My new toaster

[3fingers]

When I was a kid, I ate a lot of my meals with my Grandfather. Toast was a part of nearly every meal, and the toaster was permanently plugged in on a side table within reach of his chair.
I have never since had toast as good as that old Toastmaster cranked out. Crisp on the outside and still chewy in the middle. I've wanted one for a long time and finally found one on ebay that seemed to be flying below the radar price-wise. It's a good thing the neighbors couldn't hear me laughing when I took that first bite of toast.

 

[VintageBee]

They don't make them like that anymore...I need to find one of these as hubby is going to throw the plastic one we bought as a temporary fix out the window any day now!

 

[3fingers]

I have one of those Chinese plastic ones I received as a gift. It makes toast, but the wattage of the elements must be much different than the old machines. It takes longer to pop up, and to make the outside come out properly, the inside is dry. It also has no character- it's an ugly little white box that sat in the corner on my counter. If you are a bagel person, look for a bit newer toastmaster, as these were made to toast bread. This one is a 1B12 from 1947. A couple models later I believe they widened the slots for any size bread.

 

[VintageBee]

Thanks for the info! I'll keep an eye out for this make of toastmaster.

 

[B. White]

Looks really old fashioned. I don't remember if my grandparents had a toaster or not, but I am pretty sure that they did and it looked like this))

 

[EmergencyIan]

Recently, it turned out that the toaster I'd been using for 16 years was on the blink. So, I thought now I have to find some new toaster. Then, I stumbled upon this thread and had a eureka moment...look for a vintage toaster. I specifically looked for a Toastmaster.

There are a whole lot of Toatmaster toasters on eBay. I waded through a bunch of them and narrowed it down to two 50s model #1B24's. I asked both sellers several questions and then ended up settling on the Toastmaster below:

(the photographs below were taken from the eBay auction)

I just received the toaster this afternoon. It was already pretty clean, but I cleaned it further and tested it. It toasts great. Also, it was rewired, at some point and I was aware of that ahead of bidding on it.

Needless to say, I am happy to have it.

- Ian

 

[1930artdeco]

Don't older toasters just add to the ambiance of a house/situation/discussion/breakfast etc., etc....!

Mike

 

[EmergencyIan]

Don't older toasters just add to the ambiance of a house/situation/discussion/breakfast etc., etc....!

Mike

I think so.

On a side note, but related, our blender's plastic jar/pitcher developed a leak in July. I considered finding a replacement jar for it. But, I decided to look into vintage blenders, first. I really didn't know anything about them. While doing a bit of research, I rediscovered the Oster Osterizer. I knew of these blenders, but they weren't anything that had crossed my mind in decades. So, I started looking on ebay and did the same thing I did when it came to the toaster. I narrowed it down to two and asked both sellers pertinent questions. The questioning didn't narrow it down any further. Both blenders not only looked beautiful but also worked "perfectly." So, I had my wife look at pictures of both and she chose the one she liked the most. I won the auction and got the Oster Osterizer Super Deluxe blender. It could be from the late 50s, but it may be from the early 60s. It's what's referred to as beehive (that's the shape of the body) with a chrome body. And, it is beautiful and does work "perfectly."

- Ian

 

[Stanley Doble]

The first blender was the Waring blender invented by bandleader Fred Waring. He was a health food nut and wanted a device he could take on the road to make healthy fruit drinks.

Ironically the first market to really take them up was bartenders.

Another old name in blenders is Vitamix

In the fifties every home had one of those streamlined chrome toasters on the breakfast table. You are right, the new toasters are low powered and turn out an inferior type of toast, and take twice as long doing it. I suppose the low wattage is an energy conserving feature but if you have to run them twice as long you save nothing.

 

[EmergencyIan]

In the fifties every home had one of those streamlined chrome toasters on the breakfast table. You are right, the new toasters are low powered and turn out an inferior type of toast, and take twice as long doing it. I suppose the low wattage is an energy conserving feature but if you have to run them twice as long you save nothing.

This morning, I think my wife thought I was crazy when I told her the toast is so much better in this "new" old toaster. In our old toaster the toast was so dry most of the time, I swear that you could hold a slice in your hand, squeeze it into a fist and come out with bread crumbs. I don't know if the right word for this mornings toast is "chewy" but that's the best one I can come up with to describe it, right now. I was truly taken a back after the first bite.

3fingers talked about this same thing, as well, earlier in this (his) thread.

- Ian

 

[3fingers]

Ian, I'm glad you are enjoying your toaster and happy I gave you the idea. We are slowly converting our appliances over to vintage ones. My wife used to roll her eyes a lot when I would talk about doing this, but now that we have a few things, she has become a believer as well. I had already successfully converted her to cooking in vintage cast iron. We have a mid/late sixties avocado blender that came from a yard sale. It replaced a "modern" blender that gave out on us after a couple of years. I'd like to have one a bit older, but the dollar I spent on it has been a good investment. Our next desired purchase is a vintage stove.

 

[Fading Fast]

This thread is peaking my interest. My girlfriend and I eat toast almost everyday and have gone through several modern and hateful toasters. Combining our heavy usage with today's disposable junk appliances, and this is not a surprise. Our current Cuisinart feels like a piece of tin, has a dial that has been loose from day one and its crumb tray pops out 80 percent of the time.

