The Story Behind this Blog

Being from the South, Silver is a very big part of my life. It doesn't have anything to do with wealth. Although those with more money - old money, tend to have more of it. New money tend not to spend their money on Silver. They do not have the appreciation for the warmth of the metal, the beauty of the patina, the story it tells of the generations past who have used it. A true southern girl comes of age when she chooses her silver pattern, long before she chooses her mate. If she is smart, she chooses that of her mother, grandmother, or favorite great aunt who in their benevolence will pass their silver on to her. It is the pieces in those sets, the pieces on our tables, along with the pieces we find in the corners of the displays in antique stores that prompted me to start this blog. They are beautiful, they are odd, but what are they, and what in the hell do you do with them?

Thursday, January 14, 2010

What Size is it?

Is it Lunch, Dinner, Place or perhaps Grille? Confused? Many are. When patterns were introduced there were two sizes of the standard knife and fork, a luncheon size and a dinner size. The "Luncheon" being smaller for the breakfast and lunch meals. The larger "Dinner" being used for the dinner or more formal meal. In the 1940's a few manufactures produced a "Grille" size, which had an elongated handle and shorter knife blade and fork tines. (An example of this is Stateley by State House.)

Then in the late 50's, early 60's, manufactor's started producing a "Place" size which was larger than the luncheon size but smaller than the dinner size. Some just renamed their luncheon size fork, made some minor changes to their luncheon size knife, and called both their "Place" size.

Here is the "rule" of thumb to go by:

A luncheon fork is between 6 7/8 and 7 1/4 inches
A place fork is between 7 1/4 and 7 3/8 inches
A dinner fork is between 7 1/2 and 8 inches

A luncheon knife is between 8 3/4 and 9 inches
A place knife is between 9 1/8 and 9 1/4 inches
A dinner knife is between 9 5/8 and 10 inches

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