1 - Booksniffer
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 22-12-2020
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'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Hi everyone!
New here, with a new (to me) typewriter; a Hema 44K that I found on a Dutch auction site.
It's from April 1980 according to the little manual taped to the inside of the case, and is in incredibly good condition; it looks like it has barely been used!
The ribbon has dried out of course, so I am eagerly waiting for a new one in the mail... I'll be lucky if it gets here before the end of the year though.
The only thing wrong with it that I can find, is that the number '8' doesn't show up completely; the right half is missing, no matter how many times I go back and go over it. Because most of the letters and numbers don't show up properly a lof of the time due to the dry ribbon, it took me a while to notice.
I can't really think of a way to fix it, I suspect the 8 just wasn't cast correctly, or is sitting at a bit of an angle - but if anybody has any ideas, I would love to hear them!
Perhaps I will just avoid writing letters on the 8th, the 18th and the 28th of the month... ;)
Unfortunately, my address does contain an 8.
From what I understand, these typewriters were made by Olivetti.
I would love to know more about them, but I haven't been able to find anything online.
I've taken some pictures (not very good ones, due to lack of daylight), which I will post as soon as I've figured out how to do that.
- Uwe
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Congratulations on your Hema and welcome to TT.
I don't recall having ever seen a Hema in person, but then again I'm in Canada and a lot of the smaller European brands were never imported here. From the photos I've seen online, the 44K appears to be an Olivetti Lettera 35 wrapped in a proprietary case (shell).
Instructions on photos can be found in the FAQ thread.
Although repairs are discussed in the Maintenance & Repairs sub-forum, it sounds like your '8' typebar is twisted and needs to be adjusted. This is a delicate procedure done in tiny increments. It's also possible that there's an issue with the slug, which is why a photo of it along with a type sample is recommended before you attempt any repair.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Laurenz van Gaalen
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
The HEMA 44K was the machine that started my interest in typewriters. It is a HEMA branded Olivetti 92. HEMA is a large department store in the Netherlands, it means 'Hollandse Eenheids MAatschappij', which roughly translate to something like 'Dutch unity company'. The 44K is a typical end-of-the-typewriter-era machine, with a lot of plastic components. They are very common overhere, so I guess HEMA sold a lot of them. The most interesting design feature is the body: it is larger than necessarry. It is almost an ultra-portable in a regular portable disguise.
- Laurenz van Gaalen
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Correction: HEMA means 'Hollandsche Eenheidsprijzen Maatschappij Amsterdam', which means 'Dutch unit prices company Amsterdam'.
- Uwe
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Ah, so it's a private label model then. It's difficult to keep track of all those department store variants, particularly since many of them were local to a specific country.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Laurenz van Gaalen
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
I think so, there is no Lettera 92 in the TWDB. It was also sold as Olivetti-Underwood 319.
- Booksniffer
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Uwe and Laurenz, thank you both!
For now, I don't think I'm going to tinker with the wonky 8; I'm hoping it will look better with a fresh ribbon.
Perhaps I will be braver if (when) I have another functional typewriter; the Marktplaats (Dutch Ebay-ish site) algorithm is relentless... although what I am really after now is some affordable airmail / onionskin type paper.
Interesting, I had found the Olivetti 35 as a close match, but had not heard about the 92.
Right, according to the FAQ, I need three posts before I can add photos.... Going to try and think of something else to say!
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Thread Starter- Laurenz van Gaalen
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
Booksniffer wrote:
although what I am really after now is some affordable airmail / onionskin type paper
Well, that is something I am searching for quite a while now. I have only found 60 gr/m general purpose A4 paper. I suspect Vlieger in Amsterdam may have real airmail/onionskin paper, but I have not been able to visit the store because of the lockdown.
If you find airmail or other very thin paper, please let me know.
Lau
- Uwe
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
... although what I am really after now is some affordable airmail / onionskin type paper. ...
For what it's worth, considering my local office supply store has both regular onion skin and 'airmail' onion skin paper on the shelf, I'm sure it will be easy for you to find. I have bought the regular stuff in the past for typing and it works quite well (just make sure you use a backing sheet or two - always use a backing sheet).
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Booksniffer
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 22-12-2020
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Re: 'New' Hema 44K (Olivetti) 1980
although what I am really after now is some affordable airmail / onionskin type paper
Well, that is something I am searching for quite a while now. I have only found 60 gr/m general purpose A4 paper. I suspect Vlieger in Amsterdam may have real airmail/onionskin paper, but I have not been able to visit the store because of the lockdown.
If you find airmail or other very thin paper, please let me know.
Lau
Yes, I am hoping Vlieger might have some!
I can't find it on their website, but they're not really set up for online business.
If they don't have it, I don't know who would...
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