Some time ago, I obtained a nice melchior jazzve made in the USSR (pictured). Unfortunately, researching online raised the concern that melchior alloy is actually unsafe for this sort of application, due to the nickel and zinc being toxic (one relevant thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/jewelers/comments/vau758/question_on_metals_melchior_vs_brass/) Maybe I am misunderstanding the toxic nature of melchior? It seems strange that the alloy is toxic given the widespread use in the USSR, but I guess the toxicity issue might have been unknown.
I have not used the jazzve due to the concern, but I wanted to check here in case anyone has better information before permanently relegating it to a display piece, which would be a shame.
CrazedZombie on
u/BzhizhkMard shot in the dark but any chance you would know?
[deleted] on
[deleted]
indomnus on
It’s fine, I’ve had multiple over the years. I’m not dead yet.
4 Comments
Some time ago, I obtained a nice melchior jazzve made in the USSR (pictured). Unfortunately, researching online raised the concern that melchior alloy is actually unsafe for this sort of application, due to the nickel and zinc being toxic (one relevant thread: https://www.reddit.com/r/jewelers/comments/vau758/question_on_metals_melchior_vs_brass/) Maybe I am misunderstanding the toxic nature of melchior? It seems strange that the alloy is toxic given the widespread use in the USSR, but I guess the toxicity issue might have been unknown.
I have not used the jazzve due to the concern, but I wanted to check here in case anyone has better information before permanently relegating it to a display piece, which would be a shame.
u/BzhizhkMard shot in the dark but any chance you would know?
[deleted]
It’s fine, I’ve had multiple over the years. I’m not dead yet.