Are my vintage Chemexes hand-blown? (Yes)

Coffee preparation techniques besides espresso like pourover.
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drgary
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#1: Post by drgary »

I just picked up a vintage Chemex on our local Craigslist. This is a nostalgic purchase. My parents were Viennese and would brew relatively good coffee in a Chemex when I was a kid in the 1950s.

The glass is in good shape. The wood collar finish looks worn from years of use. I will refinish the collar and replace the leather tie and will get the missing wooden ball. I'm getting this to brew pourovers for guests at well-controlled temperatures, and I don't have an automated brewer that works for some of my roasts that are just into second crack, which generally do well at 175F.

The glass seems fairly thick, and there's a dimple that suggests the entry point for the pipe used for blowing glass into a mold. Here are some pix. What do you think?







A web search brings up this thread that tells me this is hand-blown. Apparently the telling feature is the ribs on the bottom. German manufacture and an etched label could also be clues.

http://themeyers.org/HomeRoast/Topic27798.htm

Here's an interesting historic piece about the inventor, Dr. Peter Schlumbohm.

http://www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/mr-chemex/
Gary
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SJM
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#2: Post by SJM »

Not the answer, but an interesting sidebar regarding the Chemex company
http://www.masslive.com/business-news/i ... hipst.html

*sigh*
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#3: Post by *sigh* »

The shape looks more like the handblown ones that tend to have a sharper turn at the bottom, though some of that varies with size.

The dimple is on most Chemex models, classic and handblown. Though I believe there's some variation from size to size it's generally used to indicate the fill level the chemex would be at if you made a half batch.

It does look the ridges tend to be on the handblown and I've never seen then on a classic so that could be the giveaway.

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redbone
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#4: Post by redbone »

SJM wrote:Not the answer, but an interesting sidebar regarding the Chemex company
http://www.masslive.com/business-news/i ... hipst.html
SJM, Thanks for the link. It was a nice informative easy read.

Drgary, I like those old Chemex vessels. Thanks for showing as I was not aware of these vintage versions.
Between order and chaos there is espresso.
Semper discens.


Rob
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drgary (original poster)
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#5: Post by drgary (original poster) »

I scored it for $28, a fair price, and found a brand new Chemex replacement collar with the leather tie and wooden fastener online for $9.50, delivered. Last night I cleaned the Chemex with Pulycaf and some Goo Gone, washing it carefully afterward. It might as well be new.
Gary
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Andy
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#6: Post by Andy »

Gary,

I emailed Chemex a few years ago with a similar question about mine, which looks similar to yours except the etched mark on the bottom says
CHEMEX®
U.S. PATENT
2.411.340
MADE IN U S A
FROM
PYREX BRAND
GLASS

I had sent a photo, and they said, "It appears you may have the 5 cup hand blown series and the bump or bubble represents the half way mark the bottom of the wood collar represents a full pot..."
However, if I fill to the bump, I get 16 oz., and if I fill to the bottom of the collar, I get 22 oz.; so that part of their information is apparently incorrect.
Mine is 7 5/8" tall and 5" across the top off the funnel.

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drgary (original poster)
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#7: Post by drgary (original poster) »

Hi Andy,

I was in your town yesterday, hiking with friends in Oregon City and then over the bridge. I think mine is the 8 cup version. I'll post the measurements later today.

Added: The funnel is 6 1/8" across, and it's 9 3/4" high. That's slightly larger than the current 8 cup hand blown, which is 5 3/4 " funnel and 9 1/8" high. The current "Classic" manufactured one is slightly smaller. I've heard of a 10 cup version. Maybe that's mine, or it's a metric 8 cup.

The 1941 Chemex in the collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art has a funnel the same as mine (6 1/8") and is 1/4" shorter at 9 1/2". If you look closely, the 1941 Chemex has a round seal with the name molded into the glass, PAT and the patent number 2241369, unlike any I've seen.

Here are the patents.
Gary
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drgary (original poster)
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#8: Post by drgary (original poster) »

Chemex owners respond that one like mine is hand-blown. Here's an excerpt from their email response to me.

"Thank you for your email. We forwarded this information to the owners who were able to provide the following feedback.

This German glass brewer was manufactured sometime between the late 60's and early 70's and is approximately 4-5 decades old. We also feel with certainty that this is a handblown carafe and not a series that was machine made.

In regards to size, we feel this is the 8 cup hand-blown as the 10 cup was not manufactured in the hand-blown style. The only other size would be the 13 cup but we feel this is too small to be that size and the 13 cup has/had 2 bubbles on the side and yours only has 1.

Congratulations on a vintage product! We would recommend handling this with care because of it being a somewhat irreplaceable vintage product."
Gary
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borisblank
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#9: Post by borisblank »

That's super-cool, Gary. Did they say or do you know how many hand-crafted brewers were made? Is this one of hundreds? Thousands? More?

Not sure I'd trust myself to actually brew coffee from it now that you know it's the real deal, but it's a great piece of history all the same.

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Boldjava
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#10: Post by Boldjava »

drgary wrote:...Congratulations on a vintage product! We would recommend handling this with care because of it being a somewhat irreplaceable vintage product."
Gary, as a gent who has redistributed the silicone dioxide components of 3, three I say, Chemexes, I strongly suggest placing this vintage gem on the shelf where it can become ensconsed and admired. Then, get a machine made one for daily use.

Dave
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