That said, we are too frugal (cheap, tight) to buy one of those crazy expensive new toasters for ourselves, but we did buy one for my girlfriend's parents as a gift and, while they say they love it (they would never say anything else), I've used it when we are home for Christmas and it is an overpriced piece of junk.

Hence, you guys have me thinking about going vintage. I remember my grandmother's seventy five pound toaster that sat on the kitchen table, with a cloth-covered electric cord, that made great toast and never had a problem other than that she did get the cord recovered at some point (when you could go somewhere to get that done). That said, I don't want to burn down our apartment building - how do you know these vintage ones are safe (or do you just unplug them between uses)?

 

[LizzieMaine]

The thing you have to watch out for in a pop-up toaster is a bad thermostat. They aren't repairable unless you can find a new-old-stock part, so if the toaster doesn't pop up on its own at the set temperature, pass on it.

The safest bet from that perspective is a non-automatic toaster -- the kind where you have to flip the toast over. There's very little in these to go wrong except a bad cord, and those were designed to be easily replaced. The danger from one of those is that you'll forget to turn the toast over and it'll catch on fire. English muffins burn furiously when ignited. Word to the wise.

You don't keep a manual toaster plugged in because there's no switch. The heating elements are connected directly to the AC line thru the line cord. Plug it in to use, unplug it when you're done, and don't answer the phone or wander out of the kitchen while you're using it.

I've been using the same manual toaster, a cheap Woolworth's "Universal" model from about 1935, since 1979. I paid a dollar for it then, and have never had a problem with it other than setting fire to the occasional English muffin.

 

[EmergencyIan]

My Toastmaster toaster is going strong, so far, with daily use. We don't use the Oster Osterizer blender nearly as much. I got a 1955 NOS/unused Sunbeam Percolator AP10A last week. I'm looking forward to receiving it. I paid $50 for it. The toaster and blender were $24 and $17 respectively and in really great shape. So, if they go kaput, in the not too distant future, it's all right.

I suppose that I should have posted the link in this thread, but a week ago there was a new old stock/unused Toastmaster toaster 1B21 (1956) and from what I have read, toasts "any size" of bread, on ebay. It went for $70 ish. It was in the box with instructions or some sort of paperwork.

I think you must do a bit of homework and/or ask a lot of question of the seller prior to taking the leap. But, in my opinion, it's certainly worth it.

Maybe of interest, this gentleman restores and sells vintage toasters: http://www.toastercentral.com/ The price are higher than what I paid for mine, but they aren't too bad for a 50 plus year-old toaster that you know is in good working order and safe to use (no bad cord, etc)

- Ian

 

[Stanley Doble]

May I add a thumbs up for my old Acme Juicerator juicer, circa 1970? It is my favorite, even though I have several more modern models.

It squeezes more juice out of the fruit, and it is easier to clean by hand since it has fewer parts. The only drawback is it does not eject the pulp. The pulp stays in the extractor until you take it apart and clean it. This means nothing unless you are juicing a bushel of apples at a time.

O ya, I took a cheap rubber spatula and cut it at an angle to make a scraper for the extractor. This removes the pulp in seconds.

 

[Stanley Doble]

For you toast fans, if your toaster burns out an element (the most common breakdown) you can replace it with generic Nichrome wire. Or if you are real thrifty, tie the ends of the broken wire together. You can buy nichrome wire on Ebay for under $5.

 

[LizzieMaine]

For juicing, nothing beats an old Juice King. Stick the orange on the aluminum cone, pull the handle around and squish goes the juice into your glass. The only drawback is that it takes three oranges to make a good-sized glass of juice. But you can eat the pulp out of the rind when you're done.

 

[Horace Debussy Jones]

I've got one of those old manual models myself. Works great and has for the last 85 years or so, and will probably work for another 85 or more. Gotta watch the toast like a hawk though because once you start to smell it, it's pretty much too late.

The thing you have to watch out for in a pop-up toaster is a bad thermostat. They aren't repairable unless you can find a new-old-stock part, so if the toaster doesn't pop up on its own at the set temperature, pass on it.

The safest bet from that perspective is a non-automatic toaster -- the kind where you have to flip the toast over. There's very little in these to go wrong except a bad cord, and those were designed to be easily replaced. The danger from one of those is that you'll forget to turn the toast over and it'll catch on fire. English muffins burn furiously when ignited. Word to the wise.

You don't keep a manual toaster plugged in because there's no switch. The heating elements are connected directly to the AC line thru the line cord. Plug it in to use, unplug it when you're done, and don't answer the phone or wander out of the kitchen while you're using it.

I've been using the same manual toaster, a cheap Woolworth's "Universal" model from about 1935, since 1979. I paid a dollar for it then, and have never had a problem with it other than setting fire to the occasional English muffin.

 

[Fading Fast]

Lizzie and Ian - thank you for all the information and guidance. I know it will take some research which I will use this thread and your information to kick off this effort. And I checked out the website - there are some gorgeous toasters there.

 

[3fingers]

There is a fellow on youtube that shows how to take apart and repair old toasters. I've only watched 1 or 2 of his videos, so don't know a lot about him, but may be worth a look. I believe he calls himself Toasterfreak or something like that. I'll see if I can find him.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=UU7JYJEFr38EFlNq_qm_FZ6g