eating with really old silverware

[Anna's Lovey]

anyone know if it's ok to eat off of old silverware? I'm talking, like, 30 years ago. MIL brought half of her collection from Russia and insists that we eat with them--something about it being good for digestion. The spoons and forks are just sitting in the drawers now, because I won't eat off of them(my husband does sometimes). I did a quick Google search and I can't find any information about old silverware being harmful to eat with--mainly because nobody eats off of thirty year old silverware.
I'm concerned that it might contain lead.
Any thoughts?

[alegna]

30 years is old silverware? My kids eat off some 100+yr old silverware at my parents' house Age doesn't worry me. I suppose lead could be a concern... I don't know what Russian silverware was made of 30 yrs ago.

-Angela

[lifeguard]

Pick up a lead test kit from the hardware store. It takes about 30 seconds & then you'll know for sure.

[MeepyCat]

Originally Posted by Anna's Lovey

nobody eats off of thirty year old silverware.

Loads of people eat off of silverware far older than that - my mom's silver was bought for her by her grandmother when she was a baby, and mom's been using that stuff every day since she got married nearly forty years ago. And at that, it's the "new" silver in the family - my aunt has the silver that her grandmother inherited from heaven only knows how far back.

[mamazee]

30 years isn't that old. In fact, that's within the dates when lead risks were known - 1978 is when a lot of those changes came about in the US. I'd test because they're from Russia and I don't know when they made laws regarding lead in dishes/paint/etc. But 30 years isn't that old at all.

[calpurnia]

uh, yeah. we eat off 60 year old silverware that we inherited from my grandparents.

[Maedze]

Our fancy holiday silverware is at least 100 years old...it was handed down from my now 97 year old grandmother...and it was HER mother's before her.

I don't know if it's toxic, but I've been eating off of it at every holiday since I was old enough to use a fork without stabbing myself in the eyeball and I turned out ok.

Well, maybe not 'ok', but I didn't sprout a third eye, either

[Maedze]

Also, just to prove a point, last year I bought a new package of tablewear. I slipped as I was opening it and now have a scar from the hole I punctured in the webbing between my thumb and forefinger. NEW SILVERWARE IS NOT SAFE, IT WILL TRY TO KILL YOU!

At least Nana's ancient forks have never attempted anything so dastardly

[bethanyclaire]

Originally Posted by lifeguard

Pick up a lead test kit from the hardware store. It takes about 30 seconds & then you'll know for sure.

I second that!

30 years is hardly old silverware but because it's origin is pretty much unknown it certainly wouldn't hurt to test it. I have used the kits myself (my old home was built in the 1700's... so we had to be careful when painting/sanding/renovating) and they are very simple.

Our "special" silver is well over 100 years old. The holiday silverware we grew up using in my mom's house was nearly that old and my grandmother's was probably older. I have a weakness for antiques and tradition.

[cschick]

Originally Posted by alegna

30 years is old silverware? My kids eat off some 100+yr old silverware at my parents' house Age doesn't worry me. I suppose lead could be a concern... I don't know what Russian silverware was made of 30 yrs ago.

-Angela

Yeah, our daily-use flatware is over 50 years old. My husband got it from his parents, who got it from his grandparents. My MIL was eating off this flatware when she was a child, sixty years ago, and it wasn't new then.

[BetsyS]

My fancy silver is pretty "new"--it was made in the 20s.

At my mother's house, we eat off silver that is much older.

[savithny]

My parents still use their wedding "daily service" daily -- its a lovely "Midcentury modern" pattern and has stood up to 45 years of use with no issues at all.

Honestly, I'd rather use their "old silverware" than wahtever brand-new made-in-China crap Target is selling. With the globalization of production, "new" certainly does not necessarily mean "safe." Yes, older china sometimes has lead in the glazes, but brand-new things have come over from lowest-common -denominator factories in the developing world that are chock-full of lead, mercury, and even uranium.

[adimond]

how funny we are! i am glad to know about the test. 

regarding new merch made overseas; don't forget WE buy it! i make my clothing IN USA, and I KNOW what it is made of (oeko tex certified) and but i remain small because all those things equate an added cost, i am trying to minimize mine the best i can (longevity for our worlds futures).  I wish more people could buy with longevitiy in mind ( i am guilty as well - do not get the wrong picture here; not perfect - trying.) but i feel it the most with small sales high quality product, we want 2 bras for the price of 1, but those cheap bras dont last so long, maybe 1 pregnancy; shouldn't our bras be of the same caliber our darlings clothes last for several generations? OR maybe the cheap ones do last and i am remiss - i have some products that are 7 years old and they are not shabby.