Kenmore 158.19131

 

Thrift stores are some of the best places on earth.  

Just several days ago, my mother called me needing to do some banking.  (Mom isn't one to decline to use a free chauffeur service.  The acorn didn't fall too far from the tree, did it?)  Neither of us knowing exactly where the bank branch is, I nonchalantly drove her to a nearby thrift store and decided we'd find the bank on our way home.  

There are times when the shelves are bare but not that day.  The shelves were stuffed with excellent merchandise and lo and behold, among computer keyboards, old power tools, and lamps was the above machine: a Kenmore convertible, model 158.19131.  An agent of Thrift Store Search and Rescue, I couldn't let it sit there, forlorn and increasingly abused as other customers roughly shoved it aside, now could I?  Not missing a beat, I hoisted it and plugged it into the testing station not because I suspected it wouldn't run but just to hear the smooth hum, see the smooth action, and emphasize my private elation that no other person, shopper or employee, would understand: Kenmore. 

This is the first time I've seen this exact model.  It's a convertible, meaning that at the press of a button at the far side of the pillar, the U-shaped end of the 'flat bed' (it's actually slightly sloped toward the plate) slides off to reveal a free arm.  This makes the machine extremely versatile, particularly for sewing small or rounded items such as collars, sleeves, cuffs, etc.  The bobbin can be accessed either by taking off this section or via another button on the left side, lifting a smaller section of the bed in front of the plate.  Here you'll find the feed dog drop lever as well as the bobbin area door.  Kenmore designed these convertible machines extremely well. 

For $7.99 this machine was an absolute steal.  It has dings and scratches but it's mechanically rock-solid and incredibly smooth.  I have three other Kenmore convertibles, all of them very fine but this is the only one with a cam assembly.  I was only too happy to add it to the stable.

• 1.2 amp motor
• feed dog drop
• convertible
• vertical bobbin
• cam stack
• cam assembly
• super-high shank
• reverse lever
• interlock light/power switch
• stitch modifier on the dial
• built-in buttonhole function on the dial
• button-style pressure control
• double-needle capable
• foot controller
• two spool pins
• bobbin winder
• designed by Kenmore and made in Japan by Jaguar/Maruzen

No attachments, case, or cabinet were included.  The feet will have to accommodate the high shank architecture of this particular machine, so they'll be harder to find than the low shank feet and attachments found everywhere.  I could buy an adapter, though.  A small price to pay, don't you think?

This is one of several Kenmores I've found at thrift stores for very, very low prices.  Other brands such as Singer seem to command much higher prices and even generic Japanese clone machines can fetch substantially more.  Those who have sewn with Kenmores know how great they are and so I can only attribute the price difference to ignorance and a general sense that Sears/Kenmore was a utilitarian and rather non-luxe brand.

True luxury is quality, not brand.  Part of me wishes Kenmore enjoyed a better reputation but this is always squelched by my thrifty self: ignorance of quality allows me to afford it.

How about you?  Do you have a thrift store find that gives you great satisfaction?