Todays Flea Finds: Vintage Kenwood Chef & Westy Perc

[petek]

Per usual I go to sell stuff and end up carting other things back.
First off this lovely old Kenwood Chef mixer. I don't know how old it is really, the sellers had 1940's on it but I'm thinking it's likely early 60's. Came with all the attachments too, the blender and the can-opener are on the machine in the pic, as well there's a meat grinder with sausage stuffers, yay, dough hook and whisk. I took their word that it worked and when I got it home and plugged it in it runs smooth as a babys bottom. It's quite heavy being all metal constrution like a KA

 

[petek]

Found thls delightful little Westinghouse percolater right about closing when we were packing up. Not sure of the year, it's brushed aluminum and is rather squat, the picture makes it look bigger than it is.

 

[Versatronic]

Oooh that's nice

Night is falling and after spending their day searching out and restoring vintage appliances, the people of automaticwasher.org settle in for the evening...

Man, that Kenwood is beautiful Pete. Nice find. I skipped the flea markets this weekend because of some pressing projects that needed my attention. However, I swung into two yardsales that I happened to drive by. I snagged a little what I hear people call a tiki lamp. One of those cheap plastic shades that kind of look like a pineapple on 3 legs and an oster blender for 3 bucks. Like I need another blender. But I couldn't resist for the price.

Let me share with you some of my favorite toasters. First up is the Toastmaster Soverign. Toastmaster decided to update and modernize it's toaster line and this is what they came up with. Look at those lines, baby. I can stare at this thing forever.

 

[maytagbear]

Pete--

As I remember, I saw an early Kenwood Chef in a book on industrial design, and that's what an early one looked like. And the perk is interesting, too.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[Brent-Aucoin]

Very fun!
I have never heard of a Kenwood Chief mixer! It is so nice. I would say you have a rare one there.
The Westy percolator is a cutie also. Do tell how she does with perking your coffee.
You did good.
Brent

 

[Versatronic]

Proctor Silex

For the person who must have some turquoise on every single small appliance in their kitchen, I offer this Proctor Silex. You get your chrome and your turquoise all in one.

 

[Versatronic]

And finally

This is the only one of these I've ever seen. I thought it was so cute, I just had to pick it up. It's a Toastmaster 1 Slice for people on low-carb diets.

 

[maytagbear]

Brent-

The Kenwood Chef is the "British KitchenAid".

They've never had much of a market share here in the States, but their products are quite good.

The current version of the Chef is sold by Rival, last I knew.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[Versatronic]

One more for you Pete

Remember last night you asked me to post pictures of some of my small appliances and I said some of them were so ingenious, well here's exhibit A, the Dominion Oven/Broiler.

Plug it in, turn it on, and make yourself a cheese sandwich.

 

[Versatronic]

But Wait, There's More!

Pull out the tray entirely out by the handle, flip the whole unit over, and slide the tray back in. The heating elements are now on the top and you're ready to broil some crab stuffed fish.

Notice the writing on the side. If it says Broil 'N Toast right side up, you're in Broil mode. If it say Bake 'N Roast right side up, you're in bake mode. What in God's name with they think of next??!!

 

[Versatronic]

But You Know...

Sometimes you just want any muss of fuss and no clean-up afterwards. You just want some quick grub. That's when you go for the Presto Hot Dogger! You just open the lid, bend the hotdogs and stick them on the points coming out of either side. Closing the lid automatically starts shooting 1500 watts of electricity through the tube steaks. Only 60 seconds to electricute 6 dogs. Reddy Kilowatt would be proud! Mmmmm...damn...these are good.

 

[Washinsheen]

Versatronic, I am loving your yellow countertop!!! Very, very cool!!!

 

[tlee618]

Wow Pete that Kenwood is a beauty. It must have never gotten much use judging by its condition. We had that very same Westinghouse coffee maker. I would guess that we got it around 1960. Made great coffee and was super fast. If I remember correctly it makes 8 cups and had at least an 800 watt element. My mom was so impressed with this coffee maker that she gave it often as shower gifts. That coffee maker sure brings back some happy memories. Thanks for sharing. Terry

 

[Versatronic]

Thanks Washinsheen

Thanks, I like the formica, too. I'm not 100 percent sure, but I think they may called that the "cracked ice" pattern. The Kitchen table has that formica, plus all the counters, plus they even built an island into this place and covered it in the stuff.

 

[Versatronic]

And then there's the pink version

They used this same Formica pattern in one of my bathrooms, but it's in pink this time.

 

[westytoploader]

Pete & Mike, great pictures!! That Kenwood Chef is a beauty! Mike your smalls are very neat...especially that Hot Dogger or "dog shocker"! The Kelvy seems to be blending in very well with your kitchen...looks great alongside those cool yellow countertops!

