Review: Consul 232 (?)

I just received this machine in the mail today but like it so much that I felt motivated to write a review rather than add a post to new acquisitions.

In typewriters as in life it’s usually more satisfying to find a gemstone in the rough than to pay full market price and not just for the economy. It’s the feeling of having rescued a pound puppy, of finding something that others have not appreciated but is worth more to you than to everybody else who might define the market in market price. I am not claiming to have “discovered” Consul typewriters in general or this particular model which only I have the wit to enjoy, so let’s get that out of your system now (stares down would be hecklers in peanut gallery)!  I am only writing about this particular machine, which I won with a modest bid after making several extravagant purchases in the last few months.

Several teething problems, first of which was that I was so excited to try it out that the slick body slid from my grasp and hit the top of a cushioned chair and slid to the floor!  Ouch.  No apparent external damage but I can’t know if the internal derangement was a result of this blow or not: the carriage would not advance even with manual help when typing though moved freely with the carriage release, and it took about a kilo force to raise the carriage to the shift position. I knew enough to know WHERE to look and after poking at the escapement was rewarded by one of those “repairs” accomplished by poking at the mechanism until something out of normal position pops back in even though you never know what that mystery part was – whatever was jammed was jamming the carriage shift too. Drop of solvent on the bell mechanism got it ringing, then I deftly knock the fishing line off the spool!  If only I knew a Czech curse.  Managed to retension the spring and wrap the line around it again and everything works properly, and put the bottom back on the machine.

I formed my opinion of the machine before I found the instruction booklet, and it pretty much matched this copy:

It is both simple and efficient, practical yet beautiful … It has both a light touch and a uniform legibility to equal that of the normal ‘standard’ machine. “ 

It is reminiscent of the Skyriter in its size, its truly surprising light weight given a mostly metal construction, and its surprising surefootedness given its size.  It’s a worker and not a quaint miniature and deserves respect. The text is a prosaic pica which looks best at 1.5 spacing and does not really invite boasting about its fine imprint, but that’s not the point.  It’s a writing tool and it is pleasant to write with, adequate to read.
 
The remaining challenge is that the paper is gripped but loosely and tilts and moves to the left as you type.  I have found a quick fix for this is to brush stripes of rubber cement on the platen and allow it to dry. I hear purists objecting for unknown reasons, but it works at least temporarily and cannot even permanently alter the platen as it can be rubbed off. The platen is shot anyway. I call it a model 232 after a similar photo at Oz Typewriter though I cannot make the serial number line up to this model by the instructions at the Typewriter Database, or any other model number for that matter.  Serial # is 031159864.