Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-01-31
BY Mrs.
Christine Frederick.
The Distinguished Authority
on Household Efficiency.

Ter tlnlSh, Sucn as DTlBnI Out
ler," or dull butler" whereai
there is only one. very brigh
polished finish"
Which Of the two finishes l!
preferable depends on taste anc
the nature of the piece itself
and also on the time which one
has to give TO take care Of the
silver. Thus, the polished fin
ish" is considerably more diff
cult TO care for because it's high
surface shows scratches. wear
fingermarks, etc. Much more
than the soft and dull butler
finish"
If the housewife is her own
butler" she should by all means
select silver in the soft butler
finish" or choose that style of
finish when she has her pieces
restored.
Now, assuming that the home
maker has sold or discarded all
useless metal articles, what are
the steps necessary to restore
the finish to those pieces she
wishes to keep and care for?
Restoration to its original form
and original surface beauty in
wolves two main processes, viz;
, A-Repairing, and B-Refinish-
ing.
Repairing will include such
items as removing dents from
vase, jug, bowl. cup or porringer;
repairing leaks at the seams
(often almost invisible TO the
eye). in such pieces as vases,
pitchers and jugs; soldering two
broken parts together; or supply
ing one new part and soldering
to the remaining old part or han
die; supplying new handles to
cups, mugs, pitchers etc; sup
plying new hinges 10 pots or COW
cred jugs; or supplying new
knobs when needed.
In short term repairing.
as understood by the metalsmith
includes putting the article into
its original form.
Refinishing includes smoothing
the surface by taking out cuts,
scratches. dents and hicks. and
, removing all other defects in the
metal itself by means of scraping
or various methods of polishing
the surface. Refinishing can be
done only after the article has
first been repaired-that is OBJ
vious.
After refinishing. in many
cases, the piece will be re
plated" or "silver-plated," or
appropriated" by putting it
into the proper plating solution.
BY the way, there is no longer
such thing as triple" or quad
ripple" plating. Today a piece is
only dipped once and the equiv
alent Of the old-fashined quad
ripple" plating is accomplished by
leaving the piece in the solution
the desired length Of time.
Frequently. in examining old
silverware. one will find that,
owing TO long use, there is much
needed repair TO be done in the
flatware pieces. Thus. tines Of
the forks often need straighten-
ing.
Dents in the spoon bowls may
be hammered out. Broken spoon
handles may be soldered to new
spoon bowls, only the caution
is never 10 have sterling pieces
treated TO what is called soft
soldered" technique-all sterling
repair work should be hand
soldered," otherwise the soft sill
N'i VIII llON IlDiIs anu TIE spoon
will again break away from its
handle.
a common repair job in con-
nection with silver flatware is
that on the handles Of knives.
all the handles Of sill |
yer knives are hollow handles. /"
If the blades are loose, the sill
versmith may remove the old |
blades and replace with new
or. If the handles are
not loose but merely worn off,
the blade may be refinished and
replated, since knife blades are
never sterling"
1t is amazing TO see the re-
suits of this one small job alone
the resoldering of knife han
dies and their REPEATING TO a
beautiful new finish,
Silver in daily use is easier
10 care for than silver which is
stored. However. all silver
should be kept wrapped in soft
canton flannel bags or wrap