I have had laser welding done with .006 iron binding wire and is undetectable and blues well. (Note) all laser fills will be harder than the surrounding metal so you’ll need to be a little more careful when cutting through the welded lines.
Red gold work hardens rapidly. When you are melting for an ingot it is important to use a clean (dedicated) crucible to avoid contaminants. Sometimes air cooling will work for annealling.
You can paint the area to be engraved with a silver Sharpie marker and the art will transfer or you can use Tom White's white transfer solution. A note of caution using these on certain painted surfaces. Sometimes the paint will come off with the excess solution when you clean it off.
If you will give me an idea on the type and size buckle you are looking for I will check my stock to see what I have left. You might check phase.com/tikkakoski and open the buckle folder to view some of the ones I have made.
Thanks, Tom
Try Empire silver online for sterling cups and flatware. Also, Nelson and Nelson has a vast array of anything in sterling you could want.
Replacements.com is a huge source for silver as well.
If Rio Grande has 1/4 hard 24k you can roll it into a coil, heat it, and quench in water to soften it up. You might also consider a draw plate so you have the capability to reduce the diameter to different sizes.
Most manufacturers are forthcoming about the types of stainless they use in a particular firearm and will generally give you a Rockwell hardness as well. A telephone call is a good way
to avoid a potential catastrophe.