[Music] humans have been making eating utensils since prehistoric times sterling silver flatware remained the norm for centuries but since the 1950s stainless steel flatware has been the metal of choice stainless steel flatware is preferred by many because it's durable and doesn't tarnish over time it all begins with a thick coil of wire to make knives a heading machine cuts the coil into blank pieces with a head at one end this head is called a bolster it will connect the blade to the knife handle a furnace softens the metal so it can be shaped in a forging press a series of dies progressively shape the metal after grinding the end of the bolster flat the next machine welds on the tang the tang fits inside the knife handle an automated grinding wheel tapers the blade thinner at the front [Music] a second grinding wheel scallops the front edge this is the knife serration the thicker back end gives the blade strength to withstand the pressure you apply when cutting food the factory uses stainless steel with a higher nickel content for the knife handles it has greater corrosion resistance and is easier to form this is critical because the handles often feature intricate designs [Music] each forged knife handle piece starts out as half a handle a spot welding machine tacks the two halves together forming a complete handle to fuse the halves completely this machine cuts a piece of copper-based wire and drops it inside the hollow handle [Music] a furnace melts the wire so that it flows into the crevice between the two halves soldering the seam thoroughly an edging machine grinds the solder line until it blends in with the surrounding stainless steel workers pour liquid cement into the center of a carousel on which they mount 50 handles at a time as the carousel spins the centrifugal force shoots the cement outward filling the handle cavities then workers insert a blade into each one a 10-minute soak in hot water cures the cement workers scrub off any excess cement that oozed out on the spoon line a press cuts stainless steel into paint brush shaped pieces then heavy rollers stretch those pieces out thinning the end that will become the spoon's bowl a trim press cuts the spoon's profile [Music] next a machine called a coining press punches a pattern into the handle then forms the bowl to its rounded shape [Music] forks go through the same steps as spoons before going into a press that cuts the tines in two stages a support bar keeps the tines from moving while a coining press puts a slight bend in them the next machine slices off that bar and stacks the finished forks [Music] the last stop for all the flatware is the buffing equipment cloth wheels polish the surface with a liquid buffing compound until the steel shines [Music] the casual flatware are now ready for packaging the more formal ones get dressed up with full or partial plating in silver or gold [Music] you