October: Reticulation Tutorials

How To Reticulate Silver

Kim shares a brilliant tutorial on how to reticulate silver, talking you through every step and all the tools you need to achieve this technique. Kim also shows you an example of reticulated copper!

Kim: "I'm using 0.5mm sterling silver from my scrap and off cuts pot but I normally prefer to do this with 1mm or thicker, as you can raise more texture and are less likely to melt it accidentally.

Many people who specialize in reticulation use 'reticulation silver' which has a much higher copper content (80% silver 20% copper) than sterling silver (92.5% silver 7.5% copper). The higher copper content creates much more defined textures but it can't be hallmarked. To separate the copper from the pure silver, you need to anneal (heat), cool and clean your silver about 10-15 times.

This is referred to as depletion gilding as it's depleting the copper content from the surface, leaving a fine silver layer behind. This results in fine silver with a copper core and during the final heat, the copper core melts before the other silver layer, creating an undulating texture as the metal melts and cools."

Reticulating Base Metals

Kim: "Reticulation is normally done with silver but it also works with brass and if you really bully it, copper. You need to prepare your metal the same way we prepared the silver in the previous #makeitmonth10 videos by annealing, cooling and cleaning it 10 - 15 times. Then you're ready to heat it to a higher temperature until you see the metal start to shimmer and crinkle. I'm starting with a piece of 0.5mm brass and then I'll show you some 0.5mm and 1.2mm copper."

Kim Reviews Kernowcraft's Crinkle Metal Sheet

Kim - "Next up we have some silver crinkle sheet that Kernowcraft kindly sent me to try out as I've never used it before. As I mentioned in the earlier videos, reticulation is often done with 'reticulation silver'. 'Reticulation silver' is an alloy of 80% fine silver and 20% copper. The higher copper content means you are able to create a more dramatic reticulation texture compared to sterling silver which is 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% copper. The problem with 'reticulation silver' is because it has a higher copper content, you're not able to have it hallmarked as silver so if your piece of jewellery is over 7.8g you wouldn't legally be able to sell or advertise it as silver.

"The silver crinkle sheet Kernowcraft is made of 'reticulation silver' BUT they bond an additional layer of fine silver on the top so you have the benefit of the more defined reticulation but the over all alloy is pure enough to be hallmarked! The crinkle sheet is also pre-prepared so you don't need to do the multiple annealings like we've had to do with all the other metals. You can also shape the crinkle sheet before reticulating and it will hold its shape. If you pre shape the other metals, they will often collapse during the reticulation process so you need to reticulate them flat or build some sort of heat proof support to help them hold their shape. Reticulated metal can be brittle and hard to shape afterwards so being able to shape before hand is very useful. The down side of the crinkle sheet? It's much more expensive compared to sterling or standard reticulation silver. But, time is money and the texture is much easier to control and more uniform plus the benefit of being able to pre shape so depending on what you're doing it could be worth the extra cost."

Save Time With Crinkle Metal Sheet

As you saw from Kim's tutorial above, achieving reticulation is a time consuming job - having to heat and quench the metal repeatedly. With crinkle metal sheet, all you need to do is use a gas torch is bring it up to temperature to create the lovely crinkled texture straight away.

The metal can be formed before bringing out the texture, holding its shape perfectly. If you're not quite happy with the textured areas, you can overheat the metal which will cause the alloy to flow freely on the surface of the fine silver where it can be stirred with a soldering poker or brush to create your desired effect.

Please note that we no longer stock crinkle metal sheet

Kim & Suze chat about their experience with reticulation

Kim: "Suze loves reticulation. She's made a few sterling silver pieces now and she's managed to get some great, deep textures so she's been helping me film as we try out reticulation on brass, copper and silver crinkle sheet from Kernowcraft. How easy is it to add gemstones to reticulated metal? The crinkley, undulating textures of reticulation means soldering things onto it can be tricky. Reticulated metal can also be more porous so you may need more solder than normal."

Project: How To Make A Reticulated Ring Band

Kim shows you how she create a reticulated wrapped ring band with a gemstone in the centre.

Kim: "I've decided to make a reticulated, wrapped ring band... Cotter split pins have been used to hold my pieces in place while soldering. Some cotter split Pins are zinc plated which some people would not use as when zinc is heated, it can form toxic zinc oxide fumes. It has been known to cause flu like symptoms in welders and similar large heating applications. It is generally accepted due to the size of the pins it should not be an issue, especially if you are working in a ventilated area but if you are concerned you can buy stainless steel pins. You can also buy aluminium pins but I wouldn’t advise these due to the low melting temperature of aluminium. All of these cotter split pins are available from hardware stores and online."