I would keep the singer. I have a 401 slant o matic, it is my favorite machine, sews beautifully and will sew thru anything with no problem. I don't have any cams for it, I find all I need are the built in stitches it has. It is on loan to my mom right now, she also loves it and wants to keep it instead of replacing her broken machine so I am looking to buy another one for myself. BTW, grease is for the moving parts, NOT THE MOTOR.

The consensus seems to be in favour of keeping the Singer! I didn't know it could do an overstitch - if I can get the cam for that, then I won't need to get a serger. So many patterns call for serging the seam allowances, but sergers are so expensive! If I can do without it, I'd prefer to.

I like the look of the Slant-o-matic but, my herd is primarily comprised of Kenmore. I like the power and the metal gears on the mid-century models. So far I've not acquired a Singer. Maybe a Featherweight needs to make its way into my collection. People seem to love them and my Kenmore sewing machines average 45-50 lbs - not my idea of portable. : )

My 2 cents: it depends on how serious your hair stylist is about sewing. If she's simply a casual sewist or just wants to try her hand at sewing, definitely the Kenmore! If she knows she likes sewing and just doesn't have a good machine right now, then selling/gifting/traiding the Singer to her might be the better option because she'll appreciate it.

I'd keep the Singer.....

I agree with NotWendy and Dragon. Kenmore machines are often overlooked because they don't have the stylish good looks of other machines but they're powerful capable machines.

Cari

Bear in mind that I have two old Kenmores and a bunch of Featherweights, so I am hardly the one to suggest you keep only one. I like the old Kenmores a lot. They are so sturdy and reliable. I've never been a huge fan of the Singer 400 series, but maybe that's just me.
I say, keep them both and help your hairdresser find a good machine (vintage, of course).
Ila :)

The Kenmores are marvelous machines. Incredibly well built and all metal for the most part until the 385.XXXXX models. The 148.XXXX and 158.XXXX machines are arguably the best made machines available as Singer was rapidly declining in quality in those years. I like both machines, the slant needle 403 has a very visible sewing area and the Kenmore is very robust. Both are excellent machines.

IMHO you should keep the Singer. I have an expensive Viking that I bought when I didn't know better. I came across a 401A and played with it, the Viking went into storage. The Viking is a good machine, but doesn't hold a candle to the Singer or any Singer for that matter.

I'm going to say keep both. The instant you get rid of one, the other will develop a problem - Murphy's law!

But if you're really wanting to get rid of one, both are very good machines and sounds to me like either one would serve your purposes just fine. I have both Kenmore and Singer machines similar to yours and both are very good, solid machines. You basically can't go wrong here, whichever you choose to keep!