Not so even as I'd like to think... but still crazy after all these years!


Make your voice heard.

TypewriterKing wrote:

The best writing machine in the world - for today. Well, let me see-------------------------Okay, the best writing machine in the world - for today would be: 1. One that has a good ribbon; 2. One that has been recently serviced; 3. One that has a good touch and a good print; 4. One that's already sitting on a desk and not on a shelf I have to lift it off of.

Let's see if those be features in favor of my new personal favorite IBM B long carriage. (1) good ribbon? sort of... for 50 years old new stock (2) recently serviced? not unless you count me knocking on it... (3) good touch and good print? great touch! I love the touch and the sound of rapid key bars flying and hitting... print's s'OK, considering ribbon. And the $64,000 question....? *YES* It's already sitting on a writing surface and I don't have to move it! And as long as I keep using it I don't have to move it to put another machine in its place either!

Powerful selling point for a machine hovering near 50 lbs. They credit the SG-1 with being heavy but they have not picked up a long carriage B recently, I tell you. Plus I learned that the battleship has an area covered with tinplate which you cannot apply any pressure to without deranging it. Another powerful reason to leave it where it is as long as it's working. And is it fast. It owns that space.

Uwe wrote:

They have picked up plenty of older IBMs. And when they were talking about the SG1 being a heavy, they were talking about manual versus electro-mechanical models. They were talking apples to apples. They don't like oranges. They also know that any machine that has an electric motor hiding under its hood is going to weigh far more than its manual equivalent.  
 

All good points, sir, and taken. So the SG-1 would be about the heaviest fighter in its weight class, whereas the IBM is disqualified for being on electro-mechanical steroids and having a motor implant. And I might add the long carriage has very beefy frame extensions. But the raw data is it is heavy!

However the SG-1, a crafty infighter, would just wait for an opportunity to give it a jab in its soft carriage cover, totally deranging its margins. Fight over, bell ringing, spectators excitedly mob the ring.

After the margin went foobar for about the fifth time I finally shut it off in disgust and went back to the SG. She was waiting patiently under her dust burka, I offered her a fresh ribbon, all is forgiven and we are totally reconciled. As for the rant on the Royal 10 that was just the scotch talking and hardly counts. I love that machine but I certainly would not want to type 100,000 words on it - abusive to both typist and typewriter. The name of that machine is Scotch Writer - the go to instrument for inebriated screeds.

I am sad I did not come up with the $125 to buy Scotch Writer a 1919 cousin from some fiend in Montana before he destroyed it. Now it is gone forever.