Kraftware Soda Siphon by Sifolux, Gold and Faux Tortoiseshell, Made in Israel
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An Israeli Sifolux siphon sold under an American barware name
The Kraftware soda siphon is a metal home seltzer bottle stamped "MADE FOR KRAFTWARE IN ISRAEL" on the bottom. You fill it with cold water, screw on the head and pierce a CO2 charger in the holder, and the lever then sprays soda water into a glass. Kraftware was an American barware brand whose vintage pieces are marked "Kraftware N.Y.C." It is best known for vinyl-wrapped ice buckets in faux leather, faux wood, cork, marble and tortoiseshell looks, along with bar tool sets and insulated tumblers. This siphon is dressed the same way, with a gold shoulder and base around a glossy tortoiseshell band, so it matched the buckets on a home bar.
The siphon itself came from Sifolux (Sypholux on its marks), Israel's household soda-siphon maker. The chrome lever on this copy carries the Sypholux stamp: a round S logo with SYPHOLUX on one side and the name in Hebrew on the other. The same lever, head and body turn up on Sypholux's own-brand siphons in plain or satin aluminum with red heads. Sifolux Industries was based in Tel Aviv and sold siphons in Israel from the 1950s. For about three decades it was a fixture of Israeli kitchens and a standard wedding gift, and the company ran its own repair service. Its factory on Yigal Alon Street closed at the end of the 1990s, and bottle production had ended by 2000.
Kraftware wasn't the only American company to sell Israeli siphons under its own name. A slimmer yellow siphon with a red head is stamped "Made in Israel specially for Solex Inc., Detroit, Mich." No catalog or ad showing when Kraftware carried this one has turned up. Sellers call it a 1960s piece. That fits Kraftware's vinyl barware, but it is a seller claim, not a documented date.
Kraftware's own history is thin. The company now trading as Kraftware Corp. supplies ice buckets, wastebaskets and trays to hotels. It says it has done so "for over 40 years," and its business profile gives a founding year of 1983 with offices in New York and Roselle, New Jersey. That date is later than the 1960s and 1970s that dealers give for vintage Kraftware, so either the brand is older than the current company or the dealer dating runs early. Neither has been settled.
Three Kraftware copies besides this one were found in October 2026, plus one that had sold on Etsy. Each has a gold top and base but a different middle: a lighter amber tortoiseshell like this one, a dark mahogany tortoiseshell, or glossy black. Two of the sellers listed the same bottle on two sites each, so the listing count runs higher than the number of copies.
Kraftware, Sypholux or Solex?
The bottom stamp names the seller; the lever names the maker. From this copy and the photos of eight other listings, checked October 29, 2026.
| Version | Bottom mark | Tells | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraftware This copy | "MADE FOR / KRAFTWARE / IN / ISRAEL" in a round recess | Gold shoulder and base; amber tortoise, mahogany tortoise or black band; Sypholux lever | About 13 in. tall, 5 in. base |
| Sypholux own brand Sold in Israel | "SYPHOLUX" stamped in the recess; some have Hebrew purchase-tax stickers | Same body and lever; satin or polished aluminum, often with red pinstripes and a red head | Same body |
| Solex Inc. Other US private label | "MADE IN ISRAEL / SPECIALLY FOR / SOLEX INC. / DETROIT, MICH." | Slimmer, straight bottle; yellow with a red stripe and red head | Smaller than the Kraftware |
- Read the lever, not the title. Listings call it "Kraftware," "Sypholux" or just "made in Israel." The round S logo with SYPHOLUX and Hebrew lettering is on all of them.
- The gold is the Kraftware tell. Every Kraftware copy found has the gold shoulder and base. The Israeli own-brand bottles are bare or satin aluminum.
- Cross-listed copies. Two of the Kraftware bottles for sale each appear on two sites (eBay and Poshmark; eBay and Etsy). Compare photos before counting them twice.
- Check the parts. The head unscrews and holds a dip tube and gasket. One copy for sale has lost its charger holder, leaving only the brass thread.
A gold and tortoiseshell siphon with a black head and chrome lever
The Kraftware siphon is a round metal bottle about 13 inches tall. Its domed shoulder and its base band are painted gold (a soft metallic khaki gold), and between them sits a glossy faux tortoiseshell band in amber, rust and dark brown mottling. A narrow raised ring marks the edge of the shoulder. The base is a plain gold cylinder with a round, slightly sunken panel in the middle of the bottom, where the mark is stamped.
The head is shiny black plastic with a ribbed collar where it screws on. A curved chrome lever stands on one side and presses down to spray. A hinged chrome cover with a pressed pattern sits over the nozzle, and a black tube with a ribbed screw cap juts out at an angle to hold the CO2 charger. The top of the head is capped with a round chrome button.
- Shoulder: domed, gold, with a raised ring where it meets the band.
- Band: glossy faux tortoiseshell in amber, rust and dark brown on this copy. Other copies have a darker mahogany tortoise or glossy black.
- Base: gold cylinder, about 5 inches across.
- Head: black plastic with a chrome lever, a chrome nozzle cover and a black charger holder.
- Lever: stamped with a round S logo, SYPHOLUX in capitals and the name in Hebrew letters.
- Bottom: "MADE FOR KRAFTWARE IN ISRAEL" stamped in four lines, with KRAFTWARE in larger letters and a tall first K.
- This copy: dark spots and small chips in the gold paint on the shoulder, scuffs on the band, pitting and dulling on the chrome. Seals not tested.
Bottom: MADE FOR KRAFTWARE IN ISRAEL Lever, around an S logo: SYPHOLUX סיפולוקסThe Hebrew is stamped on this copy's lever, upside down in the close-up photo; the spelling is checked against matching levers on other copies.
- Kraftware seltzer bottle
- Kraftware Sypholux siphon
- Sifolux soda siphon
- Vintage soda siphon made in Israel
- Gold tortoiseshell seltzer siphon
- Mid century metal seltzer bottle
Copies for sale right now
Four live listings of three Kraftware copies, checked October 29, 2026. Other Israeli siphons by Sypholux and Solex are covered under How to identify it. Asking prices, not sales. eBay's sold prices need a sign-in, so they aren't here yet. A fifth Kraftware copy sold on Etsy; its price isn't shown.
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Who made the Kraftware soda siphon?
Sifolux (spelled Sypholux on its marks), the Tel Aviv company that made Israel's household soda siphons. The bottom says "MADE FOR KRAFTWARE IN ISRAEL," and the chrome lever carries the Sypholux mark in English and Hebrew. Kraftware was the American barware brand that sold it.
What does the SYPHOLUX stamp on the lever mean?
It is the maker's mark of Sifolux Industries of Tel Aviv: a round S logo with SYPHOLUX on one side and the same name in Hebrew on the other. The same lever is on Sypholux's own-brand siphons.
How old is a Kraftware siphon?
Sellers date it to the 1960s or 1970s. That fits Kraftware's vinyl barware era, but it isn't documented. Sifolux made siphons from the 1950s until its factory closed at the end of the 1990s, so the Israeli make doesn't narrow the date.
What colors did it come in?
Every Kraftware copy found has a gold shoulder and base. The middle band comes in a lighter amber tortoiseshell, a darker mahogany tortoiseshell, or glossy black.
How big is it?
About 13 inches tall to the top of the head and about 5 inches across the base, according to two separate sellers and a tape photo.
Can you still use it?
Only with care. It needs a CO2 charger in the screw-on holder and sound seals, and decades-old gaskets should be replaced before it is pressurized. In Israel, exploding Sifolux bottles killed one man in 1958 and injured another in 1960.
What is a Kraftware soda siphon worth?
On October 29, 2026, three Kraftware copies were listed for $24.50 to $60 plus shipping, or about $34 to $77 delivered. These are asking prices, not sales.
- Owner's photos of this copy, including the lever stamp and the bottom mark
- Hebrew Wikipedia: Sifolux, for Sifolux Industries of Tel Aviv, sales from the 1950s, the wedding-gift custom, the repair service and the 1958 and 1960 accidents
- Ynet, "The Sifolux exit" (2018), for the Yigal Alon Street factory and its closing at the end of the 1990s
- Nadlan Center: the Sifolux tower plan, for bottle production ending in 2000 and the preserved factory building
- Ynet: 10 vintage items every home had (2025), for Sifolux's three decades of popularity
- eBay: Sypholux own-brand siphon, for the same lever stamp in English and Hebrew and a SYPHOLUX bottom mark
- eBay: black-band Kraftware copy and eBay: mahogany Kraftware copy, for the other colorways, both marks on one bottle, and a ruler photo
- Poshmark and Etsy (sold), for two separate sellers' measurements of about 13 by 5 inches
- eBay: Solex Inc. siphon, for a second US private label on an Israeli siphon
- eBay: Kraftware N.Y.C. ice bucket, for the brand's New York mark on vinyl barware
- Kraftware Corp.: About us and its LinkedIn profile, for today's company, its "over 40 years" claim and the 1983 founding year