Vintage Meat Grinder – Everything You Need To Know

Vintage meat grinders are currently a coveted item among culinary aficionados. While an advanced meat grinder provides a variety of specialized attachments and features, an antique meat grinder is simply about function and form that lead to a job well done.

Whether you’re using an antique electric meat grinder or a manual model, you’ll get well-ground food for sure.

Are you seeking a vintage meat grinder to use as a cooking tool or decorate piece in your kitchenette? Better understand its different aspects first, like why an antique meat grinder is in great demand, where to buy an old meat grinder, how to use a used meat grinder, and how to restore an old meat grinder.

Our ultimate handbook is ready to serve you helpful knowledge!

Why Should You Buy An Antique Meat Grinder?

A vintage meat grinder offers loads of benefits

There are plausible reasons why people are into collecting and using a vintage meat grinder. Let’s discover what contributes to this type of meat grinder’s popularity.

Design

An old meat grinder bears a unique appearance that makes them stand out from the crowd. The vintage form lends it a touch of an antique world charm and reliability. You could rarely find this feeling in another modern meat grinder.

It’s true to say that design is what makes collectors craving for a deal on an antique meat grinder and create endless discussions on forums for ancient meat grinders lovers.

View more: How does a meat grinder work

Functionality

Another great thing about an old meat grinder is that it is highly functional.

Many people are mistaken about the purposes of the meat grinder. An old meat grinder can not only grind meat, but it can also deal with vegetables, grain, nuts, and more.

With a simple-to-operate design, you’ll find grinding meat in a cast iron meat grinder a joy that no modern meat grinder can duplicate.

Durability

An antique meat grinder is synonymous with longevity and durability.

Older models are usually made of steel, aluminum, or cast iron and come with accurately mechanized internal components that offer long-term usage with minimal maintenance.

The most obvious evidence for the durability of this type of meat grinder is that today you can still use and restore an old meat grinder without it malfunctioning.

Efficiency

If you think a simple, antique meat grinder applies to decorating rather than literally grinding, then you’re mistaken. This type of meat grinder is extremely efficient in grinding meat.

The solid cast iron construction and evergreen design contribute greatly to the efficiency of these meat grinders.

If you need to grind a lot of meat and electricity isn’t available at your cabin, a manual vintage meat grinder is the best option.

Healthy Meat

If you frequently make sausages, pizzas, or burgers, fresh ground meat should always be available any time you need. Frozen products in supermarkets will not deliver the desired taste as fresh meat, of course.

That’s why you should have a cast iron meat grinder around your kitchen, which gives you fresh meat whenever you need it. 

With a cast iron meat grinder on hand, you will determine your ground beef’s quality, not a butcher. They might add in some harmful ingredients to favor their business without considering how their consumers would feel afterward.

Fresh, healthy meat aside, a cast iron meat grinder also allows you to put in whatever type of meat you want to eat.

This way, you can serve delicious burgers or dishes with various meats to your family without worrying about picking up bacteria.

How Much Is An Old Meat Grinder Worth?

The prices vary depending on the manufacturers

When talking about an old meat grinder value, the price can vary depending upon different vintage electric meat grinder brands.

For instance, you can get a universal meat grinder for no more than $12. However, it could be more (about 60$) if you buy that meat grinder from Winchester Repeating Arms Co.

Also, it’s not uncommon to find a vintage electric meat grinder, which Northern Industrial sells for $200 plus, with a price tag of $78 on eBay.

Or you can purchase an old meat grinder having some cosmetic flaws with a starting bid of $15.99. Yet, the shipping fee (if you luckily win that meat grinder auction) might be up to $66, which is ridiculously expensive.

Here is another example to look at. A brand-new Rovsun cast iron meat grinder is priced at $40 on Amazon, whereas an old meat grinder costs only $30 (fixed price) on Craigslist.

It’s obvious that the latter is not a worthwhile bet because those old meat grinders have been used several times before. Generally, the best deal is to go for a brand new meat grinder.

