Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

THE INFAMOUS PLASTIC KNOB: With roughly half the houses in the U.S. having indoor water lines made of PVC (poly vinyl chloride-"plastic"), and the other half having either copper or galvanized metal, (probably containing zinc, lead, aluminum, or something else that is scary!), I don't see the alarm over this tiny food-grade plastic knob. Can't be any worse than the plastic (vinyl) tubing they shove in your vein at the hospitals as an IV solution tube. You insist on glass?...This is America, and they have an after-market for that! I prefer glass myself, simply because I grew up with glass-topped percolators, (see Amazon, "Fitz-All", 13/16 in. to 1-1/2 in. percolator top). THE THICKNESS OF THE STAINLESS STEEL: I have been around awhile, and younger folks may never recognize the thinness and tinny feel and sound of this pot as being an issue. But for those who remember.....the gauge (thickness) of the steel on this pot, leaves something to be desired. WOULD I HAVE LIKED TO HAVE SEEN ROLLED EDGES ON THE POT AND LID? Absolutely! A safer and sturdier idea that was once used in the metal coffee pots of old. WOULD A ONE-PIECE BODY CONSTRUCTION HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE? You bet! The crimped-on bottom of this pot makes cleaning under, and in that groove at the bottom inside, a pain! I question a two-pieced anything that is used to hold water anyway. If it was a molded one-piece pot, then it would have had a smooth, rounded edge at the bottom, easy to clean, and no invitation to leak or rust (yes, stainless steel CAN rust). If you take a white paper towel to the underside of the bottom edge on the inside of the pot, and apply some upward and then downward pressure and swipe around the bottom, you will discover a lot of jet black "gunk", which is steel residue and probably polishing compound, that sticks like glue even after your initial "hot soapy water washing". Its left there from production and tough as nails to get cleaned out of that crevice. The same can be said of the underside of the curved top opening of the pot, and it's rolled edge rim of the basket, and it's lid edge. Kind of makes you wonder what is inside that tiny pump tube. Give yours the white paper towel test...you will be surprised at what resists your hot soapy dishwater! DO I MIND THE LOOSE SPRING THAT GOES OVER THE PUMP TUBE? I certainly do! Now THERE is something just waiting to be lost down the drain or garbage disposal, or, get snagged on your dish cloth or sponge and stretching it out of usable shape. If they MUST use a spring on an old style percolator, why couldn't they have made it either permanently attached, or at least as a "snap-on" so that it isn't just sliding around loosely on that tube, waiting to be lost? I felt somewhat generous at rating this product at four stars for ease of cleaning and use. Keeping track of that spring and the initial headache to get all that black "goo-grease" out of the edges and rims, did not impress me. My over all rating of four stars is relative to what I found available on the market for this style of a coffee pot. Meaningly, for the cost vs. quality, this is as good as your likely to find, and it isn't that bad. And as for flavor, how could (did) I give it a five star rating?.....I am writing this from the "old school" reality-check perspective here folks; if you have good ground coffee beans- you can make a delicious cup of coffee with simply a small fire, a tin can, and some fresh water. I Guess maybe many of us (myself included) shouldn't be so critical of the simple things huh? Enjoy!... Because without being "seasoned" , this pot STILL made a good first pot of coffee. And as we "old-timers" know- it only gets better with age! Or, maybe not! As a follow-up to this review (5-5-19), I have only used this coffee pot for 3 days now, and I can confirm what most every other reviewer on Amazon has said: the "infamous plastic knob" DID crack on my pot, and although it is plastic, I treated it as glass, ie; never placing it in cold water from a hot stove. It room cools before I ever get around to washing my coffee pot anyway. A definite product manufacturing defect here! Farberware...you shall hear from me. This needs to stop. Its no bargain on Amazon when you have to add a $6 to $10 dollar glass knob immediately to the initial cost of the coffee pot! I am editing this review and lowering some stars here. Too bad though, it makes good coffee....just like a tin can! Am I still too critical? Not impressed. I hesitate to add to an already lengthy review, but in fairness to Farberware, here I go: About two days after this review, I did call Farberware (nice folks). I was told that they ARE transitioning over to a GLASS lid knob and the only way one may get this coffee pot with the plastic knob now, is if it is on the shelf as remaining old stock. So there you have it! Some companies do in fact, still listen to their customer base!