How to Identify the Purpose of a Silver Plate Knife

Look first for any table knives. These are the standard knives used for eating the main course. They usually have a long, rounded blade and a heavy handle, although from the 1950s onwards pointed tips with a straight upper edge started to appear. While some late Victorian examples may be highly decorated, they will usually seem plain and understated in comparison to other varieties of knife.

Check for any fruit knives used during the final dessert course. Among a varied collection these will catch your eye by being smaller and more delicate than their neighbors. The blades tend to be either straight and pointed or curving with a rounded tip. Some may have mother of pearl handles or embossed designs of fruit and berries. Table knives and fruit knives are both relatively easy to identify but other knives may be harder to distinguish.

Look for any fish knives which would have been employed with a fork during the fish course at the start of a formal meal. Roughly the same size as table knives these are often appropriately decorated with scale and fish designs. Their blades are scimitar-shaped, deep and terminating in a point that is rounded underneath and concave along its top edge.

Inspect the group for any butter or cheese knives. Cheese knives are also scimitar-shaped but they generally have a forked point. You can also find scimitar-shaped butter knives which differ from fish knives by having a more pronounced concave section above the point. There is also another form of butter knife which has an arrow-shaped blade on a slender stem. If any of these knives much exceeds the size of an ordinary table knife they should probably be classed as 'slices,' large serving implements used on grand occasions.