good basic tool

The KSB3 is yet another one of my replacement appliances, supplanting a early 1950s Waring bar blender left over from my college days that finally hung up it's towel and went where all good blenders go at the end of their lives. I've had it for about three and a half years, and with few exceptions, it's been simple and reliable to use, clean and own.

The blender itself comes in two parts, a heavy base that contains the motor and control circuitry, and the blending jar/carafe with blades and cover, which can be removed for pouring and separate washing. The model I have (an older one) has a glass jar, with a hard plastic cover, a stainless steel blade unit with attached rubber gasket, and a hard plastic clamp that holds the blade unit onto the bottom of the blending jar. The base and plastic parts can be purchased in different colors (mine is the classic Kitchenaid white with stainless steel trim, but I've seen cobalt blue, red, dark green, and pink in stores). The glass jar is clear glass, has molded measuring lines on the side of the jar, and holds about 8 cups of liquid (or soon to be liquid substances) at a time.

The controls of the blender are touchpads and are completely sealed (cleaning is a matter of wiping them off with a damp towel). There are three settings: mix, blend, and pulverize. The other two buttons are a toggle for pulse/continuous operation, and a "standby" button that disables the other buttons if you have to temporarily leave the blender and there are small children or other inquisitive sorts around the workplace. Operation is pretty simple: put the blade assembly on the bottom of the jar and tighten the retaining ring, add the substance to be reduced in the jar, PUT THE COVER ON, and put the jar on the base. Press the pulse/continuous operation button to how you want it, and then touch the setting button. If set for continuous operation, the blender runs until you touch standby. If set for pulse operation, the blender runs until you take your finger off the setting button.

On the positive side, the best features of this blender are the glass carafe/jar and the sheer power of the motor. The glass jar allows you to blend both hot and cold substances without worrying about burning yourself or whether the jar will melt if you pour something hot into it (had that happen with the Waring once; hot soup in the face is no picnic).

The emphasis above about making sure the lid is on tightly is a testament to the power of the blender motor. This thing does not fool around, and, like most other Kitchenaid appliances, is fully capable of throwing chunks of food across the kitchen or painting the ceiling with partially pulverized "stuff". There is a large red warning label about not running the blender with the top off -- believe them. Really. This thing *can* take a full size ice block and reduce it to splinters in almost no time.

One other thing that I really like about this blender (and which seems to be a general hallmark of Kitchenaid appliances) is the generally comfortable feel of the machine. Kitchenaid invests a lot in user interface research, and, like their other small appliances, this pays off in the machine generally feeling "solid" and ready to work. It's probably psychological on my part, but I like my tools to feel like natural extensions of what I'm working on -- it should feel "right", and this tool does feel that way.

On the negative side, I have some caveats, though.

First, the carafe/jar is *really* heavy, even when empty. If you have weak wrists or need to worry about how much you lift, this is probably not a good choice for you. The reason for the weight is that the carafe is made out of glass, but some people might find it too much to lift, especially after a few margaritas.

Second, unless you're diligent about cleaning the rubber gasket carefully and checking it over every time you use the blender, the bottom assembly tends to leak somewhat regularly. This can be avoided by checking the blade assembly before you use the blender, but the rubber is fairly thin and wears out over time due to the weight of the jar. The compression band also needs to be carefully tightened on each use -- the power of the motor tends to vibrate the jar, which loosens the plastic ring slightly with use.

Third, the motor is *loud*. It will reduce ice to splinters, but you're going to be painfully aware that it's demolishing a pile of ice into splinters. It clearly is Doing Something while running, or it really wants you to believe it's earning it's keep and lets you know that via the sound.

Fourth, if you need replacement parts, they can be difficult to find. This is not directly the fault of this blender, but the Kitchenaid WWW site (www.kitchenaid.com) makes it fairly difficult to locate parts for specific models, especially older models that may not be in production any longer.

Last, the price is somewhat stiff for a blender-only unit. It's certainly high-quality equipment, but with multifunction food processors becoming more durable and flexible, it's hard to justify > $50 for just a blender, especially when Kitchenaid's 11 cup food processor is just over $100 in similar stores.

Overall, it's a solid basic blender. For someone who makes a lot of mixed dishes or soup, or crushed ice drinks, it's a good investment. For more general use, a food processor would probably be a better investment.