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Re: Silver Or Nickel Keys?

Author: Chris P
Date: 2022-05-20 18:30

While nickel plate is harder, it's only applied thinly to around 3 microns whereas silver plate being a much softer metal is applied much thicker from around 10 to 25 microns or even more.

Nickel plate is often used as an undercoat for silver to be plated onto because of it being a nice flat and smooth surface compared to copper plate which is much rougher at the molecular level.

Although most platers will copper flash keywork and then plate silver plate directly onto copper instead of plating nickel over copper.

Nickel is also hard on cutting tools which is also why it's applied thinly. I've worked on some old Noblet alto clarinets where the nickel plate was ridiculously thick and it took a lot of doing to cut through it when doing keywork alterations.

Silver plate had become standard on all clarinets in the UK and Europe in the late '90s from entry level plastic models upwards due to higher rates of nickel allergies compared to silver.

Personally I prefer silver plate as it's far more tactile compared to slippery nickel plate, plus the fact it's much easier to maintain the shininess of silver plate whereas nickel plate will require more invasive machine polishing when it turns dull grey when it tarnishes.

I've seen chrome plated keywork on some clarinets and that looks really ugly by comparison to both nickel and silver plate. Chrome plate was used on Buffet bassoons (and some Fox bassoons) due to its slipperiness and I've even seen some Olds trumpets in chrome plate which look cheap as the finish is the same as bathroom fittings or metal coated plastic, although it will remain bright and shiny but with a blue tinge to it.

Unplated nickel silver keywork is good as keywork alterations can be done and there's no plating to have to be redone, although it does tarnish a dull yellowy/greeny colour. It does have the tactile feel of silver plate and doesn't stand up too well with players with low pH perspiration which is why plated keywork offers some protection of the base metal until it wears through.

Former oboe finisher
Howarth of London
1998 - 2010
The opinions I express are my own.

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