Masterein Stainless Steel Shovel Shape Tea Coffee Sugar Spoon Ice Cream Dessert Spoon

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Very small in size is the diminutive snuff spoon. They are generally less than three inches in length with the bowl proportionately reduced in size. Confusion can be made with miniature or toy spoons. They were made from the early 18th century. Beware ofForgeries. It has a wide, flat blade with a sharp edge that makes it perfect for digging in soil and other hard surfaces. MOST COLLECTABLE:Early examples (esp. Rococo style), Irish hook-ends, rare marks & unusual patterns. Spoons, on the other hand, are typically much smaller in size and have a round bowl-shaped cavity that allows them to scoop up and move food or other materials more easily.

However, upon closer inspection, there are some similarities between the two tools that are worth exploring. Scissor action sugar nips superseded tongs at the beginning of George I’s reign (circa 1715) and were in turn superseded by tongs in a different form in the 1770’s. They reappeared, usually in novelty form during the mid–19thCentury. Marked twice; lion passant and makers mark. More exact dating is reflected in the design i.e. cast examples earlier, fancy bright-cut later and simple bright-cut (e.g. feather edge) somewhere in the middle! The ladle shaped sifter spoon can be found in much more varied styles than its sauce, soup and saltcousins. As a dessert course implement it is not only found as part of a canteen, but also as a single entity. It occurs in a rich variety of forms; cast, naturalistic or novelty handles, intricately pierced bowls, etc. It was first produced circa 1770, and has become a much smaller item during the 20thCentury. Butter spades tend to be tea to dessert spoon sized, but the earlier butter knives increased in length to table spoon sized, before being reduced by the end of the 19thCentury to teaspoon size.

Sugar Sifter Spoon

MOST COLLECTABLE:Early examples,unusual spoon sizes, marrow forks, Scottish Provincial & Irish, rare patterns. Generally smaller in size to a teaspoon, and become progressively smaller through the 19th and into the

The most common form of silver asparagus tongs are similar in design to oversized sugar tongs with the addition ofa restraining bar, usually held in place by screws, across the centre of the stem. The large blades are often pierced, for straining, and have a lip at the end of one to help hold the spears. Earlier forms of asparagus tongs (bottom example in photo) have un-pierced blades with a corrugated inner surface for improving grasp. This style of server has also been linked with other serving purposes e.g. chops, steak, salad and sandwiches (basically for whatever use the owner can find!). Other less common forms of asparagus tongs include the scissor action type and those with spring loaded blades - these generally date from pre-1800. A very common item, often found in association with teaspoons or canteens. They were used for pinching lumps from sugar loaves and pre-dated sugar nips with the highly desirable andiron type in the early 18thcentury. However, from circa 1715 sugar nips were fashionable and the tongs did not make their re-appearance until the 1770’s when cast tongs with pierced sections and attractive bright cut engraving became popular. Being so widely produced there are many examples of the standard patterns, especially Old English and Fiddle patterns, therefore the market tends to revolve around decorative examples or rare and unusual marks. Small examples were supplied with cased sets of teaspoons in the first half of the 20thcentury for serving sugar cubes. The sharp edge of the blade can also be dangerous if youre not careful, and it can cause serious injury if misused. The mustard spoon is often confused with the salt spoon. The bowl of the mustard spoon is always elongated to form a scoop, whereas the bowl of a salt spoon is round and deep and conveys the salt like a ladle (see photo). Another confusion can be made with the generally bigger egg spoons, this style of egg spoon is particularly numerous amongst Irish marked items. Most examples began life as part of a canteen and follow the form of the patterns, but variations on mainly Birmingham marked pieces, such as engraved decoration and variations in form can be found. They date from about 1760, and have tended to become much smaller in size from the late Victorian era.

Spoons can also be used to scoop and move soil, but are usually not as effective as a shovel for this task. Pre 1781 - Bottom-marked with only 2 hallmarks (lion passant & Maker). Their date of manufacture can be estimated by their style and where possible from the working period of the silversmith. Early 18th Century teaspoons may only be marked with a maker's mark or sometimes none at all. It is a versatile tool that can also be used for removing snow, spreading mulch, or even for scooping up pet food. The combination of beauty in form and the availability of this type of spoon means that the table spoon is one of the most collectable of flatware items. Originally a multi-purpose item, but also used for serving, or in sets of six as soup spoons. The title of "table" is generally only applied to this size spoon from the end of the 17thCentury, when dessert, tea, basting spoons etc. came into general use. The above photo shows from left to right a table, a dessert and a tea-sized spoon.

Shovels come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from the small hand shovels used in gardening to the large shovels used in construction.

Berry Spoons

The size of the blade can make it difficult to maneuver in tight spaces or when trying to scoop small amounts of material. The shape, size, and purpose of a spoon can vary widely depending on the type of spoon and the culture it is used in. sugar nips are usually only part marked on both finger rings with the lion passant and maker's mark. They can however be accurately dated by their form. Bowl form developed from plain with rattail through plain to shell-shaped. Arms and finger grips developed from plain to ornate. A collection of the standard patterns is fairly simple to build, therefore rare patterns, rare hallmarks and early dates are the most sought after. This is the usual form to build a collection of a spoon from each year of the 18thCentury, with the date letters of London made spoons (early teaspoons tend to have no date letter). The bottom line is that while a shovel and a spoon are two very different tools, they both have some similarities that can be used in creative and interesting ways. What are the Differences Between a Shovel and a Spoon?