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| A set of six world architectural landmarks made of stainless steel by Amco Houseworks in my collection. These spreaders, Amco item # 8452, originally came with a stainless steel block in which to house them, but that was missing by the time I obtained them. (I did not know who made these, as only a few manufacturers stamped the blade with their names and once the original packaging is lost it is probably impossible to know, until I spotted an identical set online). |
I've decided to take the high road and try to encourage a more serious appreciation of collecting spreaders.
Here are a few tips on collecting them (note: because I am not aware of any other serious collectors, I have had to make up some of these as I go along):
1. Finding Cheese Spreaders
The best place to find spreaders is online, on sites such as Ebay, Etsy, Poshmark and Mercari, although shipping costs make them more expensive than finding them in thrift stores such as Goodwill and consignment stores. However, such local finds are increasingly few and far-between and depend on regularly frequenting such stores (having friends or relatives who are regular Goodwillers promise to purchase for you any cheese spreaders they run across is a good tactic).Figural resin-handled cheese spreaders have been declining in popularity among the general public since about 2005. Their original manufacturer, Boston Warehouse, rarely makes any new ones these days, and only a few companies still sell new ones online now. Most spreaders sold today are more ornamental in design, not figural, with fancy silver or gold-tone handles.
This decline in popularity means two things for collectors (both good): first, they are relatively affordable to purchase, relative to other collectors' items; and second, the fact that there are few new ones being made today means that the total number ever made is not increasing very quickly any more, so it might be possible to figure out approximately how many were made in total. (Although it might never be possible to collect them all -- probably at least a thousand different sets were made by various manufacturers during their "golden period" of the early 1990s through around 2010.)
Most spreaders are originally packaged in cases with clear plastic lids, although many second-hand ones are missing their cases. My sheer delight in the variety of cheese spreaders available originally compelled me to purchase all figural resin-handled cheese spreaders that I chanced across, regardless of whether the original case was missing. But now I try to mostly buy ones in their original cases -- unless I come across a set without a case that's so interesting and unusual that I make an exception.
A really serious collector would purchase only never-used spreaders in original cases in good condition, would store them in some way that the cases would not rub together and cause wear (and would never actually use the spreaders for spreading food!).
When I first started collecting them, I threw away the original cases (the cases do take a great deal more space to store), but after becoming a more serious collector, I began to keep them in their original cases.
Cheese spreaders are usually (but not always) sold in sets of four, although I admit to sometimes purchasing sets from which one or more of the four are missing, something that, again, a really serious collector would not do.
I do prefer sets in which each of the four spreaders is different, not four identical spreaders (which I find far less interesting). One of the most fun things about the spreaders is how the four spreaders in the sets are designed to relate to each other.
Most spreaders are originally packaged in cases with clear plastic lids, although many second-hand ones are missing their cases. My sheer delight in the variety of cheese spreaders available originally compelled me to purchase all figural resin-handled cheese spreaders that I chanced across, regardless of whether the original case was missing. But now I try to mostly buy ones in their original cases -- unless I come across a set without a case that's so interesting and unusual that I make an exception.
A really serious collector would purchase only never-used spreaders in original cases in good condition, would store them in some way that the cases would not rub together and cause wear (and would never actually use the spreaders for spreading food!).
When I first started collecting them, I threw away the original cases (the cases do take a great deal more space to store), but after becoming a more serious collector, I began to keep them in their original cases.
Cheese spreaders are usually (but not always) sold in sets of four, although I admit to sometimes purchasing sets from which one or more of the four are missing, something that, again, a really serious collector would not do.
I do prefer sets in which each of the four spreaders is different, not four identical spreaders (which I find far less interesting). One of the most fun things about the spreaders is how the four spreaders in the sets are designed to relate to each other.
2. Care of Cheese Spreaders
The most important advice concerning care of resin-handled cheese spreaders is:
DO NOT PUT THEM IN THE DISHWASHER!
Many times when I come across a set of cheese spreaders, one of the four is missing, and I often suspect that it was accidentally ruined in the dishwasher and thrown away (although it could simply have been the previous owner's favorite spreader of the four, and was kept while the other three were given away to save space). I occasionally see cheese spreaders that have been put through the dishwasher, and the paint rarely holds up to such treatment, coming out faded and peeling off (the paint can be retouched with Sharpie markers; I have a set of 25 different rainbow color Sharpies for this purpose; but they never look as good again).
Wash cheese spreaders by hand using a soft washcloth and mild dish soap, and then gently dry them by hand with a very soft dish towel (preferably one without a nap that can get stuck in the handle's niches) so that spots don't remain on the handle or the blade. Take care that food doesn't remain at the top of the blade where it fits onto the handle - there is a tiny crevice there in which food can become lodged.
Cheese spreaders should be stored so that they don't rattle around against other spreaders or other things, as the paint and resin are easily chipped. Just throwing them in a drawer with your other silverware is not a good way to store them.
3. Storage and Display
At first, I didn't have a place to store the spreaders in my collection that were still in their original cases, so I just stored them in large cardboard boxes, which made it really inconvenient to see the ones I had, let alone enjoy them. In 2014, I realized that a shallow closet in my study filled with random junk would make a good place to store my growing collection -- and make it much easier to access it and enjoy it. |
| This shallow closet now houses my cheese spreader collection. Milk crates hold most of the cases, organized by subject. The narrow shelving unit at left provides a place to display my spreader houses and spreaders in wood blocks. |
For spreaders that are missing their cases, I have figured out a way to store and display them:
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| This is an inexpensive way to store cheese spreaders. |
I found some literature mailer boxes like the one pictured below at my local Staples store (they carried them in packs of perhaps 6, so I didn't have to buy $70 of them online). It's important to buy boxes that aren't too tall or too short in height, so that the end of the cheese spreader blades just touch the bottom of the box, allowing them to stand upright -- these are 2.25 inches in height):
I used a ruler to make eight very light lines across the top, maybe every 1-1.5" apart, and then used a small paring knife (about the same width as a spreader blade) to make cuts in the cardboard, about 1-1.5" away from each other. Then you can simply stick the spreaders into the cuts and they stand up so you can see the handles.
It's not a particularly beautiful display method, but it does do the job, allowing a fairly efficient display of spreaders that doesn't take up too much space and doesn't cost much to make. I read online that one woman's woodworking husband made something similar for her out of solid wood for a more permanent display. Hers only allowed about a dozen spreaders to be displayed, but there is no reason why more capacious display blocks couldn't be made.
Another collector who found this site told me that she uses spoon racks (the kind used to display antique wooden spoons) to display her cheese spreaders. She made new slots to fit the spreaders and has two racks, each holding about 24 spreaders, which she has hung on her wall. Very clever!
If you wanted to display them without their original cases, the spreaders could be removed from their cases, which could be stored in large boxes while displaying the spreaders themselves. As long as it was clear which spreaders belonged with each case (perhaps notes on a Sticky Note could be applied to each case), this system might work.
Good luck in your search for these humorous items. And please feel free to leave a comment -- there are so few collectors of cheese spreaders that it is nice to hear from others.
Best Regards,
Beth
I used a ruler to make eight very light lines across the top, maybe every 1-1.5" apart, and then used a small paring knife (about the same width as a spreader blade) to make cuts in the cardboard, about 1-1.5" away from each other. Then you can simply stick the spreaders into the cuts and they stand up so you can see the handles.
It's not a particularly beautiful display method, but it does do the job, allowing a fairly efficient display of spreaders that doesn't take up too much space and doesn't cost much to make. I read online that one woman's woodworking husband made something similar for her out of solid wood for a more permanent display. Hers only allowed about a dozen spreaders to be displayed, but there is no reason why more capacious display blocks couldn't be made.
Another collector who found this site told me that she uses spoon racks (the kind used to display antique wooden spoons) to display her cheese spreaders. She made new slots to fit the spreaders and has two racks, each holding about 24 spreaders, which she has hung on her wall. Very clever!
If you wanted to display them without their original cases, the spreaders could be removed from their cases, which could be stored in large boxes while displaying the spreaders themselves. As long as it was clear which spreaders belonged with each case (perhaps notes on a Sticky Note could be applied to each case), this system might work.
Good luck in your search for these humorous items. And please feel free to leave a comment -- there are so few collectors of cheese spreaders that it is nice to hear from others.
Best Regards,
Beth
I too have a spreader obsession. I have a rack on my wall that was made for displaying collectible spoons. I had one extra cut made in each hole in the rack so that it will hold the spreaders. It holds 24 at a time so I switch the spreaders with the seasons.Despite giving away about 15 last year I still have over 100. I do NOT have St Patrick's day nor 4th of July. I have been searching very hard for them
ReplyDeleteHi Dawn, Nice to hear from a fellow collector! And more than 100 spreaders is a pretty serious collection. You are the second collector who has told me about using spoon racks to display cheese spreaders, so it must be a pretty good way to store them. St. Patrick's Day is a hard theme to find, but July 4th ones are fairly common (do an Ebay search for them). I'll do a post about them in July; if you join the site (button on right side), you can subscribe to my posts (about once a month). Thanks for saying hi! -Beth
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