Hi, I just found this forum and this is my first post.
This afternoon i bought a vintage Hatsuyuki (I think) block ice shaver from a consignment shop in the Sacramento CA area. It reminded me of summer Ken picnics in Honolulu's Kapiollani Park when I was a kid.
I've still got to clean it up and photograph it, but I was wondering if anyone knows of clues to date this machine. The seller thought it was prewar; the words 'trade mark' are the only english markings cast into the frame. I'll post photos when I drag it out of the car (we're actually buying a house in Granite Bay CA and just stumbled on this on the way to the realtor's office).
It's missing the downfeed (front) handwheel, which appears to have been made of a reddish-pink plastic. The hub of the wheel is still attached; it may be a replacement part as the rest of the machine is all cast iron or steel. The paint appears to be original and it's faded and thinned in places (bit of rust spotting on the base) but not flaking or blistering. The mechanism, while needing cleaning and greasing, is free running. There's a bit of chroming on the rim of the top handwheel that is pitted, but other than that it does look like something that would have been made in the 1940s.
I know, pictures! Jumping the gun here but I am totally jazzed about this thing!
vintage Hatsuyuki machine dating?
Nice looking vintage machine there! It is quite rare to find real vintage shavers since many of them become scrap metal over the years. There were quite a few in Hawaii due to the japanese immigrants coming over in the mid 1900s but now days it is harder and harder to find.
What I can tell from the pic is that it does say Hatsuyuki. Whether it is made from the current Hatsuyuki manufacturer is in question since it could just be a generic brand. The current Hatsuyuki is made by Chubu Iron works.
It does have all the hallmarks of a japanese shaver. Quality iron and paint. The wooden knob that originally came with the machine is missing and I think the front handle that raises and lowers the main shaft came off.
Only questionable part is the plastic guard. I am not too sure if they were bending plastics in the 40s like that. It's not glass is it?
Either way, looks good and would make a fun project.
What I can tell from the pic is that it does say Hatsuyuki. Whether it is made from the current Hatsuyuki manufacturer is in question since it could just be a generic brand. The current Hatsuyuki is made by Chubu Iron works.
It does have all the hallmarks of a japanese shaver. Quality iron and paint. The wooden knob that originally came with the machine is missing and I think the front handle that raises and lowers the main shaft came off.
Only questionable part is the plastic guard. I am not too sure if they were bending plastics in the 40s like that. It's not glass is it?
Either way, looks good and would make a fun project.
www.shaveiceshaveice.com
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
-
JimmyA
Wow! Thanks for the info. It does look different from the vintage style machines I've managed to find on sale on the net. The seller claimed prewar, maybe it is.
Yeah, the knob for the main wheel is missing. If I recall correctly the knobs were hardwood painted black? I could machine a replacement from a bar of black delrin, I guess.
The front downfeed knob hub- that's all that's left of it- in the pic is molded plastic, with the wheel itself broken away. It was probably a replaced wheel, as the plastic quality was quite low- kind of like how injection moldings were made in Occupied Japan. Any idea what the original downfeed knob looked like? I'd think that it probably matched the top and main drive wheel... cast iron with painted spokes and chromed rims?
Did the original downfeed knob have a spinner handle on it like the main drive wheel? I guess I could adapt an old style metal lathe tailstock knob or milling machine downfeed knob, but those have polished iron rims, not chrome plated.
Might have to settle for a temporary wheel or something age appropriate on Ebay. Matching an original is likely impossible, so I'll just have to find something that at least looks right.
The plastic guard was added somewhere along the line. It's just cut from a butyrate or maybe acetate sheet about .035" thick and bent into position. Same kind of semi-flexible shatterproof plastic that drafting triangles and templates were made of. I'll probably just remove it as it's just plain grubby looking and likely hard to clean. I thought about heat or drape forming some acrylic sheet but I really think it would just wind up getting cloudy and scuffed up.
Moving parts I'd probably use silicone plumbing grease as it's good for retarding rust and won't migrate onto the ice.
Any suggestions regarding the paint restoration? I was thinking just cleaning it with a nylon brush and detergent to loosen any flaking paint (probably lead based) and then just hard waxing it. If I sandblasted and repainted it I think it would ruin it. Yes, there is rust spotting here and there, but hard carnuba wax would likely darken the spots a bit.
In keeping with Local style, I would have to make a stand for it out of scrap 4X4 lumber and reclaimed nails (my Dad had coffee cans full of nails that he pulled out of boards and then pounded straight). Maybe paint it with house paint (non lead bearing, this time around). Dunno if Plantation dark green would clash with the colors of this machine.
If I recall correctly the shave ice machines that were dragged to the park on summer picnic days had simple heavy wood frame skids that were just plopped on a handy park table.
Again, thanks for the response!
Yeah, the knob for the main wheel is missing. If I recall correctly the knobs were hardwood painted black? I could machine a replacement from a bar of black delrin, I guess.
The front downfeed knob hub- that's all that's left of it- in the pic is molded plastic, with the wheel itself broken away. It was probably a replaced wheel, as the plastic quality was quite low- kind of like how injection moldings were made in Occupied Japan. Any idea what the original downfeed knob looked like? I'd think that it probably matched the top and main drive wheel... cast iron with painted spokes and chromed rims?
