This is exactly why you should be using it daily! 
If it makes you happy just looking at it, think of how much happier you’d be using it! (And think how much happier your sib would be knowing you’re getting daily smiles from using something he made!) I’d be very sad to know that any of my knives were not being used because their owners thought they were too pretty. 
4 Likes
Read Marge Piercy’s poem “Putting the Good Things Away”:
[https://hellopoetry.com/poem/2502726/marge-piercys-putting-the-good-things-away/]
4 Likes
Poignant. Good reminder we should not deny ourselves the pleasure of using our pretty things.
3 Likes
Shattering.
2 Likes
Yes, it’s sad to reflect that collectors of lots of things never even handle them, for fear of reducing their value. Knives are a good example.
2 Likes
I guess that is why I never wanted to collect anything. I just want a pretty nice (whatever it is) that I can use and enjoy. If my love of old French pots and pans, knives, ceramics, and molds ever tipped from wretched excess into true collecting, (A) I would need to study more, (B) I would have to abandon my “one year rule,” requiring everything to be used at least annually or pitched, and (C) I would need to be wary, lest my wife attack me, justifiably.
I used to do that with clothes. I’d pack things I rarely wore into boxes, contents labeled in detail on the outside, and if I didn’t open the box for something in a year, I’d open the box up, take everything out, and donate it. I
1 Like
@Eiron I do use it, but as a serving board.
It’s too precious to scratch up, because one side was decorated by my nephews when they were little.
3 Likes
Over the years we inherited or were given some lovely things, but they were better suited to someone with, shall we say, a more lavish lifestyle. We have let them go to find suitable homes. I know the next generation is known for not wanting our silver, china, linens, or dark furniture. It seems I have always been that way. Interestingly, much of the old china had lead.
2 Likes
I have a boatload of silver, multigenerational, plus my own, plus a lot I collected over the years (aka Baltimore silver, which I love). No one to leave it to or give it to. I have beautiful hand embroidered linens, done by family, including my own mother; same story. I have a family genealogy quilt that was started in the 30s and finished in the early 50s - each square representing a family member and their town and state - same story. China? My mother’s and mine. Same story. Dark wood furniture? Well, I have a sideboard with provenance - dates to 1810. Enjoy the estate sale.
1 Like
oh, so sweet. I still have an apron with the hand prints of three sisters whose family I was close with. They were 2, 4, and 6 at the time. Never used the apron because it’s so precious to me, still hangs in my kitchen.
The oldest will be 32 in November, the middle one is 30 in August, and the youngest is 28 in August. The youngest has two young sons of her own, and I have a dish cloth with their 2 and 4 year old hand prints!
3 Likes
Do you use it? My sister has silver she’s inherited and has incorporated it into her everyday cutlery simply because she thinks it’s pretty and because none of her kids want it passed down to them. I’m always surprised to see it in her silverware drawer when I visit, but also always think, “I should do that with mine!” 
3 Likes
I have a full silver set of 8 (well, 3 dinner forks seem to have ‘walked out of the house’ over the years 
) and love bringing it out for dinner parties.
I didn’t fully appreciate being gifted parts of it over the years by an uncle. My sister’s gold coins seemed far more appealing. Silly girl, I was.
I may just start using some of mine for everyday.
1 Like
We use ours a good bit. My father, after mother died, used to put his silver and china in the dishwasher. My parents also used a pretty old mahogany dining table every night and wore most of the finish off at their places. Most everything gets used regularly or starts a new life elsewhere. The only exception I can think of is a few sheets at the bottom of the stacks that we never reach.
2 Likes
Perfect. I hope you left it be.
2 Likes
Of course.
2 Likes
