Alfred Andersen handles , Western Rosette handles, lenght? color?etc.

[Richard Wilts]

Alfred Andersen Griswold Rosette Iron 999
Western Rosette Iron 999
Does anyone know what the original handles [1] total length or total length sticking out of the iron was?  [2]if color what color? , [3]or if they were left natural or natural with  varnish? [4]or if they were stain with a coat of varnish? And [5]what kind of screw held the handle on was it a round head or concave head ? on the Alfred Andersen and the Western. I'm going to use 5/8'' oak dowel rod, I think that's the right O.D. the handles that were on them are not original and very poorly made , So I would like to make them as close to the original as possible  . I would appreciate  all the help you can give me.

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Richard. The waffle irons that I have seen with the original handles were all very short and stubby even. Maybe a couple inches sticking out of the cast iron and that was all. Thats not to say that Alfred Andreson waffle irons were the same way, but I would say that it is very indicative that they were the same way. Some food for thought.  :)

[Tom Neitzel]

Sorry to take so long to answer, been crazy busy at the park.

This is an original Andresen waffle iron handle.  My grandparents actually bought the iron new.

It is 5/8" in diameter.  The bit in the socket is .60.  It is held in by a tack.  The total length is 4".  Painted black.

The Western iron would be similar, but I believe the casting socket will be smaller.

Tom

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Tom. Thats pretty neat that your Grandparents actually bought that piece brand new. I'm impressed.  :)

Now Tom are you going to be listing this piece on ebay here soon? I love it when sellers say, 'this piece belonged to my Grandmother and I fondly remember being at her house as she used this piece to make cookies in it for me as a child, she left it to me in her will and it was her favorite piece'. Now I gotta ask you, is this seller a liar or stupid?  :-/

[Tom Neitzel]

Naw, I won't be selling it, although the story that goes with it is pretty good.  I did post that story years ago on the old forum.

When cleaning out the family home after my mother passed away in 1998, I found one Alfred Andresen paddle stuck away in a crawl space in the half basement of the family home that my Grandfather had built in 1924.  Just one paddle, no base.  I was not a cast iron collector then, but it was interesting.  Also picked up the Griswold Sundial that an Aunt had given my Grandfather in the 1930's (I had played with it for years in the basement).

Anyway, a year or two later I was sitting having lunch with an 80 year old cousin of my Mom's (my Grandmother's brother Harry was his father).  I told him about the paddle I had found.  He said that he had something odd upstairs.  A single waffle iron paddle wired onto a base.  He went and got it.  It turned out to be the rest of the set.  There was a bit of corrosion on both paddles that matched up perfectly.  Can you imagine these coming back together after what must have been almost 50 years?  Grandma died in 1946, Grandpa in 1956.  They had a woodstove until about 1953 or 54.

I did sell the Sundial.  My brother had it priced at $5 at the garage sale, I grabbed it, I wanted it.  Finally sold it a couple years later for a LOT more than $5.  The gnomon was intact too.  Never outside until I got it.

So if I had put this story in an auction, would you have believed me?  I suppose I could have noted that it may have contained bubble iron to make it more attractive.

I think I even know the store the iron came from.  The Horn and Holmes hardware store at Center and J Streets in Tacoma, WA.  Here's a picture of my Aunt (she gave the sundial to her dad in the mid-1930s, the driver is Oscar, another my grandmother's brothers.  This is at the store.  Oscar was a real Teamster.  He brought his team over and helped Grandpa excavate the foundation for the new family home in 1924.  Picture is circa 1910-1915.).  Great Grandmother was a housekeeper for the owners of the store, so maybe a discount for the items.

Tom

[C. Perry Rapier]

Thats a fabulous story and picture too. Thanks for sharing Tom. Yes, if I were you I would not be selling that on ebay. I think the people who do that kind of stuff, if they are telling the truth, have a lump of coal for a heart.  >:(

[Mark R. Smith]

Speaking of handles. I have a Griswold The "New" American No.8. 976 waffle iron pat 1901. The handles on it are not original. I would like to replace them with handles more to the original style. That seems to be the same style as the Alfred Andersen handles. Does anybody have the measurements for the Griswold wooden handles or are they the same?

[Richard Wilts]

thanks C. Perry and Tom. . Tom,  great history of your Alfred Andersen Waffle Iron ..are you sure it was painted black or just turn dark over the year with all the handling and cooking on it?  P.S. I'm surprise they used a tack, three handles I took off mind had screws in it and one had a tack or nail in it.
All four were very sloppy in the hole where the handle fits. I used 5/8'' oak and made them to fit very tight used a black screw instead of a tack.

[Tom Neitzel]

The handles were definitely painted black.  I've not seen them secured with anything other than a tack.  I also don't know if they were shipped to the retailer with the handles attached or not.  It would have seemed easier to me to leave them loose and the the retailer attach them.

Tom

[Gary Salsman]

I have 3 or four anderson and western heart waffle irons. I thinkthey all have different shaped handles. I know one set is home made