Thursday, March 18, 2010

Thursday's Shuttle


Copper Shuttle


There were some very valid questions about tarnishing when I listed my last copper shuttle. I found it ever so amusing that there was so much more concern about the copper tarnishing as opposed to the silver tarnishing. Regardless I will address these concerns in this post.

A LOT of hand work goes into each and every shuttle. My precious metal shuttles are finished with a protective polish.
With proper use and storage and an occasional polish on the owners part you can keep your shuttle as shiny as the day you bought it. This includes both copper and silver.

When I say "proper use and storage" I mean that in order to get your shuttle to the point of "tarnish concern" that people have raised you would need to leave your shuttle in the garden for a couple of years.

...now say some people like that copper patina... would that effect thread? Probably, but I think that you could easily put an acrylic coat over the copper to remedy that issue. I am doing some experimenting in that particular area...but it will take a lot of time before I can answer those questions.

I will be away from my computer this weekend so please forgive me if I don't answer emails and questions until early next week.


....OH and P.S
Since I will be away this weekend, I will draw the winner for the Monday MONDO giveaway on Tues 23rd.


Cheers,

7 comments:

Tatskool said...

Very pretty, very tiny.
What did Blathnaid do on St Patrick's day?? The lads are dying to know.

LadyShuttleMaker aka MadMadPotter said...

~Tatskool,
Oh you will find out soon enough!!!!

Tatskool said...

Oooooerr!

Jill said...

As a jewelry maker who uses sterling, I can tell you the best way to keep your silver items tarnish free is to use them! Wear the jewelry or use the shuttle, it's that easy! You can also find paper that has been saturated with anti-tarnish chemicals if you must store something, just slip a piece in a plastic bag with the shuttle (or jewelry) works every time :)

Gorgeous gorgeous work too! I'd love to work with PMC someday, must wait for a kiln :)

Jeff Hamilton said...

I found it kinda funny that no one commented on the silver tarnishing as well. Moisture is a bit part of tarnishing. So keeping the shuttles dry would delay tarnishing. You can buy special anti-tarnish paper and tabs that the shuttles can be stored with and would help prevent both silver and copper from tarnishing. Either of these aren't that expensive so a small piece of the paper or a tab could be included with each shuttle. BTW, the copper shuttle I bought still looks new.

Bonnie said...

Your new shuttles are lovely and this new copper one is definately a winner.

I hope your off doing something fun and exciting this weekend. ENJOY.

Unknown said...

What a pretty little shuttle!