Working with metal (silver specifically)

[shooter27 116]

I have a pair of silver cufflinks in the shape of hockey players and the stick on one of them got bent somehow. I want to try to straighten it out but have no idea how to work/heat silver. Can I just hit the area with a heatgun and then straighten it? Do I have to do something more complicated? Any advice is appreciated.

[ambro 0]

Silver is pretty malleable, if it is a high quality silver you should be able to just bend it back fairly easily without heating. Just be very patient and go slowly (don't bend it completely back immediately, do it progressively), and you shouldn't have any problems.

If you're worried about breaking it off though (it might if it's a poor quality silver), I'd maybe try heating it just a little bit. But if you heat it, you obviously wouldn't be able to touch it with bare hands and any tool you use would leave a mark on the metal, almost certainly. Whether or not you heat it, make sure to just bend it with some kind of insulated glove (if heated) or something that won't leave a mark.