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The World of Typewriters » typefaces and language collection! » 17-6-2017 06:34:36

Javi
Replies: 2

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There are so may typefaces and so many keyboard layouts out there, so I think there´s serious potential in collecting a wide array of them.

Personally, I´m more focused on the machines themselves, but inevitably variety happens. I prefer Spanish keyboards because Spanish is my mother tongue and they´re quite versatile. You can write in quite a few languages with a Spanish keyboard, but not the other way round. But even if I prefer a certain type of layout, Spanish keyboards make up to approximately 40 % of my collection. In terms of layouts, so far I have...

- Spanish: Olivettis and Olympias are a big part of this, and of course the Spanish brands like Amaya, Regia, Patria, etc.
- Spanish from Mexico: Slightly different, with question marks and accents in different places.
- English: Most of the Underwoods, both Imperials, a Halberg Traveler... But not many more. They´re not that common in Spain.
- German: The other big horde, but with many slight variations. Very common in pre-70´s typewriters, and somehow German models are always presend as antiques everywhere. I fear the day I´d go to Germany, because I´ll need a truck to bring all the typewriters I´ll get.
- Swiss German: I´d bet my Remington 10 has a Swiss layout, but any confirmation would be welcome.
- French: Common in Northern Spain but hard to use. AZERTY is a nightmare, numbers and symbols have swapped shift positions... Mistakes guaranteed.
- Swedish: A Halda P and a Gossen Tippa. A bit harder to use than regular English layout.
- Russian cyrillic: Just an Erika 42 with cyrillic keyboard and JCUKEN layout (the most common one). I got this one just to have something exotic because I don´t speak Russian.
- Japanese: Fujitsu Oasys Lite-K. Now THIS is exotic.

Arabic and Yiddish typewriters are scarce, and in addition they type from right to left. That makes them extremely interesting!
In Portugal I saw several mind-blowing, nonsensic

Type Talk » Recent Acquisitions Thread » 25-1-2017 10:04:17

Javi
Replies: 2008

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Aaaaand...



A Rooy Portable! ¡Toma ya!

I´ve spent like... three months or so without any new typewriter, and now I´ve got the Amaya 120 and this wonderful little thing. The Rooy Portable is definitely collectable, so I couldn´t let it go. It works fine, it only needs a new ribbon, some cleaning and finally getting rid of a bit of superficial rust. Maybe it´s not the best typewriter (in fact it´s horrible), but for sure it´s the flattest. 4,5 cm when folded, and featherweight.

And look at this silly forced perspective photo I took:



It looks even smaller than it is!

Type Talk » Recent Acquisitions Thread » 25-1-2017 06:16:39

Javi
Replies: 2008

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mre12ax7 wrote:

I do quite like the touch on it. Is there anything in my collection that you would think is better?
 

For my taste (and always speaking about typewriters I own) the Underwood 5 is better. The Royal 10... I don´t really know because mine isn´t at 100%, but the Royal 5 (the Flatbed) is really nice. Assuming the 5 and the 10 are similar in performance and touch in equal condition, I´d choose any of them instead of the LC Smith Super Spped without hesitating. The same goes for the Underwood 5.

With newer typewriters... It´s a bit difficult. How can you compare a Super Speed with a Royal HH? Or a SG1? The HH has been in my collection for a good while, and it´s certainly good. Now I´m waiting for a SG1 to arrive, but there seems to be the general consensus that it´s one of the best typewriters ever and I´m eager to check it for myself.

But in the end, the most important thing is finding your own typewriter. The one that makes you feel comfortable with, the one which better suits your typing and, why not, a good looking one. The typing experience has many levels, I guess. My experience with the LC Smith Super Speed is not that good, even if mine is in good shape after being repaired. For example, after undergoing the same kind of repairs I´d choose any other "similar" machines such as the Urania 8, Rheinmetall 9, Hispano Olivetti M40, Continental Standard... I´d put the Super Speed over the Iberia or the Orga Privat. All of them have been repaired by professionals, so they´re in the same condition and can be easily compared.

