The worlds largest Online Toaster Exhibition

I know everyone goes on about the famous Sunbeam toaster, but I proudly own what I think is one of the nerdiest, coolest toasters ever created, the Kenwood Virtu (https://appliancist.com/breakfast/toasters/kenwood-toaster-v...), now redesigned as the Kendwood Persona (https://www.kenwoodworld.com/en/persona-ttm610/p/TTM610).

This is a very unusual single long slot toaster with a huge wide slot. There is no spring basket to hold the bread centered in the slot: rather you manually change the slot width itself by moving the toasting elements up against the bread. For the same reason, you must manually raise and lower the toast yourself (and can do so at any time to check on the toasting situation). This toaster can toast huge pieces of bread, sandwiches, croissants, you name it.

The primary downside of this toaster is that its toaster elements are inconsistent and uneven. But it is an exceptionally unique design.

nwiswell• 3 years ago

I know everyone goes on about the famous Sunbeam toaster

I think I must run in different circles.

SeanLuke2• 3 years ago

https://www.theverge.com/22801890/sunbeam-radiant-control-to...

mtreis86• 3 years ago

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OfxlSG6q5Y

"The Antique Toaster that's Better than Yours"

  Technology Connections

ipsum2• 3 years ago

I think the infamous Mitubishi toaster has the Sunbeam beat. A $300 machine that supposedly produces the best toast in the world, but only toasts one slice at a time.

https://gizmodo.com.au/2020/03/mitsubishi-makes-a-373-toaste...

voxadam2• 3 years ago

A teardown and commentary is available here: https://youtu.be/IxAbz9mfaj0

skyyler• 3 years ago

I have one and can confirm that once you have this style of toast it’s hard to go back.

Fluffy and moist interior with a perfectly crisp and browned exterior. It’s quite magical, and hard to understand until you experience it.

voxadam2• 3 years ago

The Antique Toaster that's Better than Yours[0] by Technology Connections[1]

[0] https://youtu.be/1OfxlSG6q5Y

[1] https://www.youtube.com/@TechnologyConnections

have_faith• 3 years ago

The majority of them look so well built and with a lot of craftsmanship. Very different to what is generally available today unless you go looking.

Lio• 3 years ago

If you want a well built toaster I’d recommend a Dualit[1].

I’ve had the same one for roughly 20 years and it still just works exactly as it did when new.

It’s truly a design classic.

https://www.dualit.com/

detourdog5• 3 years ago

Two of my favorite toasters.

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/hauser-wirth-somerset-cald...

https://calder.org/works/household-object/toaster-c-1945/

warpspin• 3 years ago

This is so web 1.0. Love it.

liveoneggs• 3 years ago

https://www.embeddedts.com/blog/netbsd-toaster-powered-by-th...

dan_hawkins• 3 years ago

No Cylons though?

krylon• 3 years ago

So I suppose these all run NetBSD? ><

chunk_waffle• 3 years ago

Came here for this comment :D

detourdog5• 3 years ago

Glad I found this comment:)

quercusa• 3 years ago

We had a toaster oven when my kids were growing up (US). When we we visited London, they enjoyed the museums, etc., but what really excited them was the rental flat's pop-up toaster, "just like Wallace and Gromit!".

acheron• 3 years ago

And if you're interested in buying an old toaster, this guy refurbishes them: https://www.toastercentral.com/

I have not actually bought a toaster from him, but I did buy a Sunbeam 1960s waffle maker/electric griddle. It works much better than my previous new waffle makers.

luxuryballs• 3 years ago

wow a website that gives me the desktop experience on my phone, feels like 2007 when the iPhone felt like a real web browser in my hand before everyone embraced the “mobile web” and reduced my handheld browser real estate by 1000%, and to think how small the screen was back then!

joncp• 3 years ago

It's cute that they're based in Essen, Germany.

the88doctor• 3 years ago

A lot of the toasters shown from 1910-1940s only toast one side of the bread at a time and have a flipping mechanism to then toast the other side. The flipping mechanisms seem like they would be nearly as expensive as just adding a second heating element. So is the reason for the one-sided toasting a constraint on how much electrical power was commonly available to homes 100 years ago?

detourdog5• 3 years ago

The first toaster didn't come with a plug they came with a light-bulb socket connector.

If you are eating toast must be daylight for most people no need for the lightbulb.

Usually a home could afford a single outlet and they put it over the kitchen table for light and other utility tasks.

If one was going to splash out for some electricity that might consider and outlet for a refrigerator.

perilunar• 3 years ago

I love that he's kept a version of the original 1996 site online also (see the 'about' page).

watersb• 3 years ago

Toasters plus Hacker News should always equal John Siracusa’s glorious series of toaster reviews:

https://www.caseyliss.com/2015/9/10/siracusa-on-toasters

The worlds largest Online Toaster Exhibition

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