Flatware Repairs

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Sterling Silver Georg Jensen Forks and spoons restored

All of these forks and spoons arrived with damage from the garbage disposal and knife marks on the backs of the fork tines. All of this flatware was repaired removing the damage while keeping the soft hand-hammered finish.

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Fork Tine Repair and Restoration

Sterling silver forks with fork tines damaged and uneven
sterling silver forks with the fork tines even and polished

Sterling Silver Fork Tines Reshaped and Polished

Fork tines often wear unevenly. The tips get bent and the outer tines are shorter than the two inside tines. For these forks, the ends of the tines were filed even, reshaped, and given new points. Then the forks were polished. The customer said, "I received the package with the forks.  They are beautiful!  Thank you for your great work."  


sterling silver forks with the knife marks removed from the fork tines

Forks with the Knife Marks Removed from the Fork Tines

These beautiful forks arrived with the fork tines rough and unattractive because the family had a habit of cutting the fork tines with the knives when eating. Silver can be surprisingly soft and is no match for steel knife blades.

Small marks can be removed with abrasion and polishing, but if the marks are deep, it is a much better approach to fill in the deep grooves with new silver. Using my state-of-the-art TIG welder, I can rebuild the gouges to above the surface. Then each tine is filed, sanded, reshaped, and polished.


Garbage disposal damage to sterling silver spoon International Silver Frontenac
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Garbage disposal repair of Five O'Clock Teaspoon "Frontenac" by International Silver

This spoon went through the garbage disposal, misshaping the spoon bowl and leaving damage to both the bowl and handle pattern of this Five O'clock teaspoon Frontenac by International Silver. After reshaping the bowl, I do the best I can to remove the gouges from the garbage disposal with great care to preserve the handle's decorative motif.

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Garbage disposal damaged is repaired for these two sterling silver teaspoons

Garbage Disposal Repair on Spoons

The most difficult aspect of garbage disposal damage on spoons is reshaping the bowl. Bowl shapes do differ slightly for each pattern, plus I am trying to reshape the bowl and save as much of the silver teaspoon bowl as possible. Most likely, after the repair the bowl will be slightly smaller depending on how chewed up the edge was before I started. Send an extra spoon if you want me to try to match the bowl shape, otherwise, I will make my best guess. 

Are you interested in looking at additional example of garbage disposal damage? Click Here.


Antique English spoons restored
Back of antique English spoons restored after severe damage to spoon bowl

Antique English silver spoon restoration

These two beautiful spoons arrived with severe damage to the back of the bowls from a blender. They had deep gouges. Using my state of the art welder I filled in the deep gouges with sterling wire. They turned out close to perfect. Filling in the gouges takes extra time but kept the full thickness of the spoon bowl.


Baby Spoon and Fork Repairs

sterling silver baby fork damaged by garbage disposal
sterling silver baby fork restored after garbage disposal with matching baby spoon

Sterling silver baby fork badly damaged from the garbage disposal

This sterling silver baby fork was badly damaged from the garbage disposal. It really bent the fork tines and chewed up the fork and handle. The goal is to straighten the tines and remove as much of the chew marks as possible. I worked around the original engraving to preserve this family heirloom. Both the baby fork and spoon were polished so they matched for future generations. 


Baby Spoon after repair and polishing
Baby spoon dented crushed and misshapen

BABY SPOON RESTORATION

This sterling silver baby spoon handle was misshapen and the bowl of the spoon was bent. The customer said she stepped on the spoon. It was also very discolored from tarnish. The handle had a faint engraved monogram which I worked very hard to preserve.


sterling silver baby spoon repaired with matching fork
sterling baby spoon repaired with patch and matching fork

Sterling Silver Baby Spoon Repaired with Matching fork

The sterling silver baby spoon in the images above arrived broken in two pieces. I soldered the baby spoon back together, adding a patch on the back to strengthen the repair. Spoons always break at the same place, right where the handle attaches to the bowl, as you can see in these photos. Soldering a broken handle on a spoon is always one of the most challenging repairs. After the baby spoon was silver soldered, it had to be completely refinished and polished to remove firescale. The sterling baby fork was polished to match. 


knife repairs and restoration

Knives in sterling silver handles are traditionally set in the handle with pitch.  This way, the knife blade can be repaired or replaced. Below are a number of different examples of knife repairs and restoration. 