For me, the best typewriter in terms of pure performance is the Olivetti Linea 98, and I really doubt that´s a common choice. But it´s not my favourite one. In fact, I´d have a hard time choosing it!

 

Type Talk » Recent Acquisitions Thread » 24-1-2017 13:35:02

Javi
Replies: 2008

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You say in the TWDB this is your favourite typewriter. Seeing your wonderful collection I´d ask why.

I also have a 1938 LC Smith Super Speed, and I find it unnecessarily complex and not as fast as the name suggests. It´s quite pleasant to use, but it´s far from being one of my favourite typewriters. Of course this is a matter of personal preference, but I´m curious about it
 

Standard Typewriters » REVIEW - 1936 Continental Silenta » 24-1-2017 13:24:01

Javi
Replies: 9

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Uwe wrote:

Thanks for the review! 

Continental made fantastic machines, and although I own a few, I've never seen a Silenta in my area yet; I don't know whether that indicates that few have survived, or relatively few were exported to Canada. I suspect the later.

If you enjoy the machine as much as you described, I wouldn't feel too guilty about its cost, which I don't see as being a con for that particular model, it was just a con for your particular example of the model (someone else might pick up a perfectly functional Silenta for less than 50
€).

What you describe as a "silent control" is more than likely actually an impression control; it doesn't really make sense to have a variable noise feature on a typewriter, but it certainly makes sense to be able to adjust the impact of the type action to compensate for the use of multiple pages that have carbon sheets between them. Of course a side effect of changing the impression strength would be the sound the action makes, so although adjusting the lever does change the sound the machine makes that isn't its purpose.
 

Interesting! I didn´t consider that, but sounds very reasonable.I thought that function was elsewhere:



That knob at the center of the image allows you to regulate the space between the platen and... the half pipe shaped metal piece which presses against the platen to hold the paper. Sorry, I don´t even know the name of that bit in Spanish!

Thing is that by turning it left or right you leave more space so that you can use carbons and get multiple copies. The centered position (as seen in the photo) leaves more space because the knob is flattened at that point. I thought that was the way to use carbons in this typewriter, but it makes perfect sense to use that along with the "silent control". I should try to do that.

Uwe wrote:

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Standard Typewriters » REVIEW - 1936 Continental Silenta » 24-1-2017 12:57:59

Javi
Replies: 9

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Fleetwing wrote:

Thanks for this review, Javi -- I did not know anything about this typewriter. Any chance you can post typing examples at the different touch settings?


 

Standard Typewriters » REVIEW - 1936 Continental Silenta » 23-1-2017 10:59:05

Javi
Replies: 9

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This is my first review, so I´ve chosen a typewriter I like a lot. They say the most important step in a journey is the first one, for without it there´s no journey. Okey, it´s a Baldur´s Gate II quote, but it fits, right? Moving on to the review...

The Continental Silenta is the ultimate noiseless typewriter. A strong statement? Maybe, but maybe not because it has the power. The power to awe you with top-notch engineering!

This model was built from 1934 to 1943, and it´s (in my opinion, of course) the finest attempt at not drilling your ears with thunderous noise when typing. Noiseless typewriters are twice as complex as regular machines, which is troublesome. There are many more things that can go wrong, but if you can get everything right these typewriters are simply wonderful. The Continental Silenta is certainly stylish, but it´s a great display of good engineering. No other noiseless typewriter is as beautiful, and in addition it doesn´t sacrifice any performance.

I got this machine on march / april 2015, but it didn´t revive until september. The seller didn´t point out that the typewriter needed a complete overhaul. By looking at it, it should be in pristine condition: Original wooden box, dust cover and shiny, but inside it there was trouble. It was completely jammed, and I didn´t dare to dismantle it. This was a huge disappointment, because I trusted the seller, from whom I got two typewriters before: an Orga Privat 2 and an Olympia 8 which were perfectly fine. I wasn´t expecting this backstabbing in the night...

Then, I was in trouble. As I said before, this is a complex machine and I´m not skilled enough to fix a Silenta. I had to send it to Pascual and Alberto, and after about 4 months I got it back. This is one of my most expensive typewriters, if you put together the buying price plus the repairs. All in all it went over the 300€ mark... I am almost ashamed of that, but in the end the typewriter works and it´s one of the most beaten

Type Talk » Recent Acquisitions Thread » 23-1-2017 10:05:32

Javi
Replies: 2008

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Something new...



