Thanks for the suggestion! It's not so much jewelry that I want to make, actually; my planned use is more like Jane's. I had a request from a friend about how difficult it would be to make a decorative knife out of silver. It doesn't need to be sharpened or hardened -- strictly decorative. I know silver melts at a relatively low temperature (versus, say, steel) and I can likely get it hot enough using either a simple paint-can forge or just a MAPP torch. The plan is to use sterling silver recovered from goodwill stores and the like to build up a stockpile of raw material, then melt it down and cast it into the rough shape before grinding and polishing to the final form. As I understand it, I can carve the pattern out of wood and then use something like Delft clay to make the mold. I also know I'm going to mess up the first few times, and that's OK -- making mistakes is how I learn things. However, if someone local is going to be doing any casting, it would be immensely helpful to actually watch someone go through the process in person.