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#1
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Another Mystery "heirloom"
I have a carving set passed on by my mother from her mother's silver
anniversary. She was always proud of this beautiful silver set and we never doubted her. Upon close inspection, it appears to be made from a single piece of metal. There is no visible joint between handle and blade and the entire knife (blade and handel) is magnetic, i.e. sticks to one. The legend on the blade says Rockerford SP Co, Waranted 12 DWT. I think we went through this before but I can not recall what the 12 DWT means other than the obvious. 12 DWT per what? js -- PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.netfirms.com/pow.htm Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Gems, Sausage, http://schmidling.netfirms.com |
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#2
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Jack Schmidling wrote in message
. .. I have a carving set passed on by my mother from her mother's silver anniversary. She was always proud of this beautiful silver set and we never doubted her. Upon close inspection, it appears to be made from a single piece of metal. There is no visible joint between handle and blade and the entire knife (blade and handel) is magnetic, i.e. sticks to one. The legend on the blade says Rockerford SP Co, Waranted 12 DWT. I think we went through this before but I can not recall what the 12 DWT means other than the obvious. 12 DWT per what? js Dwt means pennyweight, a measure of silver. 12 pennyweight is 3/4 of an ounce which is 16 pennyweight Regards Santosh **[[moderator's note: A slight correction, Santosh. a troy ounce contains 20 pennyweight, not 16. -- pwr ]]** |
#3
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Jack Schmidling wrote:
I have a carving set passed on by my mother from her mother's silver anniversary. She was always proud of this beautiful silver set and we never doubted her. Upon close inspection, it appears to be made from a single piece of metal. There is no visible joint between handle and blade and the entire knife (blade and handel) is magnetic, i.e. sticks to one. The legend on the blade says Rockerford SP Co, Waranted 12 DWT. I think we went through this before but I can not recall what the 12 DWT means other than the obvious. 12 DWT per what? js the 12DWT stands for 12 penny weights. Of what you ask? of silver deposited by electroplating. this could be 12 dwts per dozen knives not per individual knife. your check with a magnet will not tell the whole story as the blade will be steel, with an iron or steel tang up inside thwe handle. the handle will most probabaly be a hollow 2 part nickel silver stamping, being a 5 to 10 % nickel 30 % zinc the rest copper AS for the join, it will be there but covered by the silver plating. the maker doesnt ring a bell amongst the Sheffield flatware list of makers. Have you googled the maker? sounds a USA one. |
#4
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12 pennyweight of silver, plated.
Judy Shaw "Jack Schmidling" wrote in message news I have a carving set passed on by my mother from her mother's silver anniversary. She was always proud of this beautiful silver set and we never doubted her. Upon close inspection, it appears to be made from a single piece of metal. There is no visible joint between handle and blade and the entire knife (blade and handel) is magnetic, i.e. sticks to one. The legend on the blade says Rockerford SP Co, Waranted 12 DWT. I think we went through this before but I can not recall what the 12 DWT means other than the obvious. 12 DWT per what? js -- PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.netfirms.com/pow.htm Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Gems, Sausage, http://schmidling.netfirms.com |
#5
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"Ted Frater" the 12DWT stands for 12 penny weights. Of what you ask? of silver deposited by electroplating. this could be 12 dwts per dozen knives not per individual knife.... Well, what is the point in putting it on the knife if it has no standard meaning? It might as well say 16 Tons and make it worthwhile. your check with a magnet will not tell the whole story as the blade will be steel, with an iron or steel tang up inside thwe handle. the handle will most probabaly be a hollow 2 part nickel silver stamping, being a 5 to 10 % nickel 30 % zinc the rest copper... I guess I didn't make it clear but the handle is also magnetic and appears to be solid and of the same material at the blade. If it were just the tang inside some non magnetic metal, the magnetic pull difference would be obvious. AS for the join, it will be there but covered by the silver plating. the maker doesnt ring a bell amongst the Sheffield flatware list of makers. Have you googled the maker? sounds a USA one. Yes but found only resellers of stuff made by them and no address of origin. js -- PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.netfirms.com/pow.htm Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Gems, Sausage, http://schmidling.netfirms.com |
#6
