Oudeis he/him Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) What's a good way to find the eight basic metals in real life? Allomantic purity not important. Iron - Anything "cast iron" or "wrought iron", possibly under a protective layer. Steel - Paperclips, screws, nuts, bolts, the world is basically made out of steel. Congratulations, we live in Newcago. Tin - Solder seems to be your best bet. Pewter - Metal action figures Zinc - The core of some pennies Brass - Keys Copper - The outside at least of most pennies Bronze - Several instruments, such as cymbals or the outer layer of some piano/guitar strings. It turns out that most keys are made of at least a kind of brass. I feel like I heard once that paperclips used to be steel. Is that right, does anyone know? (Update: Preliminary research suggests the answer is yes) Is tin foil actually tin? Are pennies really still copper? Is there a way to tell if a "wrought iron" fence is actually iron? Does wrought iron mean some sort of alloy or is it just, as I have always believed, a way of saying how the iron was sculpted into its shape. What are items a person in America would have easy access to that contain the eight basic Allomantic metals? Edited June 13, 2015 by Oudeis 2
Guest Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 Wrought iron is probably as close to pure iron as you'll find on a daily basis. It has almost no carbon, but around 2% slag (contaminants basically). Fridge magnets (the weak ones) would be another good source of pure(ish) iron
Guest Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 Steel: practically everywhere. The iPhone 5c has a stainless steel frame underneath the plastic backing, for example. Most screws/nuts/bolts are steel, sometimes with a coating to slow rusting. Almost all body piercing jewellery is stainless steel, unless you purposely pay extra for a different metal. Tin: I know church organs used to be made of Tin, don't know if they still are. Tin foil is actually Aluminium I think, and tin cans are steel. Pewter: metal action figures is probably the most obvious. Zinc: pennies manufactured after some point in the 80s(?) have a Zinc core with a Copper coating. At some point the price of copper got high enough that the copper in a penny was worth more than the penny itself. I *think* this recently happened with zinc as well, so pennies from the last 5-10 years might not have a zinc core. Brass: keys, as mentioned, as well as brass bells. Copper: domestic water pipes. Pennies (on the outside at least). The parliament buildings in Canada are roofed with Copper. Bronze: No clue
Oudeis he/him Posted June 13, 2015 Author Posted June 13, 2015 OP updated with the definites. A wrought iron fence I pass will be coated with something, yes? If an allomancer wanted to flake it for the metallic properties, she'd have to peel off the outer layer and then scrape, yes? Which would allow rust in to eventually ruin the whole fence. I would like to hear a better option for zinc, if I can find one.
Kaymyth she/her Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 "Tin" foil is actually aluminum these days. Originally, I think it actually was tin (hence the name), but then Hall-Heroult was cracked and aluminum got cheap.
ecohansen Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 For bronze, there's always gnawing on a sculpture. For tin, there's solder. For zinc, there's galvanc zinc plating. I'm sure you've heard the well-publicised story of the Catholic monastary that supported itself by making galvanized animal figurines. Monks who adhered well to monastic discipline and never broke their vows of silence got to galvanize noble animals like lions and eagles. "Loose lips", however, zinc sheeps. Thanks. I'll be here all week, folks. 6
Guest Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 galvanc zinc plating Thank you! I knew there was something common it was used for! Most chain-link fencing is coated in zinc to prolong it's life! It's practically everywhere! (Not sure what purity it is, but it's not an alloy)
Unhinged he/him Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 (edited) I've seen several cheep Bronze vases and statues for sale in an antique shop (this was a few years ago though) if you want any metals you could just go to a local scrapyard and ask. They probably have access to at least steel, iron and copper and I imagine that they could get you any of the base metals. Also not one of the base metals but I've seen Duralumin, Chromium and Cadmium used in jewelry and I imagine you could find any of the metals online. Edited June 13, 2015 by Unhinged
ccstat he/him Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 "Loose lips", however, zinc sheeps. :lol: <---my uncharacteristic use of smileys should indicate how much I love this. Tin: as mentioned above, solder is your best bet here. Apparently, though, a very thin coating of tin is (usually galvanically) applied to the steel in "tin cans" to prevent corrosion, so you could potentially get some there. On the other hand, I grew up in New Mexico where all of the shops in the historic district had tin-punch lanterns and other tin artwork, so depending on where you live and the local decor, there may be more around than you think. Iron: wrought iron is a good option, and cast iron skillets, etc. could also work. Historically, "iron" doesn't actually mean the pure metal, since the process to isolate it left impurities. How that relates to allomantic properties I don't know, but I suspect the "regular" iron (including both cast and wrought iron) is good enough. Technically, wrought iron is more pure than cast iron, but the modern use of "wrought iron" often refers to the look of the thing rather than the metal itself, and many things called wrought iron are actually mild steel. Other than paint (if any), a wrought iron fence shouldn't have any additional coating except maybe the galvanic zinc already mentioned. In contrast to tin, a zinc layer does not need to be unbroken to protect from rust, so if you scrape off flakes you wouldn't be damaging it any more than you already planned on. Bronze: The windings on strings for pianos and acoustic guitars are usually bronze (the center is steel). Cymbals are bronze. And if you just happen to need allomancy when you are in one of those parks with war memorials or visiting another historic site, cannons made before 1850 were usually bronze. Just don't let the tour guide see you. 2
Oudeis he/him Posted June 13, 2015 Author Posted June 13, 2015 you wouldn't be damaging it any more than you already planned on. I love this qualifier.
