In my professional life, I have had to replace many KitchenAid paddles,
dough hooks and beaters. The paddles get a lot of use in our bakery, and
someone bent the tabs up on the bowls to lower the paddle position in the
bowl (not knowing enough to use the adjustment screw, I suppose). The
result was paddles that wore out in 3 months instead of 1 year. The
quickest way to replace them is to go to a restaurant supply store and buy
them there. If you have a few to chose from, call ahead and compare
prices. I can usually buy any one of the three attachements for about $15,
give or take a dollor or so. At home I have a KA heavy duty, and I've
found it extremely helpful to have an extra paddle and whip, as well as an
extra bowl. It's important to give them the correct model number of the KA
you have, since the paddle for a K45 doesn't fit the bowl of a K5. Good
luck! I wish all of our mixing problems were so easy to solve!
Happy Baking,
Terry