There is a commonly held misconception that pewter contains lead, new pewter supplied throughout Europe and North America should be lead free. We make our own pewter and lead free solders, so as far as possible we can select tin from a recycled source, on average 50% of our tin comes from recycled material and 100% of the copper is recycled metal.

Pewter is not suitable for outdoor use however the wall mount items can be coated with acrylic lacquers which will help protect the metal from the elements.

The Main Constituents of Modern Lead Free Pewter

Tin: Sn The major constituent of all pewters. Pure tin is soft which is why it needs to be mixed with other metals. Usually contains between 90 and 98% Antimony: Sb Improves the casting qualities and has a considerable hardening effect. Modern pewters generally contain between 0.5 and 8 % Copper: Cu Like antimony copper improves the casting qualities has a slight hardening effect and helps retain the antimony in the molten pewter, often present between 0.25 and 2.5%

Pewter is made by melting the tin in a cast iron melting pot, the calculated weight of copper is added to the molten tin, being heavier it sinks into the melt. Copper dissolves in molten tin at relatively low temperatures once dissolved the antimony is added, this dissolves easily without the melt going much above 400C.