all aluminum... If it bends easily and is marked, it's pewter - should be good... enjoy Mike

[fryboy]

muratic will fizz on aluminum , a weakened solution is oft used as an etcher and a cleaner ( works really good too so rinse well ) i've found various pieces that had pewter legs or handles with a copper/brass bowl/body , i once got 4+ #'s from a chafing dish and a umm dish :P

[Rooster]

Thanks for the reply everyone!

The Stede pieces are very thick and I bet that platter weighs 2 pounds. It was marked @ $6. I have to wait until Tues. so I can get some acid to test the bowl if it fizzes or not I'll post back here what the results are. I was suprised they had about 8 pieces of pewter including the two Stedes and only two of the other six were not marked pewter but they had that shiny tin look to them. The other unmarked pieces were a mug with what looked like snow skis for a handle and a small coaster. I put all of the booty on my wifes kitchen scale and they all were just short of seven pounds. With tin being close to $20/# I made out like a bandit! The only problem is SWMBO saw them---uh oh.

[imashooter2]

Put some fire to it. Pewter will melt easily at standard lead casting temperatures and aluminum / Armetal won't.

[evan price]

I wound up with about 6 pounds of assorted candlesticks and sconces, had them in a box in the back of my truck, and SWMBO found them and thought they were cute and took them and started cleaning the old wax off..now they are knick-knacks instead of boolits!

Lesson learned- hide your pewter, or bash it with a mini-sledge before SWMBO finds it.

[Freightman]

Always take your stuff straight to the shop, if like mine it is safe as SWMBO never goes there only the dog and me go there. (she says it stinks)

[1911GrayWolf]

My quick test for pewter is- Imprinted hallmark that says "Pewter", bring a loupe or magnifying glass! Dark gray coloration. Tap it with another metallic trinket on the shelf, if it has a "ring" or "clang" it's not pewter, it should have a soft "clunk" like lead. It should bend easily.
My local thrift store has half off on Mondays, and VIP card for 10% off every Friday. I've accumulated roughly 10 pounds of pewter in the last two months for less than $25.00.

[Baja_Traveler]

Another tip - if the pewter originated in Germany it will be stamped "ZINN" on the bottom.

[a.squibload]

Don't forget about citric acid, cheap and safe:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=83978&highlight=zinc+test+citric


Edit: I forgot you're testing for aluminum, citric probably no good for that.

[Rooster]

I finally tested the platter with HCl and there was no fizz or bubbling. I also put a piece of aluminum foil in some and it didn't do anything either. It is definitely acid as baking soda fizzes like crazy. ??? I'm not sure about it being a good test for Al content and I will try the torch on it later this week.

[Knit Local]

Stede ware was manufactured by my husband's family. It's lovely stuff, but neither pewter NOR aluminum - it's an alloy.