The Evolution of a Spoon.
From the crude blank of nickel silver to the finished spoon, there are over thirty distinct operations necessary, a few of the more important stages being illustrated. When the spoon emerges from the plating solution (see [No. 8]), it is perfectly white and looks as if it had been treated with a heavy coat of enamel. It is then scratch-brushed, burnished and, in some patterns, the handle is greyed. After this, the spoon is buffed and finished.
Every operation is performed with the utmost care, and not until the piece is actually finished can this vigilance be relaxed, as it is the final processes that make the plating of pure silver an actual part of the spoon and insure its wearing qualities.
Striking and Bowling.—The pattern is then stamped on the handle and the bowl is shaped.
Trimming, etc.—After the pattern and the bowl have been struck, there is usually a small burr left where the metal has oozed out between the dies. This is removed by trimming. The trademark is then stamped on the back of the handle.
Polishing.—The goods are put through various operations of polishing until they are brought to a high finish.
Plating.—The articles to be plated are suspended in a frame in the silver solution. This frame is connected with the negative pole of a magneto-electro machine, while the silver is suspended in the solution from bars and connected with the positive or opposite pole of the machine, thereby forming a circuit for the electricity through the solution.
1. The blank. 2. Squeezed. 3. Blank rolled. 4. Spoon cut from blank. 5. Design struck. 6. Bowl raised. 7. Trade-mark stamped. 8. After plating. 9. The finished spoon.
A patent automatic scale, designed to weigh the silver while depositing, is balanced to the exact weight of silver to be deposited on the article. The circuit is completed by turning a switch and the plating begins.
As soon as the articles receive the proper weight of silver, the scale beam rises, thus making a separate connection with the electro-magnet, which springs the switch, breaking the electric current and stopping the plating at the same instant, also ringing an alarm bell to notify the workman that the articles have received the proper weight of silver.
Quality.—Standard silver-plated spoons are made in two grades of plate—triple and quintuple. The former, however, is the one generally used and answers all ordinary requirements. The quintuple grade is designed more particularly for hotels, restaurants, clubs and other institutions where the wear is especially severe.