Custom Engraved 'Full Moons' Vintage Flatware Set - Silver Plated

This flatware set is a 22 piece vintage set that was made by the German Flatware Manufacturer: Wenz. The set contains 6 knives, 6 forks and 6 spoons along with 2 spreaders and one 2 pronged fork that is perfect for spearing pickles (among other things.  Our family is big into pickle spears!)

We engraved this set with the theme of the full moon and, more generally, the lunar cycle.  Did you know that each month has its own full moon and each moon is named?  The Harvest Moon (in September) is perhaps the most well known of the full moons but did you know there are others including a Buck Moon (July), a Flower Moon (May), and even an Egg Moon (April)?

We took the 6 knives in this set and each was engraved with a design that reflects on of the 12 full moons.  In a perfect world, we would have had all 12 moons represented ( and even a few more for those Blue and Blood moons) but since we only had six knives we chose the following moons: The Egg Moon (April), The Strawberry Moon (June), the Harvest Moon (September), The Buck Moon (July), The Flower Moon (May) and finally the Hunter's Moon (October.)

The forks and spoons coordinate with the lunar theme.  Each fork features a small trio of starbursts and each spoon has a shimmering half-moon that appears to be rising over the water.  On each piece at the base of the handle is an art-deco inspired hawk flying into the moonlight.  There is a lot of love put into this set and we hope it finds a happy home with one of you that is a kindred spirit.

FOR MORE INFO, READ ON...

HOW IS THE WEIGHT ON THESE?

This is an elegant set that is large in stature and each piece has a nice, hefty weight to them.   To be precise, the spoons weighs 64 grams each, the forks weighs 42 grams a piece and each knife weighs 110 grams.  

WHAT ABOUT THE SIZE OF THESE?

The entire set will be better suited to adult hands as compared to smaller children.  It is a larger set and both the fork and spoon have a nice, long length.

The length of each piece is as follows:

Spoon: 8.25 inches, Fork: 8.5 inches and the Knife is 9.75 inches

There are several spreaders included in this set and smaller forks which are all roughly 8 inches and under.

WHO MAKES THIS SET?

This flatware set is a 22 piece vintage set that was made by the German Flatware Manufacturer: Wenz.  Based on my research, it seems likely this set was made in the 1950's and it is stamped "WENZ 90" on each piece which signifies that this set was silver plated with 90 grams of fine silver.  This was a common marking for flatware in Germany to signify the exact amount of silver used. (If companies wanted to produce more affordable options they would plate with less silver and, as such, use smaller numbers on the stamping such as "60," "40" or even "20.")

The knives in this set are composed of two pieces and the cutting blade is stamped with "Rostfrei." This German word simply means ‘rust-free’ when translated to English. However, it also refers to ‘stainless steel’ when engraved on the blade and other cutlery items. When stamped with ‘Rostfrei’, the knife or cutlery typically comes from Germany or a German-speaking nation such as Switzerland, which aligns with the idea that this set likely was produced and sold in Germany.

WHAT IS THE STEEL MADE OF?

This is a vintage set and it is fairly clear that it has been silver plated but the base steel/metal is unknown.  Likewise, we do not know the steel used on the actual knife blades.

WHAT IS THE CONDITION OF THIS SET?

This set is in generally good condition.  There is light wear and tear in some areas including very light pitting on some pieces. A handful of pieces also show some of the silver is beginning to degrade and show the base metal below.  The large majority of the set is in great shape though.

The only item that I feel must be mentioned is that the Buck Moon knife has a small crack in the base of the knife that is generally cosmetic in nature and will not affect the function of the knife. (see pictures) However, at this point, it does represent a weakness in that knife's blade so if excessive stress is placed on the knife or it is dropped, there is a chance it would break along with pre-existing crack.  If this worries or bothers you immensely, please consider buying a set that is perhaps without flaws.  For us, personally, we like the patina and wear that comes with a vintage set but we don't ever want to assume that is what everyone likes.

IS THE KNIFE SHARP?

This is a hard one for us to answer as flatware knives are painfully dull in comparison to what we are used to on our knives.  The short answer is that the knives are generally sharp enough to cut most food items but we would (of course) love for them to be sharper. 

With that said, the sharpness on this set seems somewhat par for the course and it will cut through 90% of whatever is on your plate.  We did do a very light sharpening on each of the blades to give them just a bit of a "toothy" edge.  Please be aware to not cut yourself!

HOW DO I CARE FOR THESE KNIVES?

This set will do best if hand washed with a mild detergent after each meal. 

With that said, we know that some of you *cough* will still feel compelled to throw them in the dishwasher.  We aren't judging but if you must place them in the dishwasher, make sure to never wash silver-plated flatware with stainless-steel flatware in the same dishwasher load. The silver and stainless steel chemically react in the presence of automatic dish-washing detergent, causing silver ions to disassociate from the silver plate and transfer to the stainless steel. This leaves pits on the silver plate and may cause spotting of the stainless steel, especially if the metals are touching each other.

EVERYONE KNOWS THAT WITH A FORMAL PLACE SETTING THE KNIFE BLADE SHOULD FACE TOWARDS THE PLATE.  SO WHY IS THE ENGRAVING ON THE OPPOSITE SIDE???

We're rebels that's why.  Why not get a little crazy and break the rules sometimes? 

Also, the "ROSTFREI" stamp is located on the other side and that's just not as pretty to look at.