I know what it is!

[larrywseale]

Mango fork. Beyond that, I'm ignorant so feel free to delete this post if I'm in the wrong place. Sadly, it's missing the windmill arms.

I'm assuming it's Dutch because of the windmill but I don't have a clue as to the round makers mark on the back.




I'm also at a loss regarding the composition. The fork has a specific gravity 9.35 - 9.34 - way below even .800 silver but higher than I think silverplate or "german silver" should be. There is a tiny "mark" in the upper window but I don't have a clue if it means anything



Comments are greatly appreciated

[oel]

Hello,

Known as Mango fork by many but in Holland mostly known as ‘cakeprikker’ or cake fork, as far as I can see, no Dutch hallmarks and according to your test well below any known silver standard. Perhaps basic metal and silver plated? Let us wait on other opinions.

Oel

[larrywseale]

Hi Oel:

I've seen it called a cake fork but never could figure out why. I'd most likely poke the big tine through the roof of my mouth if I tried to use it on something soft & crumbly (or use it at all for that matter).

The metal has me a little baffled. The SG is high for silverplate on copper or any base metal unless it has something like lead mixed in & it's definitely not pewter. Perhaps it's time for a drop of Nitric - sigh!

If only they'd get an XRF gun down to my price range - about $9.99 :-)

[oel]

Hi,

Yes, but a lot of old utensils I personally find useless. I believe you first cut your muffin like (moist) cake in small mouth size pieces and pricked the fork under a sophisticate angle into the little piece of cake and you were not supposed to stick the whole fork into your mouth, you opened your mouth a little and slide the cake between your lips, closed your lips and pulled the fork back. Never to be used as a toothpick! Now you please try to use the fork to eat a mango. Good luck!

Best wishes,

Oel
PS. I love to eat a juicy mango without a fork

[dragonflywink]

It says "MADE IN HOLLAND" ("IN" in the center) - have seen the mark numerous times on mid-20th century silverplate souvenir spoons. Regarding its use, despite the fairly widespread internet identification as mango forks, most seeming to go back to someone who wrote a book on them which makes light of the Dutch use - have seen too many (in different sizes, with varying lengths of tines) in boxed sets with individual pastry cake forks to believe that they were ever intended as mango forks. Also suspect that some of the Dutch cake forks might not really be suited to piercing the pit and hoisting a half-pound mango.....

~Cheryl

[oel]

Thanks Cheryl you have eyes like a hawk! Made in Holland.
In my files some other opinions about the cake forks; the forks were not for eating but for serving, uncut cake on the table. You use the fork to hold the cake, prevent it from falling apart, when you use a knife to cut a slice of the cake. After the cutting the fork was used to serve the slice of cake.


Oel

[dragonflywink]

Heh - just too much time handling souvenir spoons, that mark shows up on commemorative spoons from all over the world, including the U.S. Considering the different sizes of those unusual cake forks and their presence in sets with the more ordinary small pastry/cake forks (with wider cutting tine), had just assumed that they were for serving.....thanks for clarifying.

~Cheryl