# how much do you think it weighs.



## chaseonbase (Jun 29, 2013)

Not having any prior experience. I found a guy selling a candle bra for 50 dollars at my local flea market. The item clearly says sterling on the bottom. I weighed the item and it weighs 1.48 lbs. I do know these items are cement filled. So the question I have is does anyone have any prior experience working with these and do you have any idea "about" how much actual cement would be in these kind of piece's? With the weight being around 671 grams im assuming to break even I would need to count on atleast 75 to 76ish grams to be pure. So whada think? Go snag it up? Or ignore?


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## AndyWilliams (Jun 29, 2013)

chaseonbase said:


> Go snag it up? Or ignore?



Personally, I hate when my candle bras are snagged!! 

I need a pic to give an estimate. Can you get one?


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## Palladium (Jun 29, 2013)

Read through this thread. :arrow: http://goldrefiningforum.com/~goldrefi/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=8258


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## chaseonbase (Jun 29, 2013)

A pic is gonna be a little difficult since I dont quite own it yet, but I think im gonna roll the dice on this one and give it a shot. Atleast I will have my first refining victim :lol: even if it dont work out dollar wise. Thank you palladium that gives me an around about ball park figure.


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## Ian_B (Jul 3, 2013)

A lot of factors to consider... 
what exactly does it say on the bottom other then Sterling? (company name) 
is it a 5 candle holder or a 3?
Are the arms that come off of the center very soft and bend easy? (possibly meaning hollow sterling silver tube)
or are they very small and very tough to bend at all? (sterling silver foil over iron/other metal)
or are the arms coming off of the center not tubes at all?
If you try to poke the silver with your nail or finger does it feel thin? as in does it make an indentation with your nail or does it feel solid?
Do the tops that hold the candles come out of the candelabra?

from the limited experience that I have had with weighted large candelabras if he wants $50 and it was for 5 candles I would do $50 but try to get him down to $40 to cover yourself just in case

A picture is worth a thousand words.... tell the current owner you want to take a picture to compare it to something you have at home?


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## goldsilverpro (Jul 4, 2013)

Sterling knife handles are essentially holloware. Although there could be great variations in foil thickness, I would guess the silver value of the sterling foil on a knife would average about $1-$2 per square inch, at a $19 market. If the sterling on a holloware object is about the same thickness as that on a knife handle (a big IF), you might measure and estimate the surface area and use those numbers as a very loose guide. Since there are several different types of material used to fill the inside, you can't go by the weight of that. The only way to really know is to remove all the foil and weigh it or, better still, refine the silver foil.

In thinking more about this, since the sterling on a candlestick is not subject to as much wear as that on a knife handle, it might be thinner. They also may use different thicknesses on the same piece (e.g., the bottom always seems quite thin).

It would be interesting if someone that recovers silver from holloware would determine the weight per square inch of a few foil samples and post the results.


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## mikeinkaty (Jul 11, 2013)

I did two candle holders. 5 candles each(matched pair). The tubes were filled with solid iron. If I remember right the sterling, after cleanup, weighed 25% of the original weight. Also, the sterling was an unusual alloy, at least different from the sterling I was used to processing. The sterling was pretty thin. I wasn't griping though because I got each one for $5. 

Mike


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