A silly question . . . but it's driving me nuts

loodieboy

loodieboy

Joined
Oct 16, 2002
Messages
154
It seems so quiet in this forum, except for the mouth-watering pictures of beautiful customs recently posted, I was hoping you all will suffer a minor question that has been bugging me. I recently acquired a Schatt & Morgan Series XIII small barlow. The shield is stamped " 925 SS." So I'm guessing the "SS" is sterling silver (because the knife is advertised as having a sterling silver shield), but what does the "925" refer to?
 
.925 is the purity of the silver on a scale max of 1.0.
 
Wait a minute, now that I've digested the answer I'm left thinking what a peculiar mark for a shield - even if it is sterling silver. A coin, okay, but a shield? Is there a history or tradition to the practice of marking up shields in this manner?
 
A history and a law in many places. Back when silver was money purity was a big issue. In England and many other countries silver good where/are required to be proofed and marked. False marking could get you in big trouble. Coins by the way are normally .875 fine. See http://freespace.virgin.net/a.data/worldindex.htm for standards from many countries.
Patrick
 
Originally posted by loodieboy
I recently acquired a Schatt & Morgan Series XIII small barlow.
Click to expand...

I just wanted to say that I like your taste in knives. I need to get me one of those.
 
Patrick - I can understand proof marks on precious metals traded as such, but it still seems odd that once a maker elects to incorporate sterling silver into a component of a product, the law requires the maker to mark the proof of that component. On the other hand, perhaps because it is advertised as sterling silver, Queen has a legal obligation to mark the proof? Anyway, the reason I'm interested is because asthetically, the knife would be just as attractive with, say, a plain nickel-silver shield. Instead, it is graced with a sterling silver shield filled with a less than inconspicuous proof mark. So although perhaps legally required, maybe this is just a case of Minnie Pearl wanting to leave the price tag on her hat? I guess I find it just a little distracting on what otherwise I think is a beautiful knife. Man, I sound like a crab.

Phil - Grab one up, it's nice to find a quality production barlow available.
 
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