An Amaya A-120. Not the typical typewriter, but sadly in veeeeery bad shape. The idiot who shipped it managed to pack it apparently well, but it has arrived totally destroyed. The return lever is broken, the spacer is destroyed, lots of typebars are misalligned... I´d say someone dropped this typewriter and then the shipping finished it.

The machine itself is interesting. Mechanically it´s similar to the original Swiss Patria, although no one could say just by looking at it. The bodywork looks good, and this wide carriage model is intended for heavy workloads at the office. In addition, it has a lot of padding in an attempt to dampen the noise as much as possible.

But it´s broken. Utterly broken. I hope I can do something about it...

Off-Topic » Books, books and more books! » 22-1-2017 13:22:22

Javi
Replies: 36

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Repartee wrote:

Now it can be told: I do not like the Iliad!  That endless tale of randy gods, intermittent slaughter and a sulking hero has no charm for me. At least, not much: I once penetrated as far as Aphrodite donning armor and fighting and then running to Zeus like a whining child because some mortal had the audacity to wound her, she after all being in a battle. Even funnier I believe Ares himself suffers the same fate: he thinks war is cool as long as he can slaughter the mortals without fear of reprisal but also whines to Zeus when he gets hurt! That's good stuff, but not enough to justify the place in the pantheon this repetitive and long winded screed enjoys. I think it enjoys the reputation it does only because there is a long standing cultural need to have an iconic epic seated in lofty glory above all later works, and that's the one we have.

HOW DARE YOU!

Just kidding . The Iliad is no easy read. In fact the effort needed to go through it renders the Iliad practically impassable, and for sure I wouldn´t recommend it. It´s a fundamental (or even better, foundational) work of western literature, it´s Beautiful in Capitals, but there´s a big "but". It´s too damn dense. Not an enjoyable trip for the crushing majority of readers.

I, however, don´t think it´s kept in high regard just because of that cultural inertia you mention. I had to read it twice because I didn´t fully get it on the first go, and if I didn´t get it I was going to fail the blasted exam. Ditto for The Odyssey, but that´s a different story. Thing is that after the second round I more or less was able to "glimpse" how beautiful it is. Our teacher kept telling us that she wished we could read it in the original Homeric Greek, because that would blast away from our heads the stupid idea of the Iliad being boring. The version I read was plpagued with notes which threw some light on the form,

Off-Topic » Books, books and more books! » 21-1-2017 14:00:48

Javi
Replies: 36

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Repartee wrote:

misteraitch wrote:

I very seldom read novels or short stories more than once, but, as the years pass and my memory worsens, perhaps I will do that more often!

For me to reread a book it must have given me a certain kind of pleasure which I hope to rekindle. I read "Out of the Silent Planet" at least three time - there is something about his treatment of Merlin  - but probably will not again, I enjoyed some Dostoevsky and Tolstoy but they will not be getting even a second pass and despite our enlightening discussion of Madame Bovary I definitely will not be rereading it! I just cannot dredge up enough interest to decide for myself if it is a great and pathbreaking work in novelistic realism or a colossal scam job. When I hear "important" I reach for my Submarine Attack comic, and when a book loses my interest in midstream I don't hesitate to drop it half-read -- there is no virtue of completing it as if it were an obstacle course, it's just a species of entertainment.

 

Re- reading can be tricky. As far as my experience goes, going back to a book just to see if something you've heard about it is true doesn' t end up well. most probably you'll give it up, because the key is to enjoy the ride.

Then, I completely agree: this is entertainment. There are layers upon layers of technique, historical imprtance and a blizzard of details waiting for you in each book (not the same amount in all of them, of course), but if you don't like it... In fact I have a good tally of half-read books, one of them being the "best" novel in Spanish: Don Quixote, or El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha (the full original title sounds just great). But that's definitely in my to-do list, to see if it really is the best our language has to offer.

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