I have the exact same hair dryer too...use it every morning! Those Oster Airjets are the best; they cool quickly, are adjustable, and are easy on hair too, due to the fact that they blow relatively warm air compared to today's plastic junk, which ends up catching on fire...

--Austin

 

[Versatronic]

Hey Austin

Yeah, the reason I got the Kelvy was because I thought it would fit in perfectly. Maybe after a few more weeks of working it over it might actually be something I can admire rather than despise.

I love those Oster hair dryers. I have another one still in the box and never used. I just say one on eBay that was pink! I never saw one like that before. I put a snipe bid in on it, but for some reason, the bid was never placed and I lost out on it.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=5612135617

 

[brisnat81]

Kenwood Chef

Hi Pete,

That Kenwood Chef was manufactured between 1948 and 1959. In 1960 the "Modern" shape came out which has been in use ever since.

I have a model A700 or is it 700A which is the very first model, and was made up until about 1952 or so.

Yours has a cover over the air vent at the back, and a different knob. When you lift the head up does yours have a plastic cover over the motor and electrics? Mine has a metal cover over the motor, but the switch is all bare wires inside. Yours is an C or D 700 I think? Correct me if I'm wrong. It was either the B or C model when the mixer got some modern saftey features.

In 1960 the A701 came out, and was around in various incarnations until 1976 when they brought out the 900 Series which has Electronic speed control.

 

[petek]

Was certainly a good day at the market today. One thing I did miss out on was a proper restaurant milkshake mixer. It wasn't an HB but some other make, lotsa chrome and extremely heavy. He was asking too much, I dithered and figured I'd wait and see how much I sold first. But then I saw these other people unloading their stuff to the table and the Kenwood Chef poking out a box so I grabbed it right away. Went back for the Milk Shaker but someone had already bought it, another seller. I counted 3 old manual flip side electric toasters, one a very old Hotpoint, it'll probably be back next week because she never sold it at $10. But I prefer the "automatic" pop ups really.

Terry, thanks for the info on the perc. Now I have at least an idea of its age. serial plate says it's 755 watts.

Growing up I'd never heard of Kenwood mixers either but obviously they sold them here in Canada because this one says on the serial plate..distributed by Sunrise Appliances, Toronto Ontario. Not very common either for one reason I figure is that they would have been very expensive back then like they new ones are today.. BTW..Kenwood was bought out by DeLonghi (Italy) who still makes them. I think the upscale Viking mixer sold today is a rebadged Kenwood Chef. This machines is 300 watts,,the new Kenwoods are something like 900 watts.

Great toasters Mike, the single slicer being very unusual. Do you rotate them and other things occasionally like I do for that "just new" kitchen. LOL
Now the Dominion toaster'broiler oven I have seen it before or perhaps something similar, I don't think it was Dominion though, some other name that escapes me, perhaps even Kenmore. A group of members here not that long ago posted some pics of their broiler rotisseries. I don't use mine too much, I hate the cleanup. With my little GE toaster/broilr/oven with the pop out front like Veg's I don't broil in it at all, I want it to remain looking new.
And I see you have my green Ericofon, someone else here has one in their kitchen. Mines now in the livingroom

 

[Versatronic]

Ericofons

Pete, yeah, I do rotote stuff just to mix things up. I rotate the stuff on display in the kitchen, and I rotate my lamps, even if no one else sees them.

I have three eriofons in "aqua mist". I have all manner of rotory phones in fifties colors. Some in perfect working order and some that need some fixin'.

 

[Versatronic]

Vintage mixer

By the way, speaking of mixers, I'd love to own this one. This is listing as pick-up only and I'm not willing to drive to pick it up. Perhaps if we have someone here from NYC they could pick this up. You don't see this very often and in this condition. And there's always my birthday to think about.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7544221039

 

[veg-o-matic]

Pete, that Kenwood Chef is one bigass machine! Is it really as massive as it looks in the picture?
I have the commercial for that Westinghouse coffeepot. Has a little animated blob-guy saying how easy it is to clean, being spoutless.

Mike--how's about a closeup of that Sunbeam with the leaves? I think it deserves equal time! That three-tier jar on your counter--I have the same one in my bathroom, though a different pattern; pink & purple harlequin diamonds.

What's "Tingle"?

Need some vintage hair-care stuff for your bathroom? I got some extras.

veg

 

[Unimatic1140]

Westinghouse Perc

Hi Pete, very nice find, I'm pretty sure I have a 1959 tv commercial for that Westinghouse coffee pot, I'll look for it this week and post it if I find it.

 

[foraloysius]

Pete, that Kenwood is marvellous! Does the blender have a handle? Somehow the blender looks newer to me than the mixer, at least the white parts, but I could be wrong.

