igotztowrite wrote:

I think I found THE typewriter. Why did I wait so long to buy a standard? I'm in love! 

Welcome to the SG Club!

By the sounds of it, your SG1 was well worth the wait, and it even has the paper rest (most don't). And I agree, the typing experience that a standard in good tune can provide is far superior to what you can expect with a portable.  
 

Uwe wrote:

igotztowrite wrote:

I think I found THE typewriter. Why did I wait so long to buy a standard? I'm in love! 

Welcome to the SG Club!

By the sounds of it, your SG1 was well worth the wait, and it even has the paper rest (most don't). And I agree, the typing experience that a standard in good tune can provide is far superior to what you can expect with a portable.  
 

Uwe, previously speaking of overhyped typewriters, THIS is not over hyped. Part of pulling the trigger was from reading your opinions about this model. I do value your opinion.  Last night, I typed four pages and it was wonderful. For now, it's slightly ahead of my favorite typer which is my Torpedo 18.

I'm happy.

Whether I am a proud owner or a crack addict would depend on the social milieu. Since October I have bought four SG-1's

Number Four comes full cycle with the first one, packed enthusiastically but not effectively by a person whose vocabulary did not include "immobilize" and as a result the front was battered in. Straightening body and the space bar is on my to do list and if that's all the damage I can't wait to see how it types. Number One was missing two of four main screws holding body to frame so though it's straightened it must be supported on a special angle to avoid body interfering with space bar and is in semi-retirement. Number Two has the typeface sometimes known as "robotic" (I know its real name but robotic is shorter), and still held some surprises for me recently: it is neither pica nor elite but 11 CPI, and types more cleanly and with less punch through with no backing sheet! I have a theory about this involving the proper calibration and the anvil actually doing its job.

The print quality of Number Two seems to have fallen off since I first used it: finding some old test sheets this is not faulty memory. I don't think it's because I've smashed the typeface down with no backing and a hard platen because that was a reaction when I noticed the fall off, not a precursor. Going to a drier older ribbon from a new over-inked new one helped, though it had been working better with that same new ribbon before. Further investigation? The queue winds around to the left, friend - but maybe just in need of a cleaning.

Number Three I never more than tested before yesterday and am overjoyed to see it prints a neat, crisp and reasonably dark 12 CPI with an older ribbon - though no unusual typeface. It rattles subtly and produces tiny high pitched ringing noises if you listen closely, which detracts from its aura of precision German engineering. It's seen hard use by the look of the platen.

And that's my SG-1 stable. For now. When moving them about I have definitely started to remove the carriage rather than carrying the whole machine at once!

Uwe wrote:

I don't think that I've ever heard the term robotic being applied to an Olympia typeface before, so I'm curious: Senatorial #71 perhaps? As for size, 11 and 13 cpi typefaces are commonly found, possibly because they are the products of metric versus Imperial measurement standards. In any case, Olympia described 11 cpi as being an elite typeface.

Yes indeed, it is Senatorial #71. "Robotic" was actually my mistake for "robot" - not that it really matters, for my only reference for this usage is something I remember once reading somewhere. It may have been only that one reviewer who described it that way, but that qualifies for "is sometimes called".   When I first saw it I thought the typewriter may have been a special model for writing machine readable characters on checks! It was not love at first sight, but it grew on me.

Gary wrote:

Sigh.  Just received a nice dark green SG1, only to find it poorly packed, and suffering a dented frame just in front of the space bar.  Now the space bar can't move,  I hope to try to pry it back in place.  Especially bummed because I gave the guy shipping instructions and he just tossed it in a big, thin box with some peanuts.

Gary, more like GRRRRR

How did the actual shipping box look? If the box is really damaged they could file a claim which I heard can take forever. With the assumption that it's through Ebay,  did you contact the seller and ask for a refund or at the least a partial? If not, take photos of the damage area(s) and send it to the seller - the sooner the better after delivery.

I wouldn't try to repair it until you come to a resolution that's comfortable for you. If the seller is a pain in the ... they could say that you caused it by doing repairs or immediately blame it on the delivery company. Initially most  will not admit it's their lack of effort that caused the damage. You're photos are proof of the damage and can be compared to the listing photos.

If they are being a pain in the ... you can always file a case with Ebay  and tell the seller that they are responsible you expect a PREPAID return label. They hate paying for return shipping. If you decide on a full refund with a return, do not send it back until they send you that return label.

Most of these sellers have no comprehension about how fragile these well built machines are. For me, it's not about the money for the price was agreed upon. It's more the principle of not taking any responsibility, the lack of respect as a seller to the buyer as well as a lack of respect towards these beautiful machines.

I've never bought a standard because most sellers don't even know how to properly ship a portable even with detail instructions provided.

Sorry to hear about your experience.