Why Would We Plate Beautiful Orchid Knobs with Nickel?

Our cabinet knobs are cast either in silicon bronze or 316 stainless steel and viewers will know that both are exceptionally durable rust resistant and quite beautiful alloys so why then would we opt to have an order of orchid knobs nickel plated?

Nickel is a metallic element and is one of the elements present in 316 stainless steel. Nickel has a silvery white appearance that is not dissimilar to stainless steel and when both are finished to a brushed satin luster the visual difference is minimal. Why then would we choose to nickel plate a bronze cabinet knob rather than cast it 316 stainless steel? The answer lies in the hardness of 316 steel which makes it a much more difficult alloy to machine and polish and in the subtle difference in appearance of nickel versus stainless steel.

The custom orchid cabinet pulls that have been described in earlier posts were cast in bronze which being a softer more malleable alloy allowed the nooks and crevices of these detailed pieces to be buffed and brushed to remove scratches and imperfections. If the pieces had been cast in 316 stainless steel the hardness of the steel would have made this process far more labor intensive. As the orchids are being installed in a room with several nickel fixtures, we opted to nickel plated so that the pieces would blend well.

F & H Plating is a valuable Los Angeles source and one well known in the interior design and jewelry industries for their gold, silver, nickel, and copper plating. Ron, the founder of F & H is a knowledgeable mine of information on plating techniques and his site describes the electroplating process. We were seeking a satin finish for our orchid pulls, so we buffed and refined the castings to give them a soft sheen. F & H then chemically cleaned the bronze orchids to remove any contaminants, gently re-buffed them back to their satin luster and dipped them in nickel solution which when electrically charged caused the nickel content to bond with the surface of the bronze. Once dried the pieces were very gently buffed to the desired luster and ready to install

Nickel electroplating is a useful process if you have a metal that is prone to rust as even a thin layer of nickel will improve the rust resistance of the base metal.

First in a series: Add a touch of aloha to your home or business with custom hardware

When Debbie Zylstra of Zylstra Interior Design Inc. in Kona, Hawaii approached us about designing custom hardware for a project in Hawaii we jumped at the chance to celebrate and honor the culture of Hawaii and other Polynesian Islands.  As a result of this collaboration our Hawaiian Series of bespoke door and drawer hardware was born; all reflecting our keen respect for these native inhabitants. Pieces in this new collection range from very grand stylized iguana pulls to beautiful and elegant orchid pulls as well as a very unique stylized representation of the Laysan Finch, named for its home habitat, the northern Hawaiian island, Laysan Island.  Yes, there is more to Hawaii than the four popular vacation destinations we are all familiar with.

This Hawaiian bird pull, along with a two-headed companion piece, are cast in solid bronze using the lost wax method.  As we have mentioned before on this blog, the lost wax method allows us to capture great detail in the casting process.

You can view all of the pieces from our new Hawaiian Collection as well as the rest of our custom hardware collection at www.martinpierce.com.

What's new at Martin Pierce Custom Hardware

New product inspiration comes from the darndest places!  We began working on this exquisite orchid pull for a project in Hawaii.  However, that project has taken a turn and we are now designing hardware with a more tribal folk Hawaiian design for them.  But we loved the look of this new orchid pull so much that we have decided to add it to our line.  May we introduce you to our new Orchid Pull (or at least the drawings for this pull)

As always, I think the drawings are as beautiful as the actual hardware! 

Martin has jsut begun carving the mold for this piece.  He has been experimenting with a high density foam similar to the foam used in set decoration as an alternative to wood or wax.  It has the advantage of being quick to carve and, unlike wood, has no grain.  This results in a very smooth pattern.  That being said, like many things it is not perfect as it does not always work well with pieces that have deeper detail; for these pieces we use a dense wood or blue jeweler's wax.  We will continue to experiment and keep you updated on how we like this product. 

For more information on this latest addition to our bespoke hardware collection or to view  our complete line of custom hardware and get the latest news on what is happening at Martin Pierce, please visit us at www.martinpierce.com