Buyer's Guide

Buying cutlery is usually a long term commitment - you expect to be using it for many years to come, so you want to make sure at the outset that you are buying what's right for you. But there is a wide choice of materials, designs and prices, so how do you choose what will best suit your lifestyle and budget? We hope the information presented here will help you to make an informed decision. Click on a section below, or just scroll down to browse them all.

    Stainless steel cutlery

    Introducing silver

    Silver plated cutlery

    Sterling silver cutlery

    Choosing the right design

    How Sheffield cutlery is made

    Price guide

Stainless steel cutlery is made from an alloy of iron and other metals. The steel alloy comes in two main varieties which are known as 18/0 and 18/10. The 18 refers to the percentage of chromium in the alloy. It is the chromium content which gives stainless steel its resistance to corrosion and staining. The addition of 10% nickel enhances these qualities, gives added strength and durability to the alloy and improves the shine and lustre when it is polished.

A lot of imported cutlery is made from 18/0 stainless steel. Its main advantage is that it is usually much cheaper than 18/10 stainless steel cutlery. The main disadvantages are that it is not as strong and has a duller shine. If you want the cheapest cutlery for everyday use, 18/0 could be right for you. If you want something a bit more elegant, or for special occasions, without breaking the bank, then 18/10 stainless steel cutlery is probably the right choice.

Silversure stainless steel cutlery is made in Sheffield from 18/10 stainless steel.

Many people choose 18/10 stainless steel for daily use and silver plated for best. In the next section, we take a look at the properties of silver before moving on to the differences between silver plate and sterling silver cutlery.

Silver is a relatively inert metal and does not react with most foods, which makes it naturally resistant to staining and corrosion and eminently suitable for cutlery. Because it is a soft metal, it is not suitable for knife blades, as it cannot sustain a sharp cutting edge. So if you buy silver plated or sterling silver cutlery, the knife blades will be made out of the same high grade stainless steel that is used to make the blades of stainless steel cutlery. (See How Sheffield cutlery is made below.)

Most silver is prone to tarnish over time. Tarnish is caused by a chemical reaction between the silver and sulphur compounds which are found in air and in some foodstuffs such as eggs. Sulphur molecules react with surface molecules of the silver to form a substance called silver sulphide, which gradually darkens the surface of the silver. It can be removed using silver polish, foam or dip and this is typically required 2 - 3 times a year. For heavily patterned cutlery designs, it is sometimes difficult to polish in all the little crevices, so silver dip is more appropriate.

When you use silver polish, foam or dip to remove tarnish, tiny amounts of silver are being removed from the surface, so, especially for silver plated cutlery, you may prefer to use an electrochemical method which converts the tarnish back into silver. This method uses warm water, baking soda and aluminium foil as described in this very useful article.

Silver's popularity as a material for cutlery stems mainly from its look and feel. It looks elegant on the table and has a softer, more pleasing shine than polished stainless steel. It is more pleasing to handle too and over time develops a characteristic patina which further enhances its appearance. The patina develops because silver is a relatively soft metal and repeated handling causes tiny scuffs and scratches which scatter the light in different directions, softening the shine. In the next two sections we will look at the differences between silver plated and sterling silver cutlery.

The base metal in silver plated cutlery is called nickel silver. In fact, there is no silver in it - it is an alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. Towards the end of the production process, the cutlery pieces are suspended in a vat of silver solution through which an electric current is running. Molecules of the silver are slowly attracted to the cutlery and stick to it. This process is called electroplating and silver plated articles are often referred to as EPNS - ElectroPlated Nickel Silver.

The thickness of the silver plating depends on how long the items are left suspended in the vat and is measured in microns. A micron is one thousandth of a millimetre (one millionth of a metre). It takes about half an hour for 1 micron to be deposited. The silver plating will wear away over time because tiny bits are dislodged during handling and polishing. According to CATRA, an independent cutlery research organisation, each micron's thickness of silver should last about one year of normal use. Typically, silver plated cutlery is sold in thicknesses of 10 - 40 microns.

Silversure silver plated cutlery is made in Sheffield from nickel silver plated to 40 microns.

Sterling silver is sometimes referred to as solid silver, although in fact it is not pure silver. Pure silver is not hard enough to provide the strength and resilience required for use as cutlery. Many years ago it was discovered that adding 7.5% copper resulted in a silver alloy with the right properties of strength, maleability and appearance to ideally suit it to the production of silverware articles. Since then, that proportion of silver to base metal has been enshrined in law as the Sterling standard.

