I received the loveliest little silver tea set as a Christmas gift. It holds about 2 cups of tea, was made in India, is silver plated and has quite a charming design. It’s like a silver tea service for one, the tiny tea pot with the perfect proportions can nest together with the tiny sugar bowl sitting where the lid should. Likewise the creamer (well, milker, I suppose) sits atop that and the whole thing can be topped with the tea pot lid.
Well, from the moment I saw it I loved it, it’s a very clever design, insuring lots of room on the morning tea tray for extras like bisquits or pastry ! I saw this very item on sale just before Christmas and remarked at how pretty it was.
Here’s the thing…
Clearly, it was on sale because it possesses a tiny design flaw. The handle and the lid to the little tea pot are both made of silver and get scalding hot in a heartbeat.
Now I know I could use a dainty little napkin, the way the ladies used to back in the day. But that’s not my style.
I’m thinking if I could find something pliable, like cording, or leather, or some kind of vine or root, I might be able to braid it around these parts somehow, then my fingers wouldn’t get singed everytime I forget and reach to pour more tea.
I adore the little tea set and use it sometimes twice a day and would really like to find a way around this little problem.
Any suggestions?
“Wisdom is the booby prize, they give you when you’ve been unwise.”
Twine would be good; also yarn, and if you want a non-slip solution, go to a local hardware store and get some of that dip-your-tool-handles-in-vinyl stuff.
I’m thinking if I could find something pliable, like cording, or leather, or some kind of vine or root, I might be able to braid it around these parts somehow, then my fingers wouldn’t get singed everytime I forget and reach to pour more tea.
You did mention that was a rather small item?
You could get some fine insulated wire and braid or wrap that around the handle where needed.
A free source is multi-strand phone cable that gets thrown away after an install job.
It’s about a half inch thick, and covered with a plastic jacket. Inside are about 100 strands of fine, plastic covered, multi-colored copper wire. It twists and braids easily, clings to shape, wont melt except to flame, and you can make a nice looking woven pattern with whatever colors you want.
You’d only need about a foot, for way more than enough to do a teapot handle.
Dumpsters at office buildings, that are doing remodelling, usually have some.
(and it makes great wire for small electronics repair, or tying up plants too)
I agree with the person who says you should not drink from it. You may risk all sorts of metals in your tea. It may look like silver, it may act like silver, but it probably isn’t silver… What if its lead?
I think you should contact Martha Stewart and ask her what she thinks. Hell, she can probably tell you how to silversmith the offending handle and lid to present the proper thermal conductivity coefficient.
Metal things from India that look like silver or pewter are usually not safe to use for food or drink because they contain high percentages of lead in the alloy. There are even some objects that look like brass or bronze that have a high lead content.
Being an acid, tea will leach out the lead from the alloy, and it will be ingested along with the tea. Not a good thing.
Perhaps having the tea set examined by a lab or metallurgist would solve your “too hot to handle” problem by eliminating the use of the tea set for safety reasons.
I have lots of goblets, plates, eating utensils that cannot be used, and I keep them merely because they are interesting to look at and have unusual designs. Some of the cups or goblets I use as incense burners.
FixedBack
“When learned men begin to use their reason, then I generally discover that they haven’t got any.”~~*G.K.Chesterton 1908 *
