Metal leaf Metal leaf A metal leaf, also called composition leaf or schlagmetal, is a thin foil used for decoration. Metal leaves can come in many different shades. Some metal leaves may look like gold leaf but does not contain any real gold. This type of metal leaf is often referred to as imitation leaf. Metal leaves are usually made of gold (including many alloys), silver, copper, aluminium, brass (sometimes called "Dutch metal" typically 85% Copper and 15% zinc) or palladium, sometimes also platinum. Vark is a type of silver leaf used for decoration in Indian cuisine. Goldbeating, the technique of producing
Brass bell of metal. The use of metal also avoids the risks of exposing wooden instruments to changes in temperature or humidity, which can cause sudden cracking. Even though the saxophones and sarrusaphones are classified as woodwind instruments, they are normally made of brass for similar reasons, and because their wide, conical bores and thin-walled bodies are more easily and efficiently made by forming sheet metal than by machining wood. The keywork of most modern woodwinds, including wooden-bodied instruments, is also usually made of an alloy such as Nickel Silver/German Silver. Such alloys are stiffer and more durable than the brass