Cutlery

Oops thought I'd spelt it wrong! x

Ariadne I don't think he was being an arch snob on that particular occasion in the pome [sic] about the fish knives. I think he was replying to the recent, slightly tongue-in-cheek article by Nancy Mitford about U and non-U (not, of course, the same as our much-loved Nonu).

Or 'little' x

Thanks Ariadne. I have a mental list of things to look out for, when I'm browsing. Not all for me! I do love a good rummage in junk shops etc. they're mostly called 'antique' shops now!
I once saw a very expensive little jug, it was just like the one I bought my mother, from Woolworths, when I was little! x

J52 we topped up the silver cutlery at antique fairs / flea markets - there are stalls full of old cutlery, silver and otherwise, so you'd find the spoons, I am sure.

There are also lots of bundles of fish knives and forks. absent I didn't know that, but it makes sense. Betjeman was such a snob!

I use cotton (not the linen!) napkins every day, but mainly because I have a load of blue ones which only "go with" the colour scheme in the kitchen. (Am a self confessed coordination freak!) and, of course, it seems wrong to use paper ones too much. But I never iron them - step too far!

Vampirequeen, you are so right when you say modern serving spoons or table spoons are too shallow. They are useless in recipies requiring a tblsp. I know I should have a measure, but I don't!
I am on the hunt for some old ones. x

I use soup spoon, cake forks and little fruit spoons.

I miss the proper table spoons my grandma used to have. Modern ones are much shallower.

I have, via Mum, my granny's silver cutlery which has bone handles and is a real pain both to use and to clean. I've also got a canteen of stainless steel cutlery that was a wedding present from my parents, which I hate. It is really dated but not classic in any way. We use modern stainless steel that we bought when we bought our kitchen Denby set!

We use real serviettes all the time with our own rings. Paper napkins strike me as ecologically unsound to say nothing of being expensive although I do use them when we have a crowd of people for one meal. [Imnotstupid emoticon]

Stainless steel.

Wasn't the "look down upon" thing about fish knives and forks that those – rather more aristocratic than most of us – who had inherited family silver, had cutlery invented before fish knives and forks had been invented? Most of my cutlery is stainless – just a little bit of silver (but not fish knives).

I just googled Hornsea saffron - and finally found out the name of the ancient brown service that MiL has been trying to land me with for the past 20 years!

Personally I don't like it, but I have to say that it is almost bomb-proof! She wants to get rid of it, but doesn't like to. Bored with it, but emotionally attached I suppose.

I am emotionally attached to my Wedgwood edme and I expect my DCs will be just as sniffy when I try to leave it to them.

rubysong we too are using our wedding cutlery Viners Chelsea - used everyday since 1971. Including fish knives and forks! I have been looking on Ebay for more cake forks as had lost one, and see that it is now almost collectable vintage!!!
We are trying to use our Denby Arabesque plates etc for everyday now, having kept it for best for so many years!
My sister in Australia puts her silver plate cutlery in the dishwasher, because she says she would never use it if she didn't do that - it seems to survive. Not a bad idea, as at least it is being used and not just left in a box. I do put some old rat tail silver plate soup spoons in dishwasher regularly - they get a slight scratchy patina from the detergent I guess, but I love using them. Much bigger/deeper than modern soup spoons.

The spoons we use for boiled eggs were a free gift on a magazine years ago. They are 'gold plated' and now look a bit tatty but are the right size and stop the other spoons staining.

I have a beautiful wooden canteen with a Mappin and Webb label (except it is silver) in the lid. It contained Dh's parents' wedding cutlery, which I now keep elsewhere, and rarely use, because it is heavy, hall marked silver, apart from the knives, which have bone or Ivory (not sure) handles. It is lovely, but totally impractical - needs hand washing, polishing etc. But there are twelve covers, so just very, very occasionally,it comes out.

With it came three sets of fish knives and forks - the sort that Betjeman mocked in his poem. The are really very pretty, and, I think, rather silly.

I use a set of simple modern stainless steel, and a set of kitchen cutlery with blue handles; I also have a section full of miscellaneous teaspoons, and three wooden handled forks from a set acquired from Green Shield stamps.

Those are the ones, Stansgran (steak knives) - I bought them in TKMaxx!

annsixty - not all of us!

I have never used a fish knife in my life, and dessert forks certainly don't feature much on a day to day basis! As for napkins (or serviettes as they are still called by many in my family), what's wrong with paper ones?

When I was about 5 my mother took me to stay with my godmother. One day we had fish for lunch and I looked round the table and said accusingly "Haven't you got any fish knives?" My mother nearly died When my godmother dies (she's well into her 90's now) she will be leaving me the silver fish knives and forks she bought in case we came again!

elegran DH would be most put out to think he needed etiquette lessons, I guess none of us are perfect.

I have Laguiole steak Knives and forks and teaspoons. I married in the 60s so have the Viners set inc,uding fish forks etc and grapefruit spoons. I know it's now not comme il faut to use the fish ones but I never have enough cutlery to serve for a fish course so I need them. I've been reading Mumsnet on fish forks. Quite entertaining. The Viners cake forks are ideal for small children to progress from finger food. I have my DM 's silver canteen but no soup spoons. We have cool modern soup spoons. My table even at its most posh is a hotchpotch of styles.

Aren't you all posh?

I have some nice French steak knives but don't have the forks to match

I Like using nice and appropriate cutlery for the meals we eat, adds pleasure IMO.

I'm torn between using nice cutlery and the sort you just bung in the dishwasher. I retrieved soup spoons from my parents' house but they seem to be disappearing! Similarly tea spoons! Where do they all go? Even DC and DG enjoy using cake forks and ask for them from time to time. I bought a whole load of napkins from ebay but rarely use them because of the amount of washing entailed - but having read this thread I might just dig them out. This will give me an excuse to troll around charity shops for napkin rings!

Is this progress or retro-progress ?

What about steak knives and forks? I now have to add a toothpick as sadly I find eating thickish meat can get stuck between the old toothy pegs.

I have two canteens of cutlery now but neither of them include fish knives.

They are a nuisance to clean but I do enjoy using them too with white linen for special meals which are sadly few and far between now.