To me your elegant table setting is really brought down by stained or rusted flatware. At Christmas, with the entire family sitting and ready for dinner my husband and I were in the kitchen polishing rust off the knives. It was just embarrassing.
I've had flatware that I've paid, $30.00 for and flatware that I've paid $80.00 for and both rusted in the dishwasher. Why does flatware rust?
To me, even if I only bought the Wal-Mart cheap set for around $30.00 that is still a big waste of money. I mean, that thirty dollars is a pair of shoes for one of my girls, or lunch money for one of them for a week or part of the down payment for school golf or softball or volleyball. The bottom line is I wasted money plain and simple and that makes me angry.
Then I thought, may be flatware is one of those, 'you get what you pay for' items. So I started some research.
In everything I read the term 18/10 came up over and over. So exactly what is 18/10 and what does it have to do with flatware?
18/10 stainless steel refers to the amount of chromium and nickel in the item. So 18% chromium and 10% nickel. Stainless steel is manufactured with various amounts of chromium/nickel. You can get anything from 18/10 to 18/0 but this is a buyer beware situation. Believe it or not you want some nickel in your stainless to prevent rusting and be durable.
18/10 stainless is more durable, resistant to staining, scratching and rusting compared to 18/0 stainless that is softer and subject to rusting.
So this is where I've been going wrong. I thought that the lower the nickel content the more resistant to rusting the item was but in truth it is the exact opposite!
I checked out many flatware pages and read review after review. I found that Oneida is getting the best reviews in on-line surveys. The flatware is said to be heavy and rust resistant as well as very durable and scratch resistant. In checking at Oneida.com I found several flatware sets that I liked but the prices really threw me. $500.00 and up, yes FIVE HUNDRED dollars and up for a service for 12. I mean, this is flatware I want to use every day and for nice occasions but FIVE HUNDRED dollars is crazy for what, FORKS!
After my sticker shock wore off and some smelling salts were delivered, I sat down and thought about this. I want high quality flatware but the prices are just ridiculous. I mean if this was gold or silver I could understand these prices but it is just stainless steel, so why is it so expensive? I went to bed that night with my advertisement and magazines and with the thought that I was either going to need to take out a loan or just have rusty flatware. I mean come on, FIVE HUNDRED dollars is crazy prices for forks and knives. No way I was going to be able to convince my husband that this is a good investment. Five hundred dollars is more than my car payment and we are just talking forks here people. I was in way over my head.
That night while looking through my magazines and circulars I saw that I received a Macy's circular. This past weekend and continuing this week they are having a 'white' sale. The usual January sales of bedding, towels and dishes. I noticed they had their flatware on sale. I got excited! Then I noticed a set of Oneida flatware on sale for $175.00. Now this is a bargain. A service for 12, that is the heaviest set Oneida makes AND it is 18/10 stainless AND I like it! I quickly did a bit more research and this Oneida pattern, Moda, received forty-seven 5 stars on Amazon and fifty -nine, 5 stars on the Oneida site itself. It is one of Oneida's best selling sets. It isn't fancy but I didn't want fancy. I was beginning to get giddy here! Needless to say it wasn't hard to get the hubby on board, he hated the rust stains as well.
So on Saturday, we headed to Macy's. We unboxed the set and held each piece as well as looked over the knives. The set is heavy but it feels really well built. I didn't even say anything before my husband had re-boxed everything and was heading to the cashier.
The best part? Not only was the set on sale for $175.00 BUT I had an online coupon for 15% off and the sales clerk gave it to me on top of the sale price!!!! So this service for 12 cost me, with tax, about $158.00. Yes I am a saving queen!
Like I said the set isn't fancy but it I think it is timeless and elegant.
There are directions that came with the set on how to wash them. It says they are dishwasher safe but you wash the knives handles down and everything else handles up. So I'll be making sure that is followed. I'll let everyone know how it holds up. Wish me luck but for right now I'm in flatware heaven!
Victoria
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