Any article sold as sterling silver must by law be tested by an independent Assay Office to ensure it contains at least 925 parts silver to every 1000 parts (or to put it in more common terms, at least 92.5% silver). To do the test, they take minute shavings which are analysed chemically. If an article fails, it must be destroyed. If it passes, it is marked with a hallmark like this one: The hallmark is applied either by stamping with a metal die or engraving with a laser machine. The lion is the original mark of sterling quality and has been joined more recently by the the 925 oval which is the international symbol. The rose is the mark of the Sheffield Assay Office. There are also Assay Offices in London, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The date mark indicates the year of assay and has been a different letter/typeface/surround combination every year since 1478. Although it used to be required, the date mark is now optional, however it is generally still included. If you are interested in this sort of thing, or want to date a piece of silver, there are excellent resources available here and here. [PDF]

The Sheffield cutlery manufacturers do not carry stocks of sterling silver cutlery, but manufacture it to order. There are two main reasons for this; firstly, silver is expensive and holding significant stocks could strain a manufacturer's cash flow; secondly, the discerning buyer will want the hallmark to show the year of purchase, therefore stocks unsold by the expiry of their date mark would have to be recycled, wasting the production costs. For similar reasons, retailers do not hold stocks either, apart from some very up-market department stores. So if you want to purchase sterling silver cutlery, plan well in advance; depending on the design you choose and the size of your order, it could take up to 3 months to be manufactured.

If your budget permits, Sterling silver is the cutlery of choice for an elegant dining experience. The small amount of copper in the alloy gives sterling silver a warmer, more pleasing shine than silver plate and its durability means it can be passed from generation to generation as a treasured heirloom.

Which design or pattern to choose is of course largely a matter of personal preference, however there are some practical issues which may influence your decision.

Will the pattern still be available when you want to add to it or replace pieces in the future? If this is a concern to you, you may choose one of the traditional patterns which have already stood the test of time.

Not all ancillary pieces are available in all patterns. You may not be buying ancillary pieces now, but may want to get matching ones in the future, so it is a good idea to check first what is available.

If you are choosing silver, you may want to be able to polish it easily, in which case avoid the very intricate patterns.

The Sheffield cutlery industry has thrived for centuries and Sheffield still ranks today as the world capital of cutlery manufacturing. The techniques and processes have changed little over the years, although the amalgamation of small firms and the introduction of modern machinery have to some extent streamlined production. However, the final stages still rely heavily on the craftsmen's hand-finishing skills to produce the fine quality product for which Sheffield is famous.

There are up to 60 separate processes involved in producing a single piece of cutlery, so we have picked out the key steps here to give you a good idea of what's involved without overloading you with detail.

Spoons and forks are stamped out of rolled sheets of the required metal. You can see more about the metals used in the stainless steel, silver plated and sterling silver sections above. Different thicknesses of sheet metal are used to produce different qualities of the final product.

For spoons, the bowl area is then cross-rolled twice to flatten it out so that there is enough material to later stamp and form a bowl of the right shape with a pleasant, usable thickness.

Forks are pierced once or twice, depending on which metal they are made from, to form the prongs.

Next, the handle design is stamped into the metal using a top and bottom die and the spoon bowl is clipped to the right shape.

Then the bowl is stamped and formed to the correct angle at the neck of the handle. Fork prongs are also shaped to the correct angle and curve and lightly rolled to taper them.

Each piece is then edged against a grinding belt to remove any burrs and polished using a polishing compound.

If the item is to be silver plated, this is done next. Silver plated and sterling silver pieces then undergo a final polishing process using very soft polishing wheels.

Knives are usually made with separate handles and blades which are joined together in the final stages of production. These are known as hollow-handled knives and are usually preferred because of the lighter weight and better balance. However, stainless steel knives can be made with solid handles. These are known as Monobloc knives and the process is described briefly at the end of this section.

Knife blades are made from stainless steel bar which has a high carbon content, allowing the finished blade to take and keep a sharp cutting edge. First, the bar is heated and formed under a series of drop hammer operations and the blade is rolled to the correct length and thickness.

Then both ends are clipped to form the blade shape and the tang, which is cross stamped to provide a good key when it is later cemented into the handle.

Next, the blade is re-heated and cooled to temper it to the required hardness and all the surfaces and the cutting edge are ground.

Finally, the piece is rumbled, glazed and polished, ready for the handle.

The two halves of the knife handle are stamped separately out of sheet metal which is thinner than that used for spoons and forks.

The pattern is formed between dies and after clipping the waste away, the two halves are forged together in a furnace.

After pressure testing, the handle is edged, glazed and polished. If it is to be silver plated, this is done next. Finally, the blade and handle are joined together with an inert cement.

Monobloc knives are made in one piece from the same metal bar that is used for blades. They are forged under a powerful drop hammer in just two hits, called preform and coin. Then they are finished using the same processes as blades. Because they are less labour-intensive to make, they are usually cheaper than hollow-handled knives.

Different manufacturers/retailers charge different prices based on their overheads, profit margin, brand value etc. We have researched the lowest prices currently available (May 2006) for different qualities of cutlery so that you can see how the different materials compare.

The prices are all for a 44-piece set (6 x 7-piece place settings + 2 table spoons) and include VAT.

+ Available from Silversure.
* Because of the fluctuating price of silver on international markets, sterling silver cutlery prices can vary day to day, but this should give you a good idea of the comparative cost.

Things to check when comparing the prices of different retailers

If you want Sheffield cutlery, make sure it really was made in Sheffield. Some Sheffield manufacturers, even some well known brands, import their cutlery from overseas factories.

If it is silver plated, how thick is the plating?

Does the price include VAT?

How much is the delivery charge?