1 of 1- ztyper
- Key Master
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- From: Somewhere in New Jersey
- Registered: 01-10-2014
- Posts: 773
Adlers?
I was just wondering how the Adler portables of the 60's or 70's (J3 and J4 to be exact) are like too see if I should put them on my watch list. What's the action like? How does it compare to the other typewriters of its day such as SC or Olympia?
Thanks for any answers.
(Also, is the outer casing plastic?)
A high schooler with a lot of typewriters. That's pretty much about it.
- Spazmelda
- Key Master
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- From: Ohio
- Registered: 25-2-2015
- Posts: 830
Re: Adlers?
I just recently got an Adler Primus, and I really love it. It has become one of my favorite to type on. It's a 1961, I guess it's similar to the Privat, but I don't know which was the budget model and which the more expensive. Mine has a typeface called Imperial Elite, and I just love both the typeface and the action of the machine. I just looked at a post from Richard Polt, where he is describing the spring action on the key levers, and it seems it uses compression springs to bounce the keys back, whereas most portables of similar age use expansion springs to pull the keys back up. I'm not sure if that contributes to the snappiness of the machine, or if it is other things, but it is really fun to type on. When I first got mine, I just typed pages and pages on it, just for the fun of it.
- Daveyp
- Novice Typer
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- Registered: 17-10-2014
- Posts: 36
Re: Adlers?
I have a J3 and it's an excellent typer. I think it types as well as my SM3 or SM4. In fact, I actually prefer it just a bit. It has the smoothest carriage return of any portable that I have personally tried. The only downside is that it is carriage-shifted. I believe the J5 is the only basket shift of that series.
Los Angeles, CA
- Spazmelda
- Key Master
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- From: Ohio
- Registered: 25-2-2015
- Posts: 830
Re: Adlers?
I just realized that you specifically asked about the J3 and J4 in your post. Duh. Missed that.
I ran across an Adler J4 in an antique mall a few weeks ago. I didn't care for it. It seemed flimsy. I've heard they are good machines, but eh... I just didn't like it. Someone did though, because it was gone the last time I went. I think it was a plastic case. Pretty sure.
- Dick Sanders
- New Member
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- From: La Quinta, CA
- Registered: 17-2-2016
- Posts: 11
Re: Adlers?
The Adler Primus owned by Spazmelda is a very cool looking machine. The design, the colors, everything about it is great. Sorry I can't add anything of value to this post, but I wanted to comment on the beauty of that machine.
Dick Sanders
I took typing classes in the 8th and 9th grades to avoid electives such as wood shop. Little did I know they would be the most important classes of my education.
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,408
Re: Adlers?
I've got a J3 as well, and found it took me a while to jive with its type action. It's a nice enough machine, solid despite the plastic case, but I've never put it in the same league as an Olympia SM. An earlier model Adler would be another matter, at least then one can argue the design aesthetics of the two models.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