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"Jack Schmidling" wrote in message I have a carving set passed on by my mother from her mother's silver anniversary. She was always proud of this beautiful silver set and we never doubted her. Upon close inspection, it appears to be made from a single piece of metal. There is no visible joint between handle and blade and the entire knife (blade and handel) is magnetic, i.e. sticks to one. The legend on the blade says Rockerford SP Co, Waranted 12 DWT. Could this be the "Rockford" Silver Plate Company? http://www.abesilverman.com/A558.html History of company towards bottom of page. I think we went through this before but I can not recall what the 12 DWT means other than the obvious. 12 DWT per what? js |
#7
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"poorboy" Could this be the "Rockford" Silver Plate Company? http://www.abesilverman.com/A558.html History of company towards bottom of page. That's the place and so happens that Rockford is about 30 miles west of me. But back to the bacic qustion that started it all.... What does 12 DWT mean as part of a hallmark of plated silver. js -- PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.netfirms.com/pow.htm Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Gems, Sausage, http://schmidling.netfirms.com |
#8
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On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 23:45:22 -0700, in ¸õ Jack Schmidling wrote:
But back to the bacic qustion that started it all.... What does 12 DWT mean as part of a hallmark of plated silver. Well, that's the 64 dollar question, Jack. The trouble is, so far as I know, such a marking has no standard meaning as part of a hallmark, or if it does, non of my references mentions such a marking. That means it's a mark peculiar perhaps to that manufacturer. Just what it means could be anyone's guess. The basic meaning of the term is easy enough. DWT means pennyweight, and 12 pennyweight is 12/20ths of an ounce. That too, means little, since it's not a particularly standard proportion for much of anything that I know of. While it might have been some mark used by more than one manufacturer, it does not appear to be a part of any standardized or legal framework marking system that I can discern. Much the same as an object marked in a certain number of grams, so far as it's literal meaning, but there is nothing in that mark that gives it further meaning. As an example of what might mean more, in gold filled items, one often sees markings like 1/20 12K gold filled. That indicates that 1/20th of the item, usually by weight, consists of 12K gold in the form of a surface bonded layer on either one or both sides. The mark doesn't detail that the gold is a surface layer, it just detals the percentage of the whole, and the quality of that percentage. One needs to know that it refers to that surface layer. Your marking may have some similar meaning, but unlike that gold filled marking, this one doesn't seem to be standard enough to have deserved a note in the references I've got, and since the mark doesn't say 12 dwt of what, or per what other unit, such as dozen items, or pound of items, etc, then who knows what it means. I'd suggest not spending more time on that mark, but rather spend it trying to figure out what you've actually got. If you find a small notch or groove, perhaps damage of some sort that cuts into or better, through, the surface of silver to what's underneath, then applications of various acids to that notch and observing the reactions thereto, can give you an idea of what you've actually got. If there is no existing such notch, a small file can produce one. Be sure you don't mind the damage this causes, before you do it. The other option might be holding off until you are somewhere where you might have access to a knowledgeable antiques dealer, who might know on sight, what it is. Easier to evaluate the thing when it's in your hand, than when it's described in a news message... cheers Peter |
#9
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"Peter W.. Rowe," Well, that's the 64 dollar question, Jack. The trouble is, so far as I know, such a marking has no standard meaning as part of a hallmark.... Ah... so. I googled for Rockford and found lots of stuff for sale and many of them had this mark. It seemed reasonable to assume that it was a standard and so I posed the question. I'd suggest not spending more time on that mark, but rather spend it trying to figure out what you've actually got..... I am pretty sure I know what I got as the magnet tells (enough) all. It was the mark that I wanted to understand. The strange answers I received are now explained by yours. Sometimes, "I don't know" is a really useful answer, especially coming from an expert. I am adding it to my project list to make new handles for them. js -- PHOTO OF THE WEEK: http://schmidling.netfirms.com/pow.htm Astronomy, Beer, Cheese, Gems, Sausage, http://schmidling.netfirms.com |
#10
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Jack Schmidling wrote:
But back to the bacic qustion that started it all.... What does 12 DWT mean as part of a hallmark of plated silver. js Contact Bonhams & Buttrerfield and ask them your question. They will most likely have an answer. http://www.butterfields.com/contact/...ecialists.html go down to "Silver & Objets de Vertu". Email or phone. Abrasha http://www.abrasha.com |
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