Pewter
Alloys · Common · Medieval
Tin with a little lead or antimony in it, soft enough to dent with a thumb, dull grey, and cheap enough that an ordinary household could own a shelf of it. It melts at the heat of a cooking fire, so a battered plate went back into the pot and came out a plate again. It also creeps: an old pewter tankard sags slowly under its own weight.
Identity
- Source
- Historical alloy: tin and lead
- Composition
- Tin 85-99%, Lead, Antimony, Copper
- Over time
- Formerly tin with as much as 40% lead in the cheapest grades; modern pewter is lead-free, tin with antimony, copper and sometimes bismuth or silver.
- Also known as
- Tin-lead alloy, Fine metal (archaic)
- Ores, before industry and since
- Cassiterite (Tin), Galena (Lead), Azurite (Copper), Chalcocite (Copper), Chalcopyrite (Copper), Copper (Copper), Malachite (Copper), Tetrahedrite (Copper)
- Ores of the industrial age
- Stannite (Tin), Anglesite (Lead), Cerussite (Lead), Pyromorphite (Lead), Bornite (Copper), Chrysocolla (Copper), Covellite (Copper), Cuprite (Copper), Enargite (Copper)
Physical Properties
- Appearance
- Dull silver-grey, soft matte finish, looks like tarnished silver
- Luster
- Metallic
- Density
- 10 g/cm³
- Melting point
- 225 °C
- Boiling point
- 1740 °C
- Lighter
- Beskar
- Denser
- Molybdenum
- Magnetism
- Non-magnetic
- Electrical conductivity
- Medium
Mechanical Properties
- Mohs hardness
- 1.5
- Softer
- Mercury
- Harder
- Aluminum
- Workability
- Easy
- Brittleness
- Moderate
- Malleability
- Very High
- Ductility
- Moderate
Chemical Properties
- Corrosion resistance
- Moderate
- Reactivity
- Low
Lore & Narrative
The London pewterers graded their alloy by law: fine metal for anything that touched food, trifle for holloware, ley for candlesticks and chamber pots. Every master struck his own touchmark into the piece, and the guild kept a plate of all the marks in its hall.
- Notable uses
- Tableware, mugs, religious objects, decorative items
- Forge uses
- Tableware, Religious objects, Decorative items
- Worldbuilding traits
- Common, Medieval, Toxic-lead, Accessible
Sources
- Pewter, Wikipedia
Browse the Metal Encyclopedia — MGS Toolbox