Oster "Knee Action" Hand Mixer (and a Toastmaster)

[rp2813]

I just picked up this Oster mixer today at Salvation Army. I'm completely unfamiliar with it and would like to know more about it (vintage for sure) if anyone has information. The beaters are missing.

It's very solid, and also very compact at only 6.5 inches from end to end. Perhaps a good alternative to a beer can for porn profile pix.

I've also had a Toastmaster mixer kicking around for a while that I'd like to know more about. It's missing its beaters too. More pix below.

 

[rp2813]

Another view

 

[rp2813]

One more

 

[rp2813]

The Toastmaster

I had to get this one because of its front grille that brings a flashy 50's Cadillac to mind, but it's still very masculine looking. It was sitting at Savers for weeks so I finally decided to rescue it.

 

[rp2813]

Speed selector

 

[rp2813]

Front end

 

[rp2813]

How'd She Get in Here?

Mia. She'll be 12 this month. That's an estimate. She found us, not the other way around.

 

[vacbear58]

What on earth do they mean

by "knee action"?

Al

 

[rp2813]

Knee Action

Here's the answer I just found on line. I wonder how well this system worked. It might be worth finding beaters (no small task, I'm thinking) and putting it to use. Maybe to make brownies. It's a model 420, after all.

This ad is from 1954. I think mine is 1955 at the oldest since that appears to be the first year the black badge was used on the front. I can't find any other mention of a wall bracket but I'm curious about one.

 

[mixfinder]

Long Slots

The beaters resemble3 the shape of early Hamilton Beach Mixettes but they have an 1 inch slot on the top. There is a spring in the socket that pushes the beater down but allows it to ride up. Problem is the beaters don't actively stay on the bottom of the bowl when mixing heavier batters. I sent one to Gansky so maybe he can picture it after it arrives in Omaha.

 

[Sanisonic]

Still

can't say that I understand what they mean by "knee action", though I do see in the diagram what the beaters do. Very strange term to describe this mixer.

 

[kevin313]

"Knee Action" is an awkward kind of way of describing what it does. I'm guessing the wanted people to understand that the "legs" of the mixer moved up and down. The only other thing that will move a leg is a hip - maybe they would have sold more if it was the blender with "hip action"!!

 

[rp2813]

That would be one very hip little blender. I guess "Knee Action" is better than "genuflecting" mixer.

So Kelly, I can see your point about thicker batters. I'd probably use a stand mixer in that case, but what would happen if you used downward pressure to make sure both beaters had bottomed out? Would the whole thing bog down?

At least I know now that the beaters have a distinctive slot so I will keep an eye out. Very little has come up on ebay about this type of mixer, other than ads and owners manuals.

 

[mixguy]

Oster and Toastmaster Mixers

Interesting gimmick a "knee-action" hand mixer. I don't see that "floating beater" design as an advantage. Most of us like using mixing bowls with steep sides when using a portable electric mixer. Less spatter in the work area to clean up. The Oster mixer appears to have sturdy construction. The Toastmaster 12 speed is a rare machine to still be fuctioning. It did not fare well with Consumer Reports in 1965-66 *(when tested) it failed the durability test. Toastmaster had a stand/hand mixer around that time with folding pedestal and storage compartment in the stand for the beaters and power cord. The mixer had a 3 qt white pyrex mixing bowl much like that of Hamilton Beach mixers of the 1960s.

 

[crevicetool]

General Motors cars....

of the late thirties, early forties had what were called "Knee Action" shock absorbers. My '41 Chevy had them in front. Those familiar with the way cars were designed and built before "struts" will remember that cars had upper and lower control arms in the front, so that the wheels could move independently of each other. The knee action shock absorber was actually the upper control arm. It got it's name by the pivot point resembling a "knee" with two members (legs) that attached to the king pins, incorporating the shock absorber and upper control arm in one unit.

This is just a guess on my part, but I am imagining the same principal was applied inside this mixer to allow the beaters to go up and down independently while still allowing them to rotate. Some sort of yoke shaped device that would maintain downward pressure on the beater shafts yet allow them to slip through the gears while revolving. Perhaps?