Question about silver patterns
 

I recent inherited my grandmother's silver and china.

I'm sitting here polishing the silver (it probably hasn't been touched in 17 years or so- my grandmother died in 1987) while i'm watching the Pitt- Seton Hall Game.

POLISHING SILVER SUCKS! My hands feel like they're going to fall off. I haven't even gotten to the tea service yet- that's going to be a b!tch.

Does anyone have any tips?

Also, does anyone have any resources on how to find out what the pattern is? All I know is that they say "International Silver Co." and are probably from the 1940's. Anyone know a good website?

My china pattern is Franconia Palladina. See, those say what the pattern is! Why can't the silver? :)

Polishing silver does suck. And it takes forever. That's why, back in the day, people had maids to do it.

I don't really have any tips on speeding up the process (I used to *hate* polishing my family's silver serving trays--and we only used those on special occasions), but I'm sure your local library might have some kind of book on the subject. I'm from a pretty small town, and I checked one out from our library several years ago, so the library might be a place to look. Either that, or the Internet.

You might want to check out www.replacements.com -- if you click on "silver" you should then be able to find a listing for "International Silver." It's kind of time consuming to look at each pattern and they don't always have a picture of each one, but I was able to find my mom's silver on there.

Have fun polishing!

I saw a tip for polishing silver on PBS during their drive a few weeks ago. Use only if the silver is not valuable and you aren’t concerned about removing any antiquing or patina. First you fill a glass bowl with hot water, as hot as you can stand without it burning your skin. Add 1 tablespoons of water softener, 1 tablespoon of salt, and a piece of tin foil to the water. Place your silver in the water for a few seconds touching the foil and the tarnish with diminish. Count to ten. Remove, rinse thoroughly in hot water and then dry with a clean soft cloth. Do not use on jewelry with stones. Enjoy your new china and silver. :)

Just a little hint about sterling/silver plate -

Don't let it touch any stainless steel utensils - it can make the silver turn yellow.

Our everyday flatware is silver plate, and we just run it through the dishwasher, but we're fanatical about making sure that none of the stainless knives/other utentils touch the silver. If its delicate silver, I wouldn't put it in the dishwasher, though