I wouldn't personally pay that much for a Maid of Honor canner. The reasons are that it could be warped, you may have to put new parts on it. A new gauge usually runs about $20 to $25 . Then, if you have to get a new gasket aned over pressure plug, you may as well get a new canner.
Here I can get a brand new 23qt. Presto for $69 and it usually includes a free canning tool kit.

Agree. One that old and costly to refurbish, and it would need it, isn't worth 35 dollars. They can be a good canner so I'd take if it was $5 and then check it out and see if it was worth bringing up to date but I wouldn't pay any more for one of them.

Dave

yeah, I didn't think so either but I wasn't sure if I was missing something LOL! thanks guys!

If the price does come down to the point where you decide it's worth a risk (I'd say the $5.00 point already mentioned.), keep in mind the Maid of Honor is a re-badged Presto, so you should still be able to get parts. But I agree that $35.00 is way out of line for an old out-of-production untested canner.

Carol

This is an old thread, but I came upon it while searching for a 23qt MoH cooker.

Two weeks ago, I bought the exact pressure cooker in question for $10 from a local trading site. I then added a new pressure gauge ($14) and a new gasket ($10) that I picked up from our local Do It Best hardware store. I even picked up a wire rack ($11), and a shelf ($8). Total investment: $53.

I have also owned a number of Presto AL pressure cookers over the years, and even though this is a rebranded Presto, the quality of these older ones is tenfold over the newer ones.

While this is only a 7qt I bought in 1999, I have also owned the 16 and the 23.

My biggest issue with the newer ones is that the thin bottoms warp with the slightest use. This causes them to rock, especially on our glass top stove. The bottoms of the 16 and 23 were so bad, I sold them for scrap after 2 years of use. Never again.

On the other hand, this old Maid of Honor (which I believe was made in the 40's and 50's) is still as flat as the day it came off the production line.

I especially prefer how the gasket locks in. The MoH is pinched between metal rings.

The Presto has a gasket that uses pressure to seal. Even though it has a year old seal, I continually have to the wiggle handle back and forth once it is up to pressure or it will hiss and leak water all over the stove.