How Much Silver is in a Sterling Knife?

A blog reader recently emailed us some questions about sterling knives that we can't answer. His basic question was, "How can you determine how much silver is actually in a sterling knife?" Here are the two basic problems we all face in trying to address this question:

• Knife blades almost always are NOT sterling (in modern times, there are made of stainless steel)
• Knife handles are filled with a cement of some type to hold the blade to the handle

Without taking the knife apart, it's difficult to determine the weight of actual silver content.

This reader thought that there might be some reference sources that could help determine silver content for different patterns and manufacturers.

We would really like to hear from readers knowledgeable about this subject.

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