Elegant but not too expensive Cutlery?

[All over the world]

What a relief!

I'm afraid it's already engraved, though: it says "Villeroy & Boch" all over. Perhaps you can just add your crown... Or, for the money you'd spend on engraving, ask for a custom set without the company logo. That will already be a big upgrade

I'm afraid even the old Silver cutlery sets my parents have are engraved with the names of the manufacturer on the back, "Christofle". I think all good manufacturers put their names on cutlery nowadays. I already placed an order but I doubt they'd be able to produce a set without the company logo. The only thing I am worried about is the fixation of the blade to the knife handle. I know that such things can come apart if not done properly. I know V&B's reputation when it comes to plates and such, let's hope they're as good with their cutlery. I wish I could have my crest engraved on the service. Perhaps lazer engraving is a cheap option.

[Costi]

I was joking... Isn't it a little pretentious to have your Villeroy & Boch steel cutlery engraved with anything when you're on a budget, AOTW? What benefit does it bring to you? Do you think this is particularly elegant or do you need a conversation starter with your guests?
Conviviality does not reside in engraved tableware...

[All over the world]

I was joking... Isn't it a little pretentious to have your Villeroy & Boch steel cutlery engraved with anything when you're on a budget, AOTW? What benefit does it bring to you? Do you think this is particularly elegant or do you need a conversation starter with your guests?
Conviviality does not reside in engraved tableware...

You really think I'm some kind of newly rich russian mafia crime lord don't you Costi? I'm just joking.

I don't know why I want to have it engraved. I guess it's because all the family silver is engraved I guess or because most people I know had theirs engraved. In any case it's not something that you stare at while you cut your steak. If I can have it done cheaply I will, if not, well then perhaps when I am a little wealthier. Now, I'm ready to move on to cotton napkins, I have some very nice white ones however I wonder how people clean them? I mean surely they can't replace them all the time. The ones I have are decades old and yet still perfectly white, in great condition. I wonder how that was achieved?

[davidhuh]

You really think I'm some kind of newly rich russian mafia crime lord don't you Costi? I'm just joking.

I don't know why I want to have it engraved. I guess it's because all the family silver is engraved I guess or because most people I know had theirs engraved. In any case it's not something that you stare at while you cut your steak. If I can have it done cheaply I will, if not, well then perhaps when I am a little wealthier. Now, I'm ready to move on to cotton napkins, I have some very nice white ones however I wonder how people clean them? I mean surely they can't replace them all the time. The ones I have are decades old and yet still perfectly white, in great condition. I wonder how that was achieved?

Dear Aow,

Indeed, some people like to have their silverware engraved. It even may have been a useful custom at a time when several generations lived under one roof - similar to embroidering linnen and table cloth with the owners initials. Doing this today seems to be as tasteful to me as some gents embroidering initials on visible parts of bespoke shirts. Now you want initials on your stainless steel... de gustibus non est disputandum; however, I don't think this is such a good idea.

Regarding cotton napkins (or preferrable, linnen): the mystery of cleaning them is washing them, with the correct detergent at the correct temperature. Pretty simple

cheers, david

[All over the world]

You really think I'm some kind of newly rich russian mafia crime lord don't you Costi? I'm just joking.

I don't know why I want to have it engraved. I guess it's because all the family silver is engraved I guess or because most people I know had theirs engraved. In any case it's not something that you stare at while you cut your steak. If I can have it done cheaply I will, if not, well then perhaps when I am a little wealthier. Now, I'm ready to move on to cotton napkins, I have some very nice white ones however I wonder how people clean them? I mean surely they can't replace them all the time. The ones I have are decades old and yet still perfectly white, in great condition. I wonder how that was achieved?

Dear Aow,

Indeed, some people like to have their silverware engraved. It even may have been a useful custom at a time when several generations lived under one roof - similar to embroidering linnen and table cloth with the owners initials. Doing this today seems to be as tasteful to me as some gents embroidering initials on visible parts of bespoke shirts. Now you want initials on your stainless steel... de gustibus non est disputandum; however, I don't think this is such a good idea.

Regarding cotton napkins (or preferrable, linnen): the mystery of cleaning them is washing them, with the correct detergent at the correct temperature. Pretty simple

cheers, david

What about the fearsome Sir Tomato Stain?

