Customer Reviews

Esschert Design Cast Iron Cookbook Stand

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

First,it is much smaller than I expected (the largest section on the shelf part is less than 1.5 inches); It also came with screws to attach the stand to the back, and the screws are too small so I had to replace them with ones that aren't cast iron. Also, be prepared for cheap string that knots for the page holders.

Once I got it put together, the piece is very eye-catching and very sturdy as cast iron should be. It is a good looking piece. I simply can't use it for its intended purpose because of its size--I am needing to display something thicker than it can handle.

In short, if you need a sturdy book holder and don't mind replacing the strings, this would be great for you. Just have some screws on hand.

When my FIRST stand arrived it was defective. It was lopsided with no way of correcting it so I sent it back. The SECOND one arrived and it was even worse than the first. I assume that it had been a return because the paint was worn off of the wing nut where someone probably tried to tighten it forcefully. I imagine they tried to make it sit right. This purchase was a frustrating waste of time. BUYER BEWARE!

If you want to use this stand as a recipe book holder... forget it. It will NEVER hold a book. The holder is attached to the stand by a very small piece of metal that bends, sags and WILL break. The first thing that happened when I opened this was... a piece fell on the floor that became separated in transit. The string isn't strong enough to fly a kite, never mind hold pieces of iron. I am using it on my desk to hold papers. It will hold a few piece of paper. I will not breathe on it or touch it as I was BARELY able to assemble it with the inferior parts that were included. It looks fine. It will not work as a Cookbook holder. BEWARE... You WILL be disappointed unless you ONLY want it as a decorative piece. If you actually want to use it as it is supposed to be used. FORGET IT!

DO NOT BUY THIS !!!!This book stand is poorly made. After assembled it was crooked and loose with no way to tighten it. the cloth strings are cheep.

Like in the olden days when I got my Christmas presents from Western Auto from the Chinese Junk place, none of the parts matched up! The holes were drilled all cockeyed in the casting part and the gauge didn't match on the stand holder part, being about a half hole too skinny. After we hammered and drilled so there was no meat on the stand holder angle, we got the assembly made and found the holes were also not completely tapped in the casting. The two parts were made a long way away from each other in Szechuan province and in Wihong province, each by the lowest bidder, assembled in Changzhou, and shipped off to America. The kite string to tie the page holder weights is also of low quality and totally unsuitable, but what else would you expect. It's a shame they make these by the thousands, and even a worse shame they sell them by the thousands. I hope the factory has all their assets tied up with Citibank and Bernie Madoff; it couldn't happen to a nicer bunch.

This cookbook stand would either be for a very small, thin cookbook, or for display purposes only. The ledge is about an inch deep, if even that. No way to hold any book. And the weights are attached to the type of string you tie turkey legs with. Awful product!

I bought this because of how it looked but I wasn't impressed when I tried to put it together. The screw that it came with didn't hold it up at an angle at all! And when my husband tried, the cast iron screw broke. It looks nice but it's not worth the hassle.

This item came in a torn box, in two pieces, and minimal padding. The two page "weights", if they can be called that, were hanging at the end of two short lengths of what appeared to be kite string. My husband, who knows all things mechanical, put the book rack and the stand together. No matter what he did, the book rack could never be tightened enough to keep it from moving and tilting to one side. Needless to say, I returned the item 2 days later. Do NOT buy this item, it is not worth $5.00, much less the $24.95 I paid for it. It is of such poor quality, in fact, that I emailed Amazon.com and suggested that they remove it from their site.

I purchased this stand from [...] It is cast iron, but not very sturdy. The lip is small and won't hold a very big cookbook. The base is not very strong, either. My biggest problem, though, is the fact that it constantly tilts and will not hold a book at the angle I want, especially larger cookbooks. I plan on replacing this stand soon. It's pretty to look at it, but that's about it. [...]

Seems sturdy enough, quite smaller than expected, the place where the holder hooks onto the stand was a little bent but use a pair of pliers and fixed it.