Hanging Kitchen Scale

Kitchen scales are really worth using in the kitchen, especially for baking. I use mine frequently, but I do also get annoyed with its bulkiness and the hassle of dragging it in and out of the high cupboard where it's stashed. I have been wondering lately if I could hang a scale instead, like in the produce department at the supermarket.

The photo above is from a recent Small Cool entry: Kimmer's Old & New. I love the look of the vintage scale, and while here it only looks like it's used for display and storage, I wonder if it could do real functional duty as well.

Here's another example from a kitchen tour: Robert and Elizabeth's Soulful Sterling Place. They also just use theirs for storage and display.

What do you think? Do you use a hanging kitchen scale for functional purposes? I haven't started looking yet, but I do wonder whether hanging scales would measure the small degrees of precision needed in baking. Perhaps they are meant for larger amounts of meat and vegetables?

Related: The Virtues of Kitchen Scales

Comments (9)

With an old-fashioned scale, can you tare or zero out the weight of the container? Or would you have to weigh the container empty, then full, and do pesky math?

posted by heather77 on April 15th 2009 at 1:38pm
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Wow, even if it didn't work all that well as a kitchen tool, those are beautiful as display pieces.

posted by GreenCayennes on April 15th 2009 at 2:13pm
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The hanging scale my mom has is made for weight really big things. I believe it's an ice scale. I'd be really surprised if any vintage hanging scale was precise enough for baking, but it would be really cool.

posted by Tiamat_the_Red on April 15th 2009 at 2:41pm
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I know someone who uses a hanging scale as her launch pad. (Photo here - scroll down to December 2004.)

posted by Jeri Dansky on April 15th 2009 at 2:56pm
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I actually registered for a hanging scale as a wedding present. It is new, but has a vintage look. I picked the smallest (weight) one, but I do wonder how well it will do for baking purposes.

posted by brittanykate on April 15th 2009 at 4:56pm
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Those hanging scales are like the kind they used to have in the produce sections of grocery stores. They will not have the precision required for baking since they are intended to weigh heavier things.

posted by angorian on April 15th 2009 at 5:21pm
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What a great decor piece - love it!

posted by Dana McCauley on April 15th 2009 at 7:26pm
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Why is your kitchen scale so bulky? This one is great - slimline, comes with its own batteries, weighs in grams, ounces, and lbs/oz, and you can tare it to use with any container. Goes up to 11 lbs.

posted by Libbet on April 15th 2009 at 8:47pm
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just invest in a digital for baking. a hanging would be messy, awkward, and imperfect (as angorian pointed out)
but perfect for a plant, as shown in the photo.

posted by saltyc on April 16th 2009 at 1:14am
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