Here's What The World's First KitchenAid Mixer Looked Like In 1919

The KitchenAid mixer is a quintessential tool of many a home baker's kitchen. Its hinged, torpedo-shaped top is highly recognizable, and you may have first become acquainted with it in the kitchens of your childhood. But although this mixer has looked familiar for decades, its earliest iteration was markedly different. In fact, if you were to suddenly come across KitchenAid's original stand mixer today, you might not even know what you were looking at.

That's because that famous torpedo top didn't exist until 1937, with the introduction of the Model K stand mixer. According to KitchenAid's own historical account, the company's first stand mixer debuted in 1919 as the Model H-5, a relatively heavy 5-quart mixer that weighed 65 pounds and reportedly retailed for $189.50 (equal to over $3,500 today).

It was also surprisingly tall, with its motor mounted on a metal beam straight on top of its armature. And there was no hinge to rotate the top up. It also came with a pretty interesting bowl — a relatively small design with a more closed rim, sitting on two arms rather than being locked into the mixer's base. There are modern KitchenAid mixers where the bowl also sits on arms, called Bowl-Lift models, but these arrived well after the brand gained fame with its locked-in version. Another huge difference with the H-5 was lack of color. Though it's unclear whether or not H-5 color variations existed, modern images show it either coated in white or stripped down to its base metal thanks to time. Likewise, KitchenAid's history states it formally debuted color options in 1955.

Since the H-5 gave way to the Model K, KitchenAid mixers have undergone various changes in bowl options, add-ons, and available settings over the decades. However, the general design has stood firm since then with only subtle tweaks. But do they have as much longevity as the original? Although more modern KitchenAid stand mixers last between five and 15 years on average, the H-5 may be remembered for its durability as well as its unique design. The really cool thing is that it's possible to still find some working today, as seen in TikTok videos showing just that. It's unclear how many may have gone through KitchenAid's refurbishment program for old mixers or have been fixed up with some DIY, but as various owners of the H-5 mixer on social media claim, they still work great. 

It's always possible, of course, that KitchenAid could overhaul its design dramatically again at some point in the future. Still, the core concept has been the same since the 1930s and the brand has remained strong as a leader among consumers. If you're wondering whether KitchenAid mixers are worth the hype or not, as of June 2026, they dominate Best Buy's top-sellers and also make up three of the top seven stand mixers in Consumer Reports ratings — so it seems likely that KitchenAid will continue to stick with its winning redesign for a while yet.