Uniformity Throughout the Years - NOT!

We've been in the sterling flatware business long enough to notice an annoying problem. Pieces made by the same manufacturer may not be uniform in size and weight over the years.

Here's a specific example. In the picture below is an oval soup spoon in one of our new favorite patterns, Old Maryland Engraved by Kirk-Steiff. We have two sets of this specific piece currently in our inventory that we obtained from different sources. The spoons are 6 5/8 inches long.

At first glance, the two sets appear identical. They both have the hallmark, "S. Kirk & Son Sterling". Upon closer inspection, it becomes obvious that they are not identical. The spoons in one set weigh about 36 grams each while the spoons in the other set each weigh about 48 grams, or 33% heavier than the lighter spoons! The handle of the lighter spoons appears thinner than the handle of the heavier spoons.

So, if you owned some spoons like this already and you later added to your set, you might not have identical spoons. Are your guests going to notice this? Probably not, but it is annoying that you can't depend upon uniformity even within the same piece in the same pattern.

We're guessing that the corporate buyouts of the Kirk name over the years have led to the slimming down of the pieces - to save money, thereby making a greater profit. We love this pattern and we hate to see discrepancies like this.

So, the moral of this story is - if you are trying to match existing pieces and you are a stickler for exact matches, consult with your selling sources so you understand the details about your potential purchase. Check all dimensions and the weight.

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "Email Silver Jim" in the right column.

Do Newer Flatware Pieces Contain Less Silver?

Let's assume we're talking about sterling pieces. All sterling pieces contain 92.5% pure silver so, ounce for ounce, newer pieces contain the same amount of silver as older pieces. The key phrase here is "ounce for ounce". Manufacturers have been known to manufacture similar pieces with different weights over the years. So, for example, if a fork manufactured in 1940 weighs 60 grams and the same fork in the same pattern manufactured in 1990 weighs 55 grams, the newer fork will have less silver content simply because it has less overall weight than the older piece.

When comparing pieces, you should:

• Make sure the two pieces are the same (not luncheon fork versus dinner fork, for example)
• Weigh them, preferably using grams as the unit of measure
• Assume the heavier piece has more silver

There is one caveat - it's difficult to compare knives and other pieces with non-sterling components.

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "Email Silver Jim" in the right column.

Luncheon, Place & Dinner Size - What's the Difference?

We hear variations of this question a lot. We've talked about the differences in sizes before. In the margin on the right of the screen, click on "Forks", "Knives" and "Place Size" to see what we've already said. Since we still receive questions, we thought we would summarize again here.

Many sterling flatware patterns offer at least three different sizes of forks and knives. Some also offer different sizes of salad forks and soup spoons. The size groups are called, moving from shortest to longest:

• Luncheon
• Place
• Dinner

The dinner size traditionally has been used for more formal dinners. Dinner forks typically range between 7.5 inches and 8 inches. Dinner knives range between 9.5 and 10 inches. Luncheon pieces typically have been used for meals other than formal dinners. A luncheon knife generally is 9 inches or shorter. A luncheon fork generally is 7 inches or shorter.

Some sterling flatware manufacturers started producing the "place" size as a compromise. Silver prices began to soar and it was too expensive for many homes to own more than one length of forks and knives. So, the place pieces served for luncheon or dinner. A place fork often is around 7.5 inches long and a place knife is often about 9.25 inches long. Gorham marks its place pieces with a "P" inside a tiny diamond shape.

It can be a bit confusing because some place pieces and dinner pieces are the same length in a given pattern. For example, in Gorham's Chantilly and Buttercup patterns, the dinner fork and place fork are both 7.5 inches long. When you examine the pieces closely in these patterns, you realize that the dinner fork is a tiny bit wider and somewhat heavier than the place fork.

There is another size, "continental", that is even larger than the dinner size. You see this sometimes in Europe but not often in the United States.

Today, size has become less important. All sizes are used for all purposes by many people. The choice is really up to you.

By clicking on "Comments/Questions" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions and comments. Or, you can send us an email by clicking on "View My Complete Profile" in the right column.

Mystery Piece Number 1

We're adding a new feature to the blog with this post. We're calling this series, Mystery Piece.

This series was suggested by an email from a visitor to this blog. The purpose is to help blog visitors identify sterling silver flatware patterns and specific pieces within patterns. We'll depend upon posted comments or emails from other visitors to help with identification.

The first mystery is a Gorham Chantilly fork and was submitted by a visitor on November 11, 2008. The picture below illustrates two forks. The fork on bottom is what we normally consider a luncheon size. It is 7 inches long and is 7/8 inch wide at the base of the tines. The handle at its widest point near the tip is 7/8 inch wide.

The fork on top in the picture is the mystery. It is 6 7/8 inches long and is 15/16 inch wide at the base of the tines. The handle at the widest point near the tip is 13/16 inch wide.

So when compared to the standard luncheon fork, the mystery fork is slightly shorter and slightly narrower at the handle tip, but it is slightly wider at the base of the tines! The mystery fork has the old Gorham hallmarks and it has the original retailer die stamp, J. C. Grogan. So, it must be very old.

Does anyone out there know what the proper nomenclature for this fork is? Or, perhaps, did Gorham make luncheon forks slightly differently one hundred years ago?

If you have any ideas, you have two ways to respond.

1. You can add a comment by clicking on "Comments" below this post. After review by the blog moderator, it will be posted to the blog.
2. You can send an email to the moderator by clicking on View My Complete Profile in the column on the right. You will then see an "Email" link. The moderator will summarize your information and add a comment to the blog.

Tell us what you think! If you have your own mystery piece, send us one or more clear photographs via email and describe it. We'll post it soon afterward.

Click on any picture to see a larger version. By clicking on "Comments" below, you can see posted comments and add your own questions/comments.