Vintage salt and pepper grinder/mill

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Saltnpepper

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 18, 2020
Messages
7
Location
Miami
This salt and pepper grinder/ mill set has been in my kitchen for years but no one in my family has ever used it.
Recently I got curious about how it works/ if it will work and did some googling.
I did a reverse image search and found these two that are almost identical to the one I have in my kitchen (except that the tag on the bottom of mine says made in Hong Kong) :
https://precisensan.se/en/plastic/salt-pepper-grinder-bodum-70s/

https://tenondesign.com/products/vintage-pair-of-green-danish-modern-bodum-salt-pepper-grinders?variant=15212679200831


Problem is I still don't know how these grinders work. Does anyone know how these grinders work?
 

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I can't seem to figure out how to get the peppercorns inside. When I try lifting the brown cover, I'm met with resistance from the coil spring. So I'm wondering how do I pull the grinders apart to actually get the peppercorns inside. Is there a special way to lift the top? Do I pull it apart from the bottom?
 
the green one in the ref looks like you push the spring down, the turning lever/peg slides out of the spindle, the spindle lifts out?
or that lets the lid come off?
 
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the green one in the ref looks like you push the spring down, the turning lever/peg slides out of the spindle, the spindle lifts out?
or that lets the lid come off?

To me, it also looks like that lever / peg might be able to slide out to let the lid come off or the spindle come out.
 
yup. in the OP pix, the one on the left is missing the retaining ring.
you can just see the hint of the sprint under the brown ring on the right grinder.


it appears pressing the spring down allows the 'barbell' shaped horizontal lever to slide out through a 'bigger' hole. makes sense with the observation that lifting the brown lid encounters resistance from the spring....
 
To me, it also looks like that lever / peg might be able to slide out to let the lid come off or the spindle come out.
Yep, I pulled the lever/peg out, removed the spring and the cover came right off. Thanks soooo much for your help
 
Does the lid come off or does the spindle come out? Were you able to open both of them? Was the visible spring a problem?
The lid does come off but the spindle doesn't come out.
Yes I was able to open both and the springs didn't pose any problem at all. The spring seems to be the thing (along with the lever/peg) that keeps the lid firmly in place.
 
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