The items that appear here are not for sale!
This area is pretty small, but I didn't want to leave out these cool looking ice cream scoops! Gilchrist is my favorite icecream scoop (at the moment!) You find three types of Gilchrist brand scoops most often. These are the models #31, #30, and #33. This is the order that I seem the find them, as well.... #31 being the most common, and #33 being less so.
All of them are beautifull, in there own unique way. The metal on Gilchrist scoops is nickel coated brass, exept for the handle ferrule on wood handled models, which is usually bare brass. A common element among these three models is the presence of a device for "clearing" the scoop... or removing the icecream after you scoop it out. This was accomplished by either squeezing the handle, in the case of the Model #30, or thumbing a lever, in the case of the Models 31 & 33.
Here is a picture of a nice Model 30:
As you can see, the
handle is actually two seperate pieces, through which a central bar passes. If you look at
the end of the scoop (oposite end from the bowl), you will notice a ratchet. After you dip
out your favorite flavor of ice cream, you squeeze your hand on the handle. As you do so,
the sides pivot inward turning the ratchet attached to the central bar. This bar then
turns a clearing knife inside the bowl of the scoop to release the ice cream.
Progressing to the Model #31, you can definitely see a change not only in appearance, but
in design as well:
Now the scoop has a thumb
activated lever that operates the ratchet. The long lever of the thumb piece makes
operating the ice cream release a breeze! The Model 30 doesn't take too much hand
strength, and the Model 31 takes even less.
There is alot of confusion among
sellers of vintage ice cream scoops as to the "size" of the scoop. This problem
seems to raise its head especially with the Model 31's for some reason. Here you see 7
different sizes of Model 31 scoops. A size 24, a size 16, and so forth. .. Yet at some
points I've heard each of them refered to as a "Size 31" Gilchrist. #31 is the
model, the other number (which is occassionaly worn off of more heavily used scoops) is
the actual size. The higher the number, the bigger the scoop.
And lastly, we see the odd Model #33:
This model actually produces a
conically shaped scoop of ice cream!... or I guess you could call it a "cone" of
ice cream.
Here you can see the modification
of the clearing knife. The Model #33 also uses the thumb activate lever.
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