..:~**~:... So Excited ..:~**~:...

That was my attempt at making sparkly pixie dust things around my words in the title. Because as I have previously mentioned, I am sooooooo excited right now.

Why, you may ask, am I so excited?

I am excited because I just bought a vintage gravity feed iron on Ebay for $15!!

The only picture included of this item on ebay

I have been wanting a gravity feed iron ever since I learned of their existence about a year ago. The iron I have been using (also Sunbeam brand, ironically) is not very good. As is the case with most modern all-purpose irons, it's extremely temperamental about how much steam it releases, when it decides to release the steam, and if it will ever release said steam at all. It also leaks large drips of water on my fabric when I least expect it, which is like NUH UH OH NO YOU DIDN'T.

So when I read about gravity fed steam irons, I wanted one immediately. I have a dedicated sewing space so I have room to set up the bottle and hose and everything else. The only problem is the price. For reasons I don't feel like going into at the moment, I am currently kind of poor. So I couldn't justify spending a minimum of $110 on a new iron when I already have an iron that kind of almost works when it feels like it. (This is the same reason my old Toyota serger that I got for free is currently being repaired... I can't justify spending $400+ on a new serger when I have a free one that kind of does what it's supposed to do sometimes.)

I began ambling about the internet seeing if I could find an iron for significantly less than the ones I'd seen previously. I didn't have much luck until about two days ago I found an ebay auction for the above item.

The title read: "Details about Sunbeam Electric Steam or Dry Iron: 70% more steam because of gravity feed... LOL." The "LOL" at the end kind of indicated to me that the person selling this item had no idea what it was. This hunch was verified by the description given below: "This Sunbeam iron is in the original box with all the original parts, including the instruction booklet.  The box reminds me of an episode of The Honeymooners.  Looks unused, at least to me." The minimum amount they wanted was $15. No one had bid on the item yet, so I bid $15.

Two days later I won the auction at for $15. And free shipping. And I was really freaking happy.

If the seller is doing their job, hopefully this iron is on it's way to me as we speak. I am unbelievably excited to try this out and see if it works. If it doesn't work, I haven't wasted too much money. But if it does...... Oh if it does! I can take my sewing and tailoring and steaming to a whole new level!

Does anyone have experience with using vintage irons? Do you have any idea how old this iron might be and what chance it has of actually working?