Meriel's Napkin Holder

Some time ago, I had a customer come in to have a replica made of a Gorham silver napkin holder. The piece was a hit, so much so that, the customer came in to have another one made. Here is what happened.

This is a picture of the napkin holder that is to be replicated. It is almost identical to the napkin holder previously reproduced, only instead of having one initial, there is an entire name engraved on the front. The new piece will have "MERIEL" engraved on the front.

A piece of copper wire is used to measure length of the piece.

The wire is wrapped to fit the shape of the existing napkin holder.

The excess wire is cut off leaving a piece of wire that is the same length as the napkin holder.

The copper wire is then flattened out using a rawhide mallet.

The flattened out wire is now used to measure out the piece of silver that will be used to make the napkin holder. This piece of silver is too short but because it is quite a bit thicker than the napkin holder it can be rolled out to the correct length.

A jeweler's saw is used to cut the piece of silver to the appropriate width.

When the cut piece of silver is held up next to the existing napkin holder the differences in thickness become more apparent.

The cut piece is an 18 gauge piece of sheet.

The silver that makes up the existing napkin holder has a thickness of 20 gauge. For sheet silver, the smaller the gauge number, the thicker the metal is.

The piece of silver sheet is rolled through a steel rolling mill which smooshes the metal like clay until it is the correct thickness and length.

A flat file is then used to ensure that the edges are straight and true.

The rolling process leaves the metal stiff and springy. Here the piece of silver is being annealed with a torch to make it soft enough to shape into the napkin holder.

To create the curves of the piece, the silver is formed around a steel mandrel.

Now that the piece is formed it's time to solder the joint together. Steel wire is used to tie the piece together, this will keep the metal from warping during the soldering process.

A large and wide flame is used to ensure even heat through out the whole piece.

This is a close up of the seam that is being soldered. The small chips are silver solder, they melt at a lower temperature than sterling silver and flow into the seam once the piece reaches a high enough temperature.

Pretty close match. The new piece has just been removed from an acid bath called "pickle" which removes any oxides or residues left over from the soldering process.

The piece is hammered on a steel mandrel to get just the right curve.

It is also hammered on a flat steel stake to flatten out the flat areas. To protect the silver, which is much softer than steel, from dings, a rawhide mallet along along with a piece of leather is used.

The piece on the right is the new napkin holder. It is slightly taller than the original and needs to be brought down just a bit.

A file is used to cut the piece down to just the right height.

The piece is then pushed around on piece of sandpaper that is sitting on a flat surface. This action smooths out the edges of the napkin holder.

The lines on the pieces are excess solder which needs to be removed.

A rubber wheel, which is impregnated with abrasive material, is used to grind off the extra solder.

Here the inside of the piece is being polished with a ring buff.

Finally the whole piece is gone over with a high polish buff.

Pretty close match :) Unfortunately the piece was delivered before final pictures could be taken. The final piece has "MERIEL" rather than Mark engraved on the front. Thankfully, the piece was completed just in time to be out on the table for Thanksgiving dinner.