Cari-in-Oly

Very nice! I have three 301s but my favorite, go-to 301 is my beat up tan one. It always makes me happy sewing with it.

Cari

Daylesewblessed

Congratulations! You will never regret it! And may you be blessed with pleasant memories of your grandmother whenever you use it.

zozee

I'm so happy for you! She's a beauty and I can just feel your joy coming through your words on the screen. Seems you've already started to bond with your new baby, and your Hungarian grandmother's spirit is right there at the machine with you. Congratulations!

KalamaQuilts

Cheshire, that is a wonderful set up, you did well.

Sewjourner, can you point me to documentation for this?
What I've heard, and no documentation for it, is Singer inadvertently allowed the patent for the Singer 15 to lapse and that was how the Japanese after WWII happened to make so many 15 clones.

the history is probably at someone's fingertips here...? Thanks, Sharyn

Mickey2

Singers patent for the CB hook went out much earlier KlamaQuilts, you will find lots of 15 derivatives from early 1900s. Singer's model 15 is old. I have mostly seen European versions, Pfaff, Husqvarna, Gritzner,... These were gradually given a new look and new features like stitch length lever with reverse, and feed dog drop. Singer eventually did too. The noticeable thing with the Japanese post WWII clones is the stitch length lever, and they kept it identical to Singers for a long time. They added much the same features to their 15 clones you can find on the earlier European derivatives, and even went further like a tree step push buttons feed dog adjustment. The prewar Japanese clones look more like the European.

Cari-in-Oly

Kalama, Mickey is right. The Japanese were building round bobbin machines long before WWll. The only thing the US "gave" the Japanese in regards to sewing machines was the import rights to the US after the war. I can't tell you how many times I've argued this point to people on the internet. The early imported machines look so much like a Singer because that's what would sell, then once they had the foothold in the US they started improving their machines with top quality engineering. There's very few Singers that I would choose over my Japanese machines for quality of build and perfect stitches. It just so happens that the 301 is one of my favorite Singers.

Cari

Mickey2

Cari, Singer 15-91 is worth mentioning, and I think the basic 66/99 and 201 is about as good as it gets until the zigzag machines became more common. The early Improved Family and 15 are much more sought after than the common clone. The fiddle base and decals with flowers and roses makes them stand out.

sewn3w

Ditto everything everyone has said. My addition to the conversation is there are great YouTube videos for a 301. And if you are on FB there are vintage Singer enabler sites with plenty of help and resources.

Cari-in-Oly

Yes, I know there are other great Singers. I love, love, love my 201-2 as well as my 301s. I have a 15-91 and a 15-125 but haven't serviced them yet or used them. I don't care for the 66 and gave away both of my 99s without ever using them. My FW is just too small for me to take seriously and one of my GDs has claimed it, I'll probably give it to her eventually. While I can appreciate and love looking at the other older models they just don't peak my interest, I'm a Brother gal at heart.

Cari

NZquilter

I haven't finished servicing my own 201-2 because one of the huge screws holding the motor to the machine is stuck. I am nervous of using oil on it because the gear worm and armature is right there and I recall reading never put oil there. i think it is was on the vssm blog tutorial of rewiring a potted motor. Anyway, I do use my MIL 201-2 and I absolutely love it. But what I was going to say, I think the 15-91 is probably one of Singers best machines. I use my 15-91 everyday. I do love it, just a bit louder than the 201-2; kind of like driving a tractor vs a rolls Royce. And I'm really enjoying my Pfaff 130 too. I would love a 301 one-day as a portable machine.