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Sterling silver and 18/8 stainless steel are both resistant to most foods or chemicals commonly used in the home.  However, both of these alloys are quite soft and would not provide satisfactory edge-holding ability for a knife blade because there is no method of heat treatment that would bring hardness into the proper range.

It is common practice in the industry to use a hardenable grade of stainless steel for cutlery blades.  To get the hardenability it is current practice to use a straight chromium grade of stainless to provide the best combination of hardness,  toughness, and corrosion resistance.  However , this grade of stainless, while it is resistant to most foods or chemicals in the home, is subject to pitting under certain conditions.  The conditions that most commonly cause pitting are long contact with chloride-containing foods such as salt, salad dressing etc.  or soaking in water.

Prolonged soaking, (i.e. overnight)  in water must be avoided especially where several pieces may be in close contact during the soaking period.  The "rinse and hold" cycle on an automatic dishwasher is particularly hard on cutlery because the pieces are warm and wet for an extended period of time.  Best care for your cutlery is to wash and dry as soon as practical after using.

FROM THE SILVERSMITHS GUILD OF AMERICA

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