How to find and purchase flatware that's a cut above
Now here's something to chew on. What common household item do you hold and put it in your mouth 50 times a day? That's more than your toothbrush.
I hadn't paid my flatware much attention since I bought it 30 years ago. It's just been there in the drawer, waiting to transport food to my mouth, which I appreciate. But recently I discovered I had half as many forks and spoons as knives. What happened?
“The forks ran away with the spoons!” I cried to Greg Owens, co-owner of Sherrill Manufacturing, the last remaining flatware maker in the United States.
Owens has heard this before. “Forks and spoons often get lost to trash cans, lunch sacks, picnics and camping trips,” he said, then launched into a little history.
In 2005, Oneida Limited, one of the world's leading flatware manufacturers, closed its U.S. manufacturing plant, which had been making silverware since 1860 and moved its operations abroad.
“Oneida could buy finished flatware made in China cheaper than it could buy the metal to produce their product in the U.S., so they left,” Owens said.
Owens and his partner, Matthew Roberts, took over the manufacturing facility, continued to employ many of the workers and christened the new operation Sherrill Manufacturing, named after the city in New York where it's based. A few years later, they began making Liberty Tabletop flatware, which now sells 33 different patterns direct to consumers online.
“We can bypass retail stores, which often take as much as 70% of the profit,” Owens said.
Given that 90% of the flatware sold in America today comes from China, Owens takes pride saying, “We are 100% American. We use hydro power from Niagara Falls, get our metal from Pittsburgh, so we know it meets U.S. quality standards, no mystery metal, and we provide American jobs.”
But back to me. I still had a serious fork and spoon problem. I checked online at Replacements, Ltd., the company that sells individual pieces of china, crystal and silverware. No luck. I found the brand of my old flatware, but not the style.
Which meant only one thing: new flatware. As I began shopping for something I hadn't bought in decades, I figured I'd better learn what I should look for. Here's what I discovered makes the cut: MATERIAL >> The key quality to look for in stainless steel flatware is the metal content. The back usually has a stamp that reads 18/10, 18/8 or 18/0. This ratio represents the amount of chromium to nickel in the metal alloy. Nickel (the second number) gives utensils their luster and durability and reduces their susceptibility to pitting, rusting and staining. Because nickel is expensive, many manufacturers skimp. Today, most imports are 18/0, said Owens, whose company makes only 18/10 flatware. PRODUCTION QUALITY >> Another way to judge flatware is by the quality of its finish. Pieces should have an even luster with no pitting or irregular pattern detailing. Look between the fork tines. An inferior product will show roughness there. STYLE >> Flatware designs fall into three categories: modern, which is sleek and streamlined with little or no pattern; traditional, which often features floral designs, flourishes and curved outlines; and decorative, where handles incorporate textures or colored, non-metallic materials.
FINISH >> Today's flatware comes with polished, brushed or ornate finishes. The smoother the finish and the simpler the pattern, the more it will show fingerprints, dings and scratches.
SIZE >> Flatware size falls into two general camps: American standard flatware is typically an inch smaller than Europeansized pieces. The only way to know what you like best is to try before you buy.
Join me next week, when my husband and I testdrive four flatware sets.