Scroll down or  CLICK HERE to view more examples of new stainless steel knife blades in sterling silver handles.


Sterling handle knife repaired and polished
broken knife with sterling silver handle

REPAIRING STERLING HANDLE KNIFE

Occasionally, the knife blade comes out of the sterling handle. The original stainless steel knife can be reset into the handle using pitch - the traditional material. The joint between the knife and sterling handle will be soldered for a seamless joint. 


knives coming out of the sterling silver handles
Knives reset into the sterling silver handles

Resetting Knife Blades in Sterling Silver Handles

All of these knives (left photo) arrived with the knife blades pushed out of the handle. This is most often caused by putting your sterling handled knives in the dishwasher or soaking your knives in very hot water for an extended period of time.  Never put sterling silver handled knives in the dishwasher.

To be repaired, the knife blade must be removed from the handle and all the pitch removed from the handle for a fresh start. The handles are refilled with pitch. I do solder the juncture of the knife blade to the handle for a more attractive finished look.  Then the sterling silver handles are polished.    

CLICK HERE to view more examples of new stainless steel knife blades in sterling silver handles.


Antique Christofle Knives rusty and neglected
Antique Christofle Knives with the blades polished

Antique Christofle Knives polished

These antique Christofle knives arrived rusty and discolored (left photo.) Removing the knife blades and putting in new stainless steel blades was an option, but then the original Christofle mark on the blades would have been lost. Instead, I polished the steel knife blades and the silver handles. When these steel blades are used they need to be washed and dried immediately. Immediate application of Lip Balm will prevent rust.


sterling silver knife handles repaired after they split

Repair of sterling silver handles

These sterling silver knife handles arrived with the seams on the side split (upper left photo.) Soldering split and cracked seams on a sterling silver handle is complicated by the fact that dirty split seams do not like to solder. After removing all the pitch on the inside, I cut down the seam for a clean, fresh, straight line in the silver. Then I insert a shim of sterling silver sheet and solder this shim in place. The repaired seam is nearly invisible and much stronger.

These repairs are not inexpensive. The seam on these sterling silver knife handles was split on both sides of the handle. This is a common scenario but double the work. After soldering, refinishing the sterling silver knife handle is the second repair - reinserting the knife into the handle. Replacement of the entire knife would be less expensive, but you can not replace the sentimental value that these knives have been used for generations of family dinners.

View an additional example of sterling silver knife handles repair on this page.


Fruit knives

Fruit Knife blades in Art Nouveau sterling silver handles

The handles on these fruit knives were very thin and fragile. The transition to the stainless steel blades was awkward so I added a sterling silver ring. The customer was very pleased, thank goodness. It is very difficult to make knives from the 21st century relate to 19th century/early 20century sterling silver knife handles.


Sterling silver handled carving set repaired and restored

Carving sets arrive with a variety of issues. I polish both the sterling handles as well as the steel forks and knives. Replacement carving knives in stainless steel are available, but I recommend polishing the original knife if possible to keep the character and style of the original knives. It was all a marathon effort and extremely hard to do. The steel does not polish easily because the metal is very hard. The pits from the extensive rust can not be completely removed, but the knives are irreplaceable and worth keeping if you don't mind imperfection.   

View more carving sets by clicking here.


Repair of Antique Silver Flatware 

antique Irish silver spoons bent tarnished
19th century Irish spoons restored

Antique IRISH SILVER SPOONS RESTORED

These 19th century Irish spoons arrived with the bowls bent and misshapen.  Old silver is often very thin. I think it is a combination of 150 years of wear combined with the fact that the silver was made thinner than modern silver. The bowls often bend at the same place - the widest part of the bowl. I reshaped the spoon bowls and tried to gently work harden the silver in this crucial area, but extra care should be taken when using old silver.


