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<p>[QUOTE="SBSVC, post: 333339, member: 136"]Hi, ATB, and welcome!</p><p><br /></p><p>The thing with worn, rusty plated blades is that they're not usable OR desirable - and you're right: in most cases, they cannot be re-plated. I don't see how replacing the blades with something <i>functional</i> would reduce the value of the knives you have.</p><p><br /></p><p>Shiebler had some gorgeous sterling patterns, and I'm going to assume that yours is one of them. Sometimes, buyers are looking for pieces in pretty, old patterns, but generally, they only want them if the pieces are usable.</p><p><br /></p><p>Sadly, the recent trend is to sell silver at melt value. The "value" of a knife with a plated blade is in the weight of the <i>handle</i>, which is the part that is sterling. For melting, the blade is immaterial, as it is removed & usually tossed.</p><p><br /></p><p>Were they MY knives, I definitely would have the blades replaced with stainless, no question. The process is not cheap, however, and you might want to get quotes from several sources before you go ahead with the project.</p><p><br /></p><p>I'd say it's your choice: hold onto unusable silver, send it to a smelter (eek!), or pay the money to make it usable again... It depends on your circumstances, of course, but I know which one I would choose![/QUOTE]</p><p><br /></p>
[QUOTE="SBSVC, post: 333339, member: 136"]Hi, ATB, and welcome! The thing with worn, rusty plated blades is that they're not usable OR desirable - and you're right: in most cases, they cannot be re-plated. I don't see how replacing the blades with something [I]functional[/I] would reduce the value of the knives you have. Shiebler had some gorgeous sterling patterns, and I'm going to assume that yours is one of them. Sometimes, buyers are looking for pieces in pretty, old patterns, but generally, they only want them if the pieces are usable. Sadly, the recent trend is to sell silver at melt value. The "value" of a knife with a plated blade is in the weight of the [I]handle[/I], which is the part that is sterling. For melting, the blade is immaterial, as it is removed & usually tossed. Were they MY knives, I definitely would have the blades replaced with stainless, no question. The process is not cheap, however, and you might want to get quotes from several sources before you go ahead with the project. I'd say it's your choice: hold onto unusable silver, send it to a smelter (eek!), or pay the money to make it usable again... It depends on your circumstances, of course, but I know which one I would choose![/QUOTE]
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