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flyfisherman

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 5, 2011
Messages
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Silver Scrap _008.JPGSilver Scrap _002.JPGSilver Scrap _004.JPGView attachment 3Seasons Greetings to All. I am selling a batch of Stirling Silver jewelry pieces. All have hallmarks and made in Italy and United States. Have also acid-tested with test solution to make sure is silver. The Gold-plated matching Necklace and pair of earrings (and charm shaped like a river boat) - are silver and then gold-plated. This lot includes the handle of a Stirling Silver knife that I pounded flat. Hallmark on handle showed "Stirling Handle". If anyone interested - send me a "P.M." Thanks so much and Merry Christmas.
 

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flyfisherman said:
You are welcome.Merry Christmas!
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Out of curiosity, what does the average sterling knife have in the weight of sterling silver and what is the average weight, total, of most sterling knives?

I'm trying to get an idea of the melt value of the average sterling table knife.

Mike
 
its-all-a-lie said:
All the sterling knives i have bought had around 15 grams of sterling in the handle.
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And what is the average wt of the entire knife?

When I see a large lot of silverware that includes a bunch of knives I want to know how much to subtract from the sellers stated total weight then how much to add back in for the sterling silver content of the knives.
Say the total weight of the lot is 1000 grams and in the lot are 15 sterling knives.

Mike
 
mikeinkaty said:
its-all-a-lie said:
All the sterling knives i have bought had around 15 grams of sterling in the handle.
Click to expand...
And what is the average wt of the entire knife?

When I see a large lot of silverware that includes a bunch of knives I want to know how much to subtract from the sellers stated total weight then how much to add back in for the sterling silver content of the knives.
Say the total weight of the lot is 1000 grams and in the lot are 15 sterling knives.

Mike
Click to expand...

Find an auction of all knives and deduct the 15 grams of sterling from each, and the rest is filler or steel.At least that would be a good guess like the 15 grams of sterling.
I just broke up 2 knives not so long ago and got 36 grams of sterling, but I didn't keep track of the knives original weight. But weighted items vary, so you never really know until you break it apart to be sure. With Ebay you may find yourself bidding against someone who thinks an item is completely sterling, as well as the bidders who are afraid to gamble with weighted items. Sometimes you win, some times you lose, you either gamble or study the subject the best you can and take notes.

With weighted items you are paying postage for a large portion of worthless material when you buy a lot, that adds a negative factor also.

Jim
 
i was told by a silver dealer (which may or may not be true) that the knife handles are suppose to weigh as much as the forks and spoons from the same set.
 
jimdoc said:
Find an auction of all knives and deduct the 15 grams of sterling from each, and the rest is filler or steel.At least that would be a good guess like the 15 grams of sterling.
I just broke up 2 knives not so long ago and got 36 grams of sterling, but I didn't keep track of the knives original weight. But weighted items vary, so you never really know until you break it apart to be sure. With Ebay you may find yourself bidding against someone who thinks an item is completely sterling, as well as the bidders who are afraid to gamble with weighted items. Sometimes you win, some times you lose, you either gamble or study the subject the best you can and take notes.

With weighted items you are paying postage for a large portion of worthless material when you buy a lot, that adds a negative factor also.

Jim
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Yeah, I saw someone that had bid on a large lot of flatware that included a bunch of knives. They bid spot price on the total weight of everything, not even accounting for the fact that it was, at best, only 925 sterling. If one has acquired a bunch of sterling flatware from somewhere else it might be to their advantage to list it on ebay then use the proceeds to buy marked 999 silver bullion.

Mike
 
Geo said:
i was told by a silver dealer (which may or may not be true) that the knife handles are suppose to weigh as much as the forks and spoons from the same set.
Click to expand...

Oh no way.

The weight completely depends on the pattern. Some patterns can have knife handles that approach 1ozt. Most are going to be in the 15-20g range. I've never had this number match up with a fork or spoon weight (always less).

I always allow 1/2 ozt for each knife handle and it has never failed me.

That said, a lot of the loose pieces that aren't part of a silver set (ie... not Gorham, R&B, etc..) and are stand-alone pieces of flatware (like pie servers) with weighted handles I have had weigh as little as 7g.
 
I googled around the internet and it seem the concensus is that the average Sterling knife is 2 oz with about 25% of that weight being sterling silver in the handle.
So, subtract #knives x 2 from the total weight of the flatware lot then add about #knives x 0.5 to that and you will have an adjusted Sterling weight for tbe lot in ounces.

Mike
 
Geo said:
i was told by a silver dealer (which may or may not be true) that the knife handles are suppose to weigh as much as the forks and spoons from the same set.
Click to expand...

This dealer would be the one to sell knives to, i have only had a few pieces that weighed more than half an ounce
Dalkiel said:
Geo said:
i was told by a silver dealer (which may or may not be true) that the knife handles are suppose to weigh as much as the forks and spoons from the same set.
Click to expand...

Oh no way.

The weight completely depends on the pattern. Some patterns can have knife handles that approach 1ozt. Most are going to be in the 15-20g range. I've never had this number match up with a fork or spoon weight (always less).

I always allow 1/2 ozt for each knife handle and it has never failed me.

That said, a lot of the loose pieces that aren't part of a silver set (ie... not Gorham, R&B, etc..) and are stand-alone pieces of flatware (like pie servers) with weighted handles I have had weigh as little as 7g.
Click to expand...
. The forks and spoons were all 40-60+ grams each.

The pattern plays a big role in the handle weight and the filler used in the handles has a varying weight as well, from epoxy to plaster there is a big difference in the weight. If you use 15 grams as your average weight per handle you will do fine, unless, like Dalkiel stated, there are many pie servers or other smaller pieces, and then you should cut the 15 grams in half. The only definitive way to be sure you and the seller are both given a fair deal is to simply take one of each knife apart and weigh them individually, then you will know the true weight of each style.
 

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