It is a Sealing Iron. I think it is designed for tradesmen to add the edging strips on laminate worktops and the like. Unlike other irons for prepping applique this gets hot enough to do the job properly. And it has a little weight behind it to assist. The pointy end of the iron has a slight curve upwards as well and this helps too. The only improvment I would like to see is a heat proof cord like on my old iron below. Clicking on the photo above should take you to the Amazon UK page for it.
The stand is very stable which is a must.
And whilst I am on the subject of irons, this Rowenta dry iron is my favourite for patchwork and quilting. This is my seccond one. The first got dropped one time too many, but it lasted over 15 years before that happened. I cannot find replacements for it easily anymore but I did find one on Ebay which was being sold as a vintage theatre prop in it's original box. Keep your eyes open. It gets nice and hot, is heavy enough to do most of the pressing for you, but not so heavy your arm ends up hurting,
And this one was a mistake on my part. This is the first model of the little Clover iron. This one did get hot enough but because it is so light and is straight you have to use quite a lot of strength to make it work. And it kept falling off it's little stand and/or the stand would tip over so I ended up having a porcelain mug on it's side and would slip it into that whilst hot. I gave up using it years ago and went back to using the Rowenta dry iron.
To give you an idea of scale.
This is my big steam beast. I use it for yardage and for domestic ironing. The steam has real power. Mine has 5.5 bars of pressure but the newer one has 6 bars. This is a serious investment so if any of your friends nearby has one you can try out, then do. It irons several layers of fabric in one pass. When I tell you it even irons jeans flat from one side, that gives you a glimpse of how good the are. Before I had an ironing board with a large standing area at the end, I had to have it on the window sill with the ironing board end on to it. I now use the water from my condensing tumble dryer and this one has lasted longer than the previous one. And my viscose t-shirts get a vertical steam from it. Clicking on the photo should take you to the Amazon UK page for it.
PS Don't use it with a reflective surface on your ironing board, you want the steam to pass through the fabric.
I agree with you on the Clover mini iron - that thing was worthless for me. I didn't like the sealing iron much either and got rid of it, too. I do like the old fashioned heavyweight irons with no steam holes. I don't have a heavy duty steamer like you have. It looks like it would be a very useful tool for certain applications. Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading your thoughts on these irons.
ReplyDeleteThis was interesting...especially seeing the big steam beast! :)
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