[Costi]

Boil in rainwater and wash with ashes. That's how they used to do it in times when silverware was engraved for the practical purposes David mentioned. And be ready to replace them as soon as they are past their prime.
You might as well be the Tzar, as far as I am concerned, or a muzhik; however, to a muzhik, I would excuse such propensities; but to a man of noble birth...

[Rowly]

"The louder he talked of his honor, the faster we counted our spoons," .....Ralph Waldo Emerson.

What Dr. Johnson said was, "If he does really think that there is no distinction between virtue and vice, why, sir, when he leaves our houses let us count our spoons."

Whether the food is unsavoury is a factor of your cooking skills. If your guests are unsavoury then it might help to have your mark on the cutlery.

[Costi]

I didn't think about it THAT way

[davidhuh]

What about the fearsome Sir Tomato Stain?

You ring the witch. Madame Javel

[Costi]

What about the fearsome Sir Tomato Stain?

You ring the witch. Madame Javel

Or...

(but that was not my reply)

[NJS]

Look out for auction pieces by Joseph Rodgers.
NJS

[couch]

Now, I'm ready to move on to cotton napkins, I have some very nice white ones however I wonder how people clean them? I mean surely they can't replace them all the time. The ones I have are decades old and yet still perfectly white, in great condition. I wonder how that was achieved?

A method that I've used with success when I entertain is to have a pail waiting in the kitchen, filled with hot water (which may still be barely warm by the time guests leave in the wee hours) in which I've dissolved a good enzyme-based stain remover (I use a powder called Biz). As soon as the guests leave (or leave the table if withdrawing), we drop the napkins into the pail to soak overnight or longer. Then at a convenient time, while still wet, they are washed in hot water with (if they are not delicate vintage linens) an oxygen bleach such as that made by EcoVer. The key thing is to get the napkins in to soak soon after use. The enzymes are very gentle on the cloth but, given time to work, will digest the oily or proteinaceous carriers and most of the actual colored substances as well. Hot washing with oxygen bleach usually removes any residual shadow (if any) from the stain.

Should you find that this method does not remove a particular stain, or you need to treat a stain separately, there are many good stain removal guides online (just search) that provide specific steps to address each type. Here's one:

http://www.chemistry.co.nz/stain_frame.htm

And here's an excellent discussion of the chemistry, formulation, and use of oxygen bleaches, with a survey of products (oriented to U.S. consumers, but some are distributed in Europe as well).

http://oxygenbleach.homestead.com/files/

Bon appétit!

[cathach]

Now, I'm ready to move on to cotton napkins, I have some very nice white ones however I wonder how people clean them? I mean surely they can't replace them all the time. The ones I have are decades old and yet still perfectly white, in great condition. I wonder how that was achieved?

Are you sure they're cotton instead of linen? Linen was the traditional choice for both bed and board. Thomas Ferguson do a good range of napkins and indeed all types of linen: http://www.fergusonsirishlinen.com/shop ... 1&typeID=4 They even have an offers page while end-of-run and stock specials are available, or slight seconds in my experience indistinguishable from their firsts.

Some stains come out with patience and time. An oxygen bleach will whiten and remove the toughest stains while Reckitts Blue will provide that brilliant white gleam from fresh linen. http://carbolicsoap.com/reckitts-blue-p-864.html
One thing, if you're putting them away don't ever starch them, its a carbohydrate and will attract moths.

[All over the world]

Thanks gentlemen. I'm not sure what it is, doesn't linen break after a while if it is often folded? If so this may not be linen for it isn't showing such signs of wear.

[couch]

Properly processed linen is a much stronger fiber than cotton because the cellulose fibers themselves are longer and thus more resistant to mechanical and chemical deterioration. If linen breaks at folds after less than several thousand foldings, it would be because it has been folded while starched (creating mechanical stiffness and abrasion to the fibers at the folds) or heavily bleached (shortening the cellulose molecules). A linen that retains a great deal of the colored and stiff/woody compound lignin from the flax plant will display less durability than more de-lignified fibers, but presumably fine white linens for napkins and tablecloths would be relatively purer fibers due to their processing. It is said that there are bedroom linens still in use at Buckingham Palace that date from Queen Victoria's tenure at that residence. I suspect that even napkins that are starched before folding (which of course makes them less absorbent, for better and for worse) will long outlast you the owner if give reasonable care as described above.