The Singer 185J

The 185 is an interesting machine. It's an old  Singer in new clothes. Introduced in 1958 when the first ones were produced in Scotland, it is a cosmetically repackaged model 99. You have to wonder if Singer felt that the traditional black and gold styling was becoming out dated, so they repackaged the 99 and introduced it as a new machine.
What I find interesting, is the relative values of the 185 and the 99, these many years later. Though more or less the same machine, capable of sewing the same range materiel, fabric to light leathers, the 99 sells for about $25-$35 more than the newer and equally durable 185.
Perhaps, it is due to the fact that the 185 was produced for a shorter period of time, and they are less well known. or, perhaps it's the fact the 99's are more traditional looking and are perceived as more durable machines. Possibly, it is because the 99 is just so much prettier than 185. What ever the reason, 185 is slower to sell.
I showed this  particular 185J to customer who was buying a 99 from me. He was buying it because he had seen one the internet that was being used to sew leather, which led to a long discussion about how to set up the machine for that. I happened to have the 185 set up and threaded, so I stitched a piece of leather on it, to show him the correct speed and setting. He was unimpressed by the machine. He wanted the sturdy and reliable, black and gold Singer that he had seen on the internet and didn't haggle about the price. I liked to keep my customers happy, so I took his money with a smile. Someone else will get this machine and enjoy the savings.....

Steve Ant

Recently, in this blog I mentioned the sewing machine naming tradition, where new owners of the machines I sell, ask to know the first name of the the woman that I bought it from, in order to give the machine that name. I also opined that I was the wrong gender to have a sewing machine named after me. (Whined, actually)....

Any way, if you take a look at the picture of this Reversesew that I sold to Aleda Johnson, you can see that the needle bar cover has a resemblance to the face of an ant. Now it turns out that Aleda names her machines after famous male entertainers, ( is there a Jimmy Buffet in there some where?), but she decided to make an exception in this case, so this Reversesew is now Steve Ant. Make of that what you will, but I am tickled pink about the whole thing..............