Guest Posted June 13, 2015 Posted June 13, 2015 Bronze: And if you just happen to need allomancy when you are in one of those parks with war memorials or visiting another historic site, cannons made before 1850 were usually bronze. Just don't let the tour guide see you. When I read this, I pictured a tour guide walking up and asking "ummm... sir? Why are you licking that cannon?"
kinxer he/him Posted June 17, 2015 Posted June 17, 2015 So, my first response is a cheat: Amazon. Seriously. They have pure metals, too. Aaaanyway... Cadmium can be found in batteries. Extracting it would probably be hazardous, though. Copper is in wiring. You can stop by Lowe's or Home Depot or whatever to grab some. Also, other electrical things. Gold can obviously be found in jewelry, though (despite the OP) I feel it's necessary to say that most gold jewelry is less than 75% gold. One could also very meticulously and slowly get gold from electrical connectors in devices.
Kaymyth she/her Posted June 18, 2015 Posted June 18, 2015 Venturing outside the realm of "real" metals, and into getting ahold of shavings that look real enough for cosplay purposes, you could get some of the metal shavings from the key cutting machine at the local hardware store.
InstantWalrus Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 So, my first response is a cheat: Amazon. Seriously. They have pure metals, too. Aaaanyway... Cadmium can be found in batteries. Extracting it would probably be hazardous, though. Copper is in wiring. You can stop by Lowe's or Home Depot or whatever to grab some. Also, other electrical things. Gold can obviously be found in jewelry, though (despite the OP) I feel it's necessary to say that most gold jewelry is less than 75% gold. One could also very meticulously and slowly get gold from electrical connectors in devices. yeah i was going to say ebay... pewter: if you like wasting money old warhammer figures copper: deffinately copper wire either from cables or just from your local hardware shop zinc: i wonder if those dissolvable zinc tablets (like the calcium ones) would have enough to be usefull allomantically woul at least be a lot easier to eat than a bead iron: probably the hardest, id say iron filings from the local schools science labs... you usually get those boxes with the perspex tops full of iron filings that are used to demonstrate magnetic fields of magnets steel: bloody everything... gold: in a pinch youll find some in your mobile phone brass: doorknobs? brass knuckles if you can find actual brass ones would have a nice double purpose. Brass buttons used to be a thing, but its mostly plastic now
Titan Arum Posted June 19, 2015 Posted June 19, 2015 Anything galvanized has a zinc coating. For example heating ducts, street lamps, corrugated metal roofs. In fact, in most developing countries, when you see a metal corrugated roof, it's Zinc. Also, alkaline batteries have a zinc coating.
Oudeis he/him Posted June 23, 2015 Author Posted June 23, 2015 (edited) Ha, no, it's just for a costume. I sometimes mime drinking the vial but I would never really do so. EDIT: Check out the cosplay Gallery if you wanna see the end results. Edited June 23, 2015 by Oudeis
skaa he/him Posted June 23, 2015 Posted June 23, 2015 If you want to impress people more by actually drinking visible metal, I highly suggest putting a shot of Goldschläger in a vial. It contains real gold, and drinking enough of it has a good chance of making you feel like you've just finished Allomantically burning gold. 1
Oudeis he/him Posted June 24, 2015 Author Posted June 24, 2015 Also, Sanderson says the sensation of doing allomancy, any allomancy, is a warmth in your chest as though you've just had an alcoholic or just a very warm drink. As I think about it, metal vials are solutions of alcohol. So maybe it's really just that Mistborn are drunk all the time. 3
Colours Posted July 2, 2015 Posted July 2, 2015 I recommend getting some silver dragees to be your atium. You can actually eat them (no matter what the FDA tells you; we eat them all the time here in not-USA), which is the best part. There are also gold and silver sprinkles. They'll dissolve if you put them in water or ethanol, so you might want to saturate the liquid for your vial with regular sugar before adding the sprinkles. Hooray for drinkable vials! 1
Szeth-Son-Neturo Posted November 16, 2016 Posted November 16, 2016 On July 2, 2015 at 5:32 AM, Colours said: I recommend getting some silver dragees to be your atium. There are also gold and silver sprinkles. Before I read this chain, I had tried to make drinkable vials. I did this by taking a small plastic vial used for bubbles, putting it in a dishwasher, and filling it with sprinkles I'd discovered we had when frosting cupcakes. I also had the idea to use silver dragees when I noticed we also had those, and the first thing that came to mind was atium. I did a search to see if anyone had also thought of this, and they had. Yay for vials that won't kill you if you drink them!!
Kingsdaughter613 she/her Posted November 17, 2016 Posted November 17, 2016 On 6/17/2015 at 6:38 PM, kinxer said: Gold can obviously be found in jewelry, though (despite the OP) I feel it's necessary to say that most gold jewelry is less than 75% gold. One could also very meticulously and slowly get gold from electrical connectors in devices. 24 karat gold jewelry is basically pure gold. I doubt it'd be used for burning though. The personal insight isn't worth losing your jewelry.
JUQ he/him Posted November 20, 2016 Posted November 20, 2016 On 7/3/2015 at 0:32 AM, Colours said: or ethanol Umm, I don't recommend making drinkable vials with ethanol. At least not if you aren't an alcoholic.
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