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REPAIRING EARLY 19TH-CENTURY SPOONS

This photo shows five coin silver spoons circa 1820.  These silver spoons were severely dented, dinged, and misshapen from years of use and neglect. The right spoon was actually cracked and bent.

These old silver spoons are always very thin and inherently fragile. They were carefully restored by reshaping the spoon bowls, soldered as necessary to repair the cracks, and polished. While I would not normally polish 200-year-old silver this shiny, it was necessary because of the severe damage and extensive repair work.


Resetting Antique Flatware

Sterling Silver Fish Forks by 19th c. English Silversmith Francis Higgins

These fabulous fish forks are by 19th c. English Silversmith Francis Higgins. The fork is a solid cast silver unit with a tine set with pitch into a hollow handle. One trip into the dishwasher (or soaked in too hot of water) and the pitch will overheat, expanding and pushing out the forks. Antique silver and modern dishwashers do not mix. These forks were reset exactly the same as the day they were made. This is the way antique flatware should be repaired. Then they were gently polished.


sterling handled antique forks matching knives reset

Sterling Handled AntiquE Appetizer ForkS and Knives - Reset

This set was accidentally put in the dishwasher. Every fork and knife had to be reset. The forks and knives are silverplated brass inserted into the delicate sterling silver handles.


Broken Flatware Repair

broken sterling silver fork before and after repair with patch

Sterling silver fork before and after repair

This sterling silver fork was broken. To repair this properly, a patch is put on the back of the fork to strengthen the repair. This is extra work and costs more, but it is worth the investment. Otherwise, the repair is too weak. It would be a false economy to repair this without a sterling silver patch. It is less expensive to replace the fork rather than repair it, but not all flatware is replaceable. There is also no replacing the sentimental value of using a fork that has been at family meals for generations.


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sterling silver jelly spoon and butter knife

STERLING SILVER BUTTER KNIFE AND SUGAR SPOON SET

Extensive damage to the sterling silver jelly spoon bowl was repaired. Unfortunately, the sterling silver butter knife was broken in two pieces. The butter knife was soldered back together with an added patch of sterling silver on the back for additional reinforcement.


sterling silver spoon broken in two pieces is a family heirloom waiting for repair
Sterling silver spoon arrived broken repaired with patch on the back.

Repair of Sterling spoon that is a family heirloom

This sterling silver spoon is a family heirloom that arrived broken in two parts. Spoons usually break right where the handle tapers and attaches to the bowl. It was soldered back together with a sterling silver patch on the back to reinforce and strengthen the repair.  The patch is attractive, and I was careful not to cover the hallmark on the back. 


Silverplate Flatware Restoration

Repairing and plating of silverplate flatware is usually not worth the expense unless this is a family heirloom or collector’s pattern. Below are some examples of silverplate restoration. Do not even consider repair or restoration of silver plate flatware as a cost-saving measure, it is not!

silverplate knife handles used in restoration of rare cheese scoop
silverplate handle restored cheese scoop

Restoration of rare silverplate cheese scoop family heirloom

The customer wanted to restore a rare silver plate cheese scoop, but the handle was badly damaged. To restore this rare serving piece, I took off the handle from a silver plate knife in the same pattern. Then the cheese scoop was reset into the silver plate handle. This type of repair is not to save money. The purpose was to complete a set for a difficult-to-find pattern.

repair of silverplate spoon after garbage disposal damage

Restoration of Silver plate Faceted Grapefruit Spoon

The faceted bowl of this silver plate grapefruit spoon was chewed up by the garbage disposal. I filled in the gouges with my high-tech welder, carefully reshaped the damaged spoon bowl, and after all the work, it was silver plated. It cost close to $300 for one teaspoon. (including shipping.) Repairing silver plate is definitely not worth doing unless you can not find a replacement.


Repair of Wooden Salad Sets

Wooden salad set with sterling handles
Wooden spoons & forks for salad set repair

Wooden Salad Fork and Spoon Repair

The photo above shows wood spoons and forks for salad set replacements. This selection is the only replacement inventory to repair your wooden salad set.