What you should know about flatware

Terminology, Material, Production, Design and Quality

A number of processing operations have to be undergone to produce a gleaming, well crafted item of flatware from raw stainless steel. Around thirty different process steps are required, to complete a good-quality spoon or knife. ZWILLING J.A. HENCKELS places considerable emphasis on high-quality raw material and takes special care at every stage in the production of its flatware.

1. Forks and spoons

Our flatware is usually made of high-grade 18/10 chrome-nickel steel. The principal production stages, now increasingly automated, are:

Blanks are stamped out of metal sheets.
The functional element, i.e. the wide forward section, is flattened by rolling.
This end is then stamped to produce the eventual functional shape, the prongs for a fork and the bowl for a spoon.
A subsequent pressing process shapes the prongs and bowls.
The handle is then shaped..
The smooth, sealed surface finish is produced by a number of finishing processes such as grinding and polishing.
In the case of silver-plated cutlery only, further processing in the form of silver plating takes place.