Pros - Good weighted iron for premium ironing - Dependable
Cons - Looks just like the one my mom used - Gets brown yucky stuff on clothes when you steam iron
When I was married the first time in 1990, someone gave me an iron for a wedding present. The new modern iron with four different switches, mostly plastic, light, etc. I hated that iron. It didn't iron well. Sure, it looked cool, but it was a lot of work to press hard.
The teflon coating was supposed to insure that your clothes didn't stick, but there was no guarantee about the teflon coating not coming off. Even though I hated that iron, I am practical and would not purchase a new iron, when I had a perfectly good one.
Unfortunately, that iron tore up shortly after my divorce in 2003, and I had no money, so I bought a $6 iron and suffered with it for about two years. Then, in a much better situation and tired of substandard ironing, I bought the iron of my dreams...the Black and Decker Classic. Sure, it may not be very attractive--it looks just like the one my mom had when we were kids, except the cord, which is much improved--hers had the cloth insulation.
This iron is heavy, it has the normal metal bottom and it irons like a champ. It is heavy enough that you don't have to push so hard and it gives you a nice crisp iron every time. I might make a longer power cord if I were the manufacturer.
The cord has to go from behind furniture where the outlet is to the ironing board, and I almost always have to use an extension cord with it. The only other thing about the iron that is not perfect is that if you use steam ironing, which I normally don't, it has a tendency to get brown spots on your clothes.
I am more of a starch user, so this did not bother me much. I tried it once only when I ran out of spray starch and still had some ironing to do. All in all, I love the iron. I would recommend it to anyone who irons much. It is the best.
