You may have seen a store with the $ 500 5-piece flatware set. Or a store with the $ 150 flatware. Relax, you don’t have to pay that price yet to begin with. Start small and gradually you can create a great Wallace The Queen silverware collection through eBay.
This article will outline a few things to know regarding knives and forks in two different sizes. The examples and size used correspond specifically to the Wallace The Queen pattern.
Dinner size vs. Lunch or size of the place
The main knives and forks in most patterns come in two different sizes: the dinner size and the lunch size, which is also called the “place” size. Dinner forks or knives are typically about a half inch longer than lunch size. However, they are substantially heavier than that extra half inch would indicate. Few patterns come in continental size, but it is very rare and refers to the larger overall size and longest length of cutlery that is popular in Europe. It is also characterized by forks, knives, and soup spoons larger than dinner size.
Continental teaspoons tend to be the same as standard American sizes. (For example, in the popular Wallace Grand Baroque pattern, the knife sizes are: L: 9 “, D: 9 3/4”, C: 10 5/8 “.) Almost every collection listing and a single place you see on eBay will be for lunch size, not dinner size silverware. Dinner size is much rarer and therefore more expensive.
You must know the dimensions of the pieces in your pattern and be sure that you are bidding for what you want; Sometimes you may have to ask the seller for measurements. Some patterns (rarely) come in different weights and have an M (“Massive” – the heaviest), H (“Heavy”) and there are also lighter “Trade” and “Extra” weights. By the way, the rarer it is, the more expensive it becomes.
In the next article, I will talk about French blade knives versus modern blade knives and the difference between discontinued patterns and patterns that are still being made.