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How to Love your Antique Silverware

by Cecelia Haack (RSS feed) — Apr 5th 2010 4:01PM

There is something lovely about the way antique silverware feels in your hands, how it looks on the table and shimmers softly in candlelight. Leftovers scooped from plastic containers taste better when eaten with it. Many people believe caring for antique silverware is time consuming, complicated and too much bother. Not so, says Sharon Mackie, co-owner of Art Craft Silversmiths in Portland, Oregon.

She believes the best thing to do with antique silverware is to use and enjoy it. "Washing it in warm water with dish soap will help keep it from tarnishing," she said.

The dishwasher can be a dangerous place for any sterling silver or silver plated silverware because, as Mackie explained, the heat and harsh soap can dissolve the resin or plaster that fills knife handles and seals the blade to the handle.