![Silver knife handle with iron blade](https://www.jhsilver.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ss1590-Img_0421-web.jpg)
The blade is from an old wooden handled knife of my father. I think it’s a small paring knife – the blade is 5cm long. Whether it is a family heirloom or something he picked up for 5p in a car boot sale I will never know!
I decided to make a silver handle for it. This is a salt casting, with a tube beneath to take the knife tang.
The hallmark on the silver was new to me. I had included the blade when it was sent to the London Assay Office. They chose not to punch the marks as I expected, but lazered them on adding ‘+Metal’ to allow for the iron blade.
![UK hallmarks from a silver knife handle](https://www.jhsilver.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/ss1590-Img_0427-2-web-300x300.jpg)
I’ve had stainless steel brooch pins stamped ‘METAL’ before, but never the base metal unscathed and the hallmark done like this. Not that I mind at all – it just wasn’t what I expected.