[TheForge] Silver question

[Jeff & Leslie]

Guys,

Awhile back I found a bunch of sterling silverware in a trashpile.  It had 
been thru a fire and much of it was melted and welded together in a mass, 
but some of the pieces were just mishapen and discolored.  I cleaned up and 
reshaped a few serving spoons and I really like em.  They are a little soft 
however and may bend if used for somthing like getting cold dogfood from a 
can (dog thinks he's a prince, doesn't like stainless).  So, i'm guessing it 
was annealed by the fire and would like to know what to do to make them 
stiffer if that's possible and feasible.

Thanks,  Jeff in Tallahassee where we're having the nicest weather of the 
year

ps  Until I got Bob's letter about a striker plate I hadn't gotten any forge 
mail for several days.  Has it been slow or am I having problems with the 
list?  And, why not make the striker plate from brass?