Welcome to TT, Mithrandir! I hope to see some photos of your grandfather's machine in the Portables sub-forum!

Welcome, and I like the fact you are bringing your machines to school with you! Just be sure to keep them out of the reach of unwelcome hands. And using smelly/toxic chemicals to clean the Blick might get you tossed out of your dormitory room, either by your roommate or the administration, so I hope you have considered all that. Keep us posted on your progress -- typewriter and academic.

Hi there,

I originally registered on this forum to ask for your wisdom so I could fix my Lettera 32 typewriter, but have found myself coming back again and again to read up on everything. So I figured that rather than lurking, I would introduce myself.

I live in the Netherlands, and have started collecting typewriters since the end of 2015 (roundabout). The reason I got into it is because my wife bought me a beautiful (but sadly, completely broken) Remington Standard 10 to put in my study. Struck by its beauty, I went out and looked at other, working, typewriters that might be available. First, however, I bought dr. Richard Polt's amazing book on typewriters, and that showed me which typewriters might be nice to try out, what to look for, how to use them etc..
So now, 8,9 months in, I have about 11 typewriters here, and have already said goodbye to a few I sold back. I didn't make any profit on selling them (in fact, some I sold with a loss) but I want to keep my collection 'limited' to around 10 machines. I don't have that much room, and am afraid this 'hobby' might go completely out of control if I don't restrict myself in some way. I'm sure some of you will know what I mean.

I'd like to share with you how I got the idea of wanting a typewriter in the first place (my wife's idea to give me one didn't come completely out of the blue), but first wanted to make the introduction, before posting an even longer post.

Hi there, Jim here in Toronto. (Mark, I'd said my nick was Dundurnish,which I am on most sites, but it turns out I went with my university nickname instead.) I grew up on a Smith-Corona portable and typed other students' papers at university on it for cash. I had an Underwood No 5 for years, which I lost in a move. I've recently started to accumulate typewriters at an Usain Bolt-like pace ever since I lucked into an Hermes 3000 in excellent shape for $60 and a Remington Portable No. 2 (non-working) for $25. I have many Remingtons, S-Cs, Underwoods, Royals, etc., with a few less common machines in the mix: an Oliver No. 9, a Smith Premier No. 4, a Bing No. 2, and a Hammond No. 12 among them. I like portables and desk models and am drawn to unusual features and rarity like a bass to a Mepps. Hope to see you all more in the typosphere.

Hello.  I've been collecting typewriters here and there for a little more than thirty-five years now, starting with an Underwood No. 5 I found in a junk shop and hauled home with me.  That was actually the first typewriter I could call my own, and I used it quite a lot in high school and college.  

I picked up others here and there, but my collection doesn't begin to compare with some I've seen.  I own about twenty right now (I've got to take a head count one of these days to get the exact number), all but two of them portables.  The most recent addition to my collection is a Royal Quiet De Luxe, found at a resale shop down the road and returned to service just this weekend.  

This forum looks like quite a wonderful place.  I can't wait to explore every bit of it.