Kenwood still makes those mixers. Recently they came out with some really stylish modern ones, the KM001 and the KM005 with a 1000W and 1200W motors. Real workhorses!

http://www.kenwoodworld.com/uk/local.php

 

[brisnat81]

Size

Hi Veg,

The kenwood is neither small or large, its inbetween. The bowl on this first series is smaller than the later ones, and all the mixing type attachments are incompatible with the later versions.

Mine is rated for 5-90 hertz at 50-250V AC DC So it seems to be able to plug in anywhere. The 700D that I have is only rated to 240V 50Hz AC DC

These first Kenwoods were entirely hand made in the Kenwood Factory in Wokking (UK) All of the gears were hand cast, and the motors were assembled by hand from components all made in the factory.

It wasnt until the 701 models that they started using more generic Interchangeable parts.

When I got mine, it had a blown capacitor which was located above the motor. Thus the motor was full of oil. It cost me a pretty penny to get it up and running again. I only use it now for light things, I'd never try it on a Fruitcake or the likes.

Hugs

Nathan

http://automaticwasher.org/cgi-bin/... [email protected]&dir=/COLLECTIONS/BRISNAT81

 

[brisnat81]

Blender Jug

Hi Louis,

The Blender jug is newer than the rest of mixer. The originals were all in one Blue tinged Glass, no handle, glass base with a chrome top.

The chrome top has a bakelite cap in the middle which removes to add stuff while its running.

The early jug also has a base that locks onto to the mixer which engages the clutch, and then the jug just sits inside it. This is rather than the base which lock onto the mixer.

When the jug is on the back, the front power outlets are supposed to be disabled.

There was and still is a full range of accessories available.

Back Power Outlet
Blender
High Speed Shreader
Juice Seperator

Top Front Power outlet
Citrus Juicer

Front Power Outlet
Low Speed Shreader
Cream seperator
Coffee Mill
Mincer
Can Opener
Bean slicer/Pea Huller
Wheat grinder

Mixing Power outlet
Potato Peeler
Seive
K Beater
Whisk
Dough Hook
Masher

I've probably missed a few but that should cover most of it.

Regards

Nathan

 

[kirk280980]

Hi all -

These early Kenwoods often pop up on eBay UK, so it always makes me wonder just how many are still out there being used all these years later. One of the things I like about the Chef/Major is that it's a tried and true design, and they haven't messed around with it too much over the years. Every so often it gets a bit of a facelift and some minor updates, but just enough to keep it modern, without straying too far from the original idea.

Something so many appliance manufacturers could learn from! REAL quality products evolve and improve slowly over time, gaining themselves a good reputation as they go.

Nathan -

Some of the attachments for the Chef/Major have now been deleted from the line, namely the cream maker, coffee grinder, can opener and bean slicer. These can still be easily found on eBay UK however, often unused and still in original packaging.

In their place, we now have the following:

Pasta attachment (roller type)
Tagliatelle accessory for the above
Pasta maker (extrusion type, plastic)
Pasta maker (extrustion type, metal)
Ice cream maker
Food processor (only fits latest model)

The "Multi Mill" mini chopper/grinder attacment is still available too, as is the selection of Kenlyte and SS bowls, the splashguard and dust cover. All of the accessories are rather spendy however, usually costing as much as a standalone version would. Collect the full set, and the combined total cost is about 3 times that of the actual mixer itself!

Cheers,

Kirk

 

[tolivac]

Viking mixer

Kenwood also builds mixers for Viking-I own such a machine-has the 1000W motor-it mixes and kneads dough like no-ones business-outclasses the KA machines.Also Kenwood makes a mixer for Hamilton Beach-Commercial division.Its like the household models but has a few diffrences-Has large "Start and Stop" buttons on the side of the base along with the speed selector-and also an interlock switch to prevent the motor from running unless the mixing head is lowered over the bowel.Its a new OSHA safety requirement for commercial mixers-the motor cannot be started unless the beater blades have been lowered into the bowel.I would love to find some vintage Kenwood machines-like their KA counterparts-both last a VERY long time.I have a few newer KW machines under Rival,DeLonhi,and of course-Kenwood.

 

[petek]

OH NO

I just realized, I didn't get a dough hook with this machine. I got the whisk and K beater (which I though was the dough hook) I hope I can still find a dough hook if the new ones don't fit. Now I can't try it out making bread,darn.
The blender jar doesn't look original to the machine because the lid and base are white, but it doesn't have a handle either.
If anyone has or finds an original doughook for this A700D please let me know or just grab it if it's cheap and I can send you the cost plus shipping..thanks

 

[frontaloadotmy]

Nice

Kenwood. I may have to come up there and shadow you at
those thrift and flea markets, Pete