Feb. 24, 2025
Buying a cutlery set is a vital decision and can make or break a dining experience; with all the different styles, designs and terminology, it can feel somewhat overwhelming.
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When choosing stainless steel flatware for your restaurant, home, or a gift, understanding what makes up the flatware, how it is made, and the pros and cons are essential.
Knowing the standard terms associated with cutlery varieties can make the whole process much easier, as well as guaranteeing you are happy with the collection and style you end up choosing, and we are here to help.
18/10 or 18/0
Flatware predominantly comes in 18/10, 18/8, 18/0 and 13/0 compositions, with 18/10 and 18/0 being the most common choices for restaurants and the home.
The numbers are used to describe the quality and grade of the stainless steel. The two main components being chromium and nickel, with 18/10 and 18/0 showing the percentage of the chrome and nickel that are present in the stainless steel that the silverware is made from:
Wondering which one is best for you? The main difference between them is the lustre and economic value. Chromium offers rush-resistant qualities and hardness, while nickel enhances corrosion resistance and provides a silver shine. The higher the nickel content results in a more rust-resistant, weightier and shiner product.
18/10 provides a brilliant lustre and a rust-resistant durable product which is easy to maintain. Whereas 18/0 offers an economical design with a short soft shine and zero nickel content; however, a zero nickel content means it can be prone to staining.
Stamped
A stamped piece of cutlery begins as a ribbon of steel, which is then punched, or cut out, into shape. It is then tempered, sharpened, and finished with the process generally being handled by machines. Whilst traditionally stamped cutlery was of lower quality and inexpensive compared to forged cutlery, it is an excellent choice if you need a large selection of cutlery for different uses at a low price.
Forged
Forging uses handcraftsmanship to produce a strong piece of cutlery and is one of the oldest construction methods. Forged cutlery begins as a solid bar, which is then heated up to a very high temperature and pounded into shape, sharpened, and finished.
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Forging makes the cutlery much stronger than stamped and provides the choice of a round, oval and square cutlery design. Forging has limitations of pattern definition and often has a simple design; it also involves intensive labour and is therefore regarded as a premium range and is more expensive than stamped cutlery.
Buffing
Buffing is the finishing process of polishing the cutlery after it has been worked into shape, with the premium range of 18/10 cutlery sometimes receiving up to 27 levels of buffing. If you want customers to admire your silverware, maintaining a high standard of cleanliness and polished cutlery is crucial, and is guaranteed to positively contribute to your business image.
If you are interested in purchasing our luxury cutlery collections or would like to know more about our different designs and manufacturing process, check out our product page here or contact us.
18 refers to 18% chromium content, and the other number refers to the percentage of nickel content. There is no difference between 18/8 and 18/10. It's purely marketing. 18/0 however, has no nickel content, which means it won't keep its silver-like shine over the years.
The numbers 18/0, 18/8 and 18/10 refer to the percentages of chromium and nickel in the stainless steel alloy. The "18" refers to the chromium content, which gives flatware its rust-resistance properties, and the "8" or "10" refers to the nickel content, which gives it its silver-like shine and some rust-resistance. There is a lower quality flatware commonly available called 13/0 or 13 Chrome, which simply has 13% chromium content.
These numbers are merely "nicknames" for the lay person to use, and are only used for marketing efforts by flatware manufacturers. When a manufacturer purchases stainless steel from a steel mill, they purchase stainless steel Grade 304, which has a range of 18-20% chromium, and 8-10% nickel content. Grade 304 in flatware is usually at the lower end of that range. To keep the cost down, steel manufacturers will make grade 304 with 8.2% nickel, which clears the legal hurdle of calling it 18/10.
What does all this mean? It means that there is no difference between 18/8 and 18/10 stainless steel in flatware. The difference between the two is purely a marketing effort.
18/0 however, is a different story. It's made from the "Grade 400 series", which contains no nickel.
Keep in mind that these numbers do not refer to the weight of the stainless. If the weight is a concern to you, please ask your sales representative about the weight and feel of patterns you are interested in. As a general rule, the Silver Superstore does not sell stainless steel flatware that is flimsy, or bends easily.
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