Quite often a customer will call with an existing emblem that their client had ordered long ago and now they want to duplicate it. The question always comes up – How can I tell which process was used to make it? With 40+ years of experience it’s pretty easy for us to look at an item and tell you how it was made – but here are some some quick tests / tips to help you narrow down the options: 

1. Try to bend it – This will help you narrow down the material.  If you can bend it (and it doesn’t snap) then it’s probably pewter.  It is definitely not zinc – zinc is very hard and would snap before it bends.  Brass and steel will bend – but difficult to do with bare hands.
2. Stick a magnet to it – try placing any magnet (a refrigerator magnet works well) to the item – if it sticks then it’s steel / iron.  Magnets will not stick to brass, aluminum, zinc or pewter. 
3. Look for a beveled edge.  If you examine the edge of the item – do the two “halves” come together with a slight bevel?  If so the piece was cast (if it’s a fairly prononuced bevel – then most likely zinc die cast – try the bending trick above to confirm).  Cast items need to come out of their mold when the metal cools.   If the edges were not beveled – then the piece would not eject from the mold easily.  If there is no beveled egde and there is a 90 degree angle between the face and the side of the item – it was probably die struck. 
4. Look for parting lines – again examine the edge of the piece.  Do you see a slight line where the mold came together?  These will often be removed in the finishing process – but look carefully and you may see it.  If the item has a cut out inside area (like the loop of a keyring or medallion) look in there. If you see a parting line – the piece was cast – not die struck.
5. Dig into the metal – this may seem a bit extreme – but if you’ve gotten to this point and you still need to do further tests – take a file or even a metal ruler or pair of scissors and try to push into the metal.  If you can push the edge of a ruler into the metal – it’s relatively soft and therefore probably pewter.  If you cut into the metal (going throught whatever plated finish may be on there – gold etc) and you find white metal – it could be zinc or pewter.  If you find yellow metal – it probably is brass. 

These tests are not fool proof – but they will help you narrow down the possibilities.  Of course – you could just send it to us and we’ll be happy to tell you how it was made!

This entry was posted on Saturday, February 10th, 2007 at 6:58 am and is filed under Design and Manufacturing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.