- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
I'm sorry Tom, but do you mean an SG3? I do not recall Olympia making an SW. I know there was SF (their ultra-portables) SM (or mid-sized portables) and SG (the big desktops). I do agree that the Olympias are the best, abd I'd like to use the Royal KGM I gave my brother as a prop, but it has a sticky carriage. And backspace is messed up. So I'll see what I'll do with it in the future.
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Tom Waits
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Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
ztyper,
Yes, I ment SG3. No idea why I called it an SW. Hope you can get the old KGM working. Mine is a great typer.
Tom
- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
I wish I could get it working, but it looks like and acts like it's been through Hell and back. So we'll see how it turn out.
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Richard Polt
- Novice Typer
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- Registered: 22-9-2013
- Posts: 39
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
Such a complex topic, I could go on and on. But at the moment, for sheer typing pleasure, I really like my Remington Rand KMC Deluxe. The touch feels perfect.
- curly
- Novice Typer
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- From: Texas
- Registered: 02-1-2015
- Posts: 42
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
I have Olympias, Royals, Hermes, Underwood, and Smith Coronas. I like them all. The one that impresses me the most if I had to pick one is a 1948 Royal Quiet De Luxe that I haven't even had a chance to clean yet but it types really well in spite of this. Being new to this addictive hobby though, I can't really formulate a solid opinion as I haven't type more than a page on any of them yet. I think it was Hemingway who said he liked Royals the least because they misspelled so many words.
Steve
Time is something you can never get back, use it wisely.
- Adleruni
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- Registered: 11-4-2014
- Posts: 15
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
I'd have to say Woodstock #5s, of which I've got six - one from each era/incarnation. The finest one , is my earliest one from 1916 - 17, serial # RW 946. As someone said, "they type like the wind" snappy and quick! I'd also include the R C Allens which even though they bought out Woodstock, they actually made them even better!
For me, the great disappointments so far are the Olivetti's, and the Olympia's, although I finally got an SM-4 that is quite nice. The several SM-9's that I've tried are lackluster, to downright poor build quility with permanently sticking keys
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
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Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
Adleruni wrote:
The several SM-9's that I've tried are lackluster, to downright poor build quility with permanently sticking keys
That's a first. I can honestly say that I've never read anyone describe a SM9 that way. Sticking keys are typically a sign of a poorly maintained machine and is an issue that can effect any model, by any brand; however, can you elaborate on why you think its build quality is poor? And perhaps suggest another portable from that era that you think is an example of excellent build quality?
The SM9 is built like a tank, has excellent fit and finish, and uses quality components in its construction. And Olympia sold a ton of them, and not because they were inexpensive.
Which? magazine, a British consumers' association publication that provides consumers with information to help them make good choices in the purchase of goods, tested 26 portable typewriters in 1979 and gave the SM9 the highest marks in the "construction" category and an above average overall rating.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- Adleruni
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Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
Thanks for responding. I've had a few Olympia SM-9's and given them to friends - they just don't do anything for me. I had expected great things from a german made machine, but it just wasn't there for me. I got a late model SM-9 for a friend, but some of the keys stuck persistantly - I know how to clean a typeweriter, but couldn'y get them freed up. I gave it to my friend who sent it off to Dr Typewriter for repairs, and it came back with the P still stuck. This was not a damaged machine, and besides the stuck letters, was in good shape.
As a consolation prize to my friend, I picked up a $40.00 SM-4 for him, and fell in love - that's what I had expected from the SM-9's. I now have my own SM-4 that I like, but it's not my "favorite" machine, just a good machine.
- ztyper
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
Well I'm glad you enjoy your SM-4. And I have never heard anyone complain about an SM-9. I own 11 machines (it's a little out of hand...) and the SM-9 I have is the best one in my collection. I'd chose this typewriter if I ever wanted to bang out a 50,000 word novel. Maybe try an SG1? I hear they are one of the best in the world, so it might be worth a shot.
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- KatLondon
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- Registered: 11-10-2014
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Re: Favorite/Least favorite brands
Oh I love my SM8, which is virtually the same as an SM9. I love my SM3 too, and the newly working SG3. And I love my little Splendids. Each one is as wonderful as the others but in a slightly different way. Olympia for me.
Having said which the type on my Japy is wonderful. And the Lettera 32 is rather classy, and pica. The Hermes Baby (an old one, 1949) has broken teeth in the carriage rail or whatever it's called, but the feel of it is divine. Id love to get more into the Hermes line, but they sre harder to find and for some reason harder to find in London.
One thing I love about the Olympias is how the different parts of them inside are different colours, so you can easily tell them apart and see how they relate to one another. And all of mine just have beautiful-feeling, snappy, responsive, moreish keys.