If you intend to pick a good-quality old meat grinder, we recommend visiting some reliable online sites where you can bargain some dollars at least for an old meat grinder. They offer a broad range of attractive conditions and mints, helping you restore any crank handle meat grinder.

Where To Buy Old Meat Grinders?

Antique meat grinders are available both online and offline

So, you’ve reached the decision to purchase a vintage meat grinder to produce fresh meat or place it in your kitchen as a decorative item.

Regarding where to buy an old meat grinder, there are some places collectors usually come and shop for antique meat grinders.

We’ll give you both offline and online options for your best meat grinder shopping comfort.

Flea Markets

If your house is near a local flea market, you’re in luck as people often sell used meat grinders at these markets to get rid of old meat grinders while earning some money. Depending upon the condition of your meat grinders, you may need to repair or restore it before using or displaying it in your kitchen.

Yard Sales

You can also find a used antique meat grinder at yard sales.

Many people might want to have yard sales when cleaning their houses or moving to a new home. Old meat grinders there are often at extremely low prices.

Sometimes, a strike of luck may occur when you find a brand-new meat grinder in pretty pristine condition instead of a used meat grinder. So, keep looking. Or else, a used meat grinder is just fine.

eBay

eBay always offers plenty of listings for antique meat grinders, and most of the time, these old meat grinders are really cheap. If you’re seeking a specific design or model, it’s better to set up an eBay alert so that the website will notify you whenever your desired model is available via email.

Etsy

Although people primarily sell craft items and homemade art on Etsy, it’s still possible to find an old meat grinder at a reasonable price.
There are various meat grinder models available here, ranging from more ancient models to the most recent ones that feature a traditional design.

Antiques Searcher

Antiques Searcher is an ideal shopping place where you can choose from plenty of old meat grinders, including vintage meat grinders.

Meat grinders aside, you can also look for spare parts of these meat grinders in case your old meat grinder lacks critical parts.

How To Use An Old Meat Grinder?

It’s easy to use a traditional meat grinder

The first step after bringing your universal meat grinder home is to disassemble it and wash it thoroughly with soap and hot water. You need to ensure everything is entirely dry and clean before using.

An antique meat grinder is effortless to use. You simply attach the cutting head, your preferred grinding plate, and the auger to a firm counter or table, then tighten all of them, including the collar of your meat grinders.

You can start with the bigger holes (coarse) grinding plates, then continue with the smaller holes (finer plate). We suggest preparing your meat or fish the third time to tenderize it further.

Next, chop the fish or meat into pieces so that you can make placement more easily. If your old meat grinder doesn’t come with a basic stuffing tube, you can use a big wooden spoon to force down food.

Please remember to avoid using your fingertips to force the stuff particles for the sake of safety.

How To Restore A Vintage Meat Grinder?

Clean every part of your meat grinder

Depending on the condition of your old meat grinder, you can restore it easily doing the following:

• Completely take your meat grinders apart, including the meat grinder plates and blades
• Grab a large tray or small tube and fill it with cleaning vinegar
• Soak the components detached in the cleaning solution for an hour at least.
• Take the parts out, clean them using a cloth, then air dry.
• Prepare the parts of your meat grinders and house the meat grinders for painting. Spray with 1-2 paint layers.
• Reassemble all parts of your meat grinders. Now, the item is ready to function.

If some components of your meat grinder, like grinding plates or blades, suffered from damage, you’d better replace them instead of soaking them in the vinegar solution.

With proper care, your vintage meat grinder should be able to offer you long-haul service for years to come.

Final Words

Meat grinders save you from unnecessary stress with neatness and convenience. If you’re searching for a quality meat grinder as either a cooking tool or an antique decorative item, it’s never a bad deal to invest in a vintage meat grinder.

Olden-day meat grinders are always durable and reliable, while in modern day, meat grinders that can last for more than 10 years are pretty rare. 

These beautiful works of history are ancient, but their benefits are beyond what we can expect from modern models.