Originally Posted by Rose_P

I've been wanting a hand crank for awhile for no good reason, but you all know how that goes. Anyway, this turned up on Craigslist and the price seemed reasonable, so she's joined my menagerie. I have been trying to learn something about the Harris No.9 and about all I have found out is that it was a German-made machine sold by the Harris company in Great Britain (as it was known at the time). I have exactly one needle, one presser foot, one bobbin spool and the shuttle. Everything seems to be intact and in better-than-usual condition. The crank makes things turn with no resistance, and no loud noises. The serial number is 1634982, if that means anything to anyone, and the front slide plate is engraved with the Harris company name, London, and the information that it was made in Stettin. I don't have a manual for it, but the seller gave me a Singer #28 manual, and it appears to be pretty similar.

A little extraneous research turns up the fact that the town that used to be known as Stettin has during various periods of its history been part of Sweden, Prussia and, since WW2, Poland. It is now called Szczecin, so it's quite certain my new baby was born some time before that war.

I have not gotten myself together enough to pull the needle and see if it looks like any commonly available today, so that will be an important hurdle. Even if it does, that wouldn't mean that the needle is one she's happy with just because it's in there now. I'm not sure about threading, and at the moment haven't figured out how to remove the bobbin, but I'll psych myself up for all that eventually. I like to look at her and will probably just park her somewhere as a conversation piece. I may be a little spoiled by having had electricity all my life, but I'm impressed with what people could do without it. We had no power here for 5 days after Hurricane Ike, so it's possible this machine will someday get to strut her stuff for me.

If anyone has information about this machine, or a source for parts and a manual, I'll be eager to know. Thanks for the great community we have here!