This is an old topic, I know. However... I needed to remove my baskets tonight for a Cafiza bath, and started to do the usual process of removing those things (padded handles of a pair of channel locks). I keep my spouts out of both portafilters, so there is a nice, convenient hole (no bottomless p/f's yet). Anyway, I have never been able to find the perfect thing to wedge into the hole. Last night, we had Chinese food, and there was a pair of chopsticks still on the counter. Put a chopstick in the hole, banged it against my granite counters, and viola! out it came. This may not be a good idea with non-stone counters, but you get the idea. Hope this helps.
Ben
Found an easy way to remove those stubborn baskets
Easy Basket Removal
Just replace the springs with the La Marzocco springs. Even though the latter are for 58mm portafilters, they fit the La Spaziale portafilters perfectly. They hold the baskets with the perfect degree of tension, and the baskets can be removed very easily by hand.
Re: Easy Basket Removal
True... I have since gone bottomless, so my chopsticks are gone. :Ddmilton wrote:Just replace the springs with the La Marzocco springs. Even though the latter are for 58mm portafilters, they fit the La Spaziale portafilters perfectly. They hold the baskets with the perfect degree of tension, and the baskets can be removed very easily by hand.