Did the original downfeed knob have a spinner handle on it like the main drive wheel? I guess I could adapt an old style metal lathe tailstock knob or milling machine downfeed knob, but those have polished iron rims, not chrome plated.
Might have to settle for a temporary wheel or something age appropriate on Ebay. Matching an original is likely impossible, so I'll just have to find something that at least looks right.
The plastic guard was added somewhere along the line. It's just cut from a butyrate or maybe acetate sheet about .035" thick and bent into position. Same kind of semi-flexible shatterproof plastic that drafting triangles and templates were made of. I'll probably just remove it as it's just plain grubby looking and likely hard to clean. I thought about heat or drape forming some acrylic sheet but I really think it would just wind up getting cloudy and scuffed up.
Moving parts I'd probably use silicone plumbing grease as it's good for retarding rust and won't migrate onto the ice.
Any suggestions regarding the paint restoration? I was thinking just cleaning it with a nylon brush and detergent to loosen any flaking paint (probably lead based) and then just hard waxing it. If I sandblasted and repainted it I think it would ruin it. Yes, there is rust spotting here and there, but hard carnuba wax would likely darken the spots a bit.
In keeping with Local style, I would have to make a stand for it out of scrap 4X4 lumber and reclaimed nails (my Dad had coffee cans full of nails that he pulled out of boards and then pounded straight). Maybe paint it with house paint (non lead bearing, this time around). Dunno if Plantation dark green would clash with the colors of this machine.
If I recall correctly the shave ice machines that were dragged to the park on summer picnic days had simple heavy wood frame skids that were just plopped on a handy park table.
Again, thanks for the response!
Some forum digging has yielded results!
http://www.shaveiceshaveice.com/shave-i ... -t352.html
Seems like someone did a full restoration of this shaver, and did a awesome job at it!
Click on the guys google album and that would give you a idea on how to restore the colors.
http://www.shaveiceshaveice.com/shave-i ... -t352.html
Seems like someone did a full restoration of this shaver, and did a awesome job at it!
Click on the guys google album and that would give you a idea on how to restore the colors.
www.shaveiceshaveice.com
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
Forum for Hawaiian shave ice, shave ice supplies, shave ice flavors, and shave ice machines.
-
JimmyA
Very cool images! Now I know what the downfeed knob looked like.
From the pics I think the restored machine didn't get the colors right. The other shot on the streets of a working machine shows the side frames a darker, more neutral blue-gray, and clearly even that machine was also repainted.
The rim of the large drive wheel on my machine is chromed, and if the age is right (about 50 to 70 years old) the paint appears to be original. Looking at the areas of the machine that should not have gotten long term exposure to direct sun as a reference it seems the colors are faded but not all that much. There are definite pinks and reds used, as well as two shades of green, white and blue-gray.
Restoration is always kind of a debated area. A repaint is going to be a judgement call- machines like this were often repainted by owners to appeal to customers, so it's not unexpected that many paint jobs would not follow the factory original. A collector or museum would consider a repaint only if the original finish was very degraded, and even then may choose to leave it alone.
But if the machine is to be used, well, it should at least look clean, hygenic and attractive! If I were making money on a machine like this, I'd paint it with whatever non toxic paints I could find that would look good.
In this case, I think I should leave well enough alone and try to preserve as much of the original finish as possible.
The brass plate definitely needs to be polished out; the gear teeth and feed screw threads should be derusted (possibly with electrolysis, as it won't leave scratch marks like a wire brush). A replacement downfeed knob will be tricky to match paint but there are guys that can do it so it matches the apparent age of the rest of the machine.The small rust spots might respond well to a rust conversion gel, followed by touch up painting rather than a complete repaint.
Thank you for some valuable reference images. Now, if I can just find a downfeed knob like that...!
From the pics I think the restored machine didn't get the colors right. The other shot on the streets of a working machine shows the side frames a darker, more neutral blue-gray, and clearly even that machine was also repainted.
The rim of the large drive wheel on my machine is chromed, and if the age is right (about 50 to 70 years old) the paint appears to be original. Looking at the areas of the machine that should not have gotten long term exposure to direct sun as a reference it seems the colors are faded but not all that much. There are definite pinks and reds used, as well as two shades of green, white and blue-gray.
Restoration is always kind of a debated area. A repaint is going to be a judgement call- machines like this were often repainted by owners to appeal to customers, so it's not unexpected that many paint jobs would not follow the factory original. A collector or museum would consider a repaint only if the original finish was very degraded, and even then may choose to leave it alone.
But if the machine is to be used, well, it should at least look clean, hygenic and attractive! If I were making money on a machine like this, I'd paint it with whatever non toxic paints I could find that would look good.
In this case, I think I should leave well enough alone and try to preserve as much of the original finish as possible.
The brass plate definitely needs to be polished out; the gear teeth and feed screw threads should be derusted (possibly with electrolysis, as it won't leave scratch marks like a wire brush). A replacement downfeed knob will be tricky to match paint but there are guys that can do it so it matches the apparent age of the rest of the machine.The small rust spots might respond well to a rust conversion gel, followed by touch up painting rather than a complete repaint.
Thank you for some valuable reference images. Now, if I can just find a downfeed knob like that...!
For Shave Ice Supplies
Other Shave Ice Related Links
