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Good finds! Those two are remarkably scarce in Spain. I can´t fathom why there are no QDL´s here, or at least not as many as in the USA where they seem to be really common. There are other Royal models around here, but for some reason, not the classic QDL.
As for the Montana... The brand is a bit confusing, because it´s a typewriter made by SIM, who took the Hermes Baby design and then marketed it as Montana. 3 different brands in 1! SIMs, Montanas or any other brand or model by that manufacturer is rare as well in Spain. I´ve seen some SIMs which look a bit like a Klein Conti, but no Montanas at all.
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Well finally got the actu Hermes rocket I was looking for. Sort of
this one has a Hebrew keyboard, and I'm actually looking to trade it.
Let me know if you're interested and what you've got
I've also posted this in the for sale thread with more details
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Wow. You´ve found a little oddity!