How to judge flatware quality?

[GQgeek]

Was at Williams Sonoma for second time this week and I bought a set of Robert Welch Fluke. The quality is immediately apparent. They're completely solid, made from a single piece of steel, feel great in your hand, and they look like sculpture.

Every other brand W-S stocked had two-piece knives with hollow handles that had no heft, and some of them were even more expensive than the RW stuff. I was thoroughly confused as to why that would be the case. I can't remember who mentioned oneida, but honestly, there's no comparing Oneida to RW, or anything else W-S sold. I looked at probably 30 sets of Oneida at a different store and they're not even in the same league.

Anyway, I deliberated for a while, worried how the satin finish would look next to the platinum rim of my china, but I bought on impulse and will see how it looks. At worst I'll return it.

 

[BrianVarick]

I have these and I really like them. The large fork is pretty long and slender, so my lady prefers the smaller one.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by Quirk

How many of you here actually have bought or use silver? I thought you were just supposed to inherit it, never use it, polish it every so often, and pass it on to the next generation.

We both have and use it ... regularly.

In fact, if you use it regularly, it never needs to be polished.

 

[turboman808]

Originally Posted by GQgeek

Every other brand W-S stocked had two-piece knives with hollow handles that had no heft, and some of them were even more expensive than the RW stuff. I was thoroughly confused as to why that would be the case. I can't remember who mentioned oneida, but honestly, there's no comparing Oneida to RW, or anything else W-S sold. I looked at probably 30 sets of Oneida at a different store and they're not even in the same league.

The reason for the 2 piece is back in the day you bought sterling silver flatware. It didn't hold up to well on the knives so it was an insert like you mentioned. It wasn't done to be cheap. In fact I have to imagine making a solid one piece knife is cheaper then the 2 piece.

But if you made the dinner knife out of a solid piece of silver it would get bent very fast.

 

[vvcheck]

Buying quality flatware can sometimes be a hassle. The available information that's out there isn't always helpful. There is so much information to sift through. This means that higher levels of both metals would be more ideal in terms of the quality of the flatware. These would usually be those that are graded 18/8 and 18/10.

 

[CouttsClient]

Really love the 1960s Georg Jensen:

 

[gwolf]

i have bamboo flatware. not as nice as tiffany but nicer than the one's at target, which would be fine with me too if my country actually had a target.

 

[RSS]

Originally Posted by CouttsClient

Really love the 1960s Georg Jensen:
I know it's pronounced differently in Denmark ... but I can't watch the Sound of Music without thinking of GJ.

Yes, it's traditional ... but I love the acorn pattern.

 

[JohnGalt]

we have these http://www.williams-sonoma.com/produ...oMerchRules-_-

 

[djlakz]

There are number of factors to judge the quality depending on the type of flatware you want to buy. If you are referring to stainless steel flatware quality, then you should consider nickel & chromium percentage it contains. Normally 18/10 type are the best quality & 18/0 are the lowest quality. Here is a complete guide of choosing flatware - https://www.seasonalnyc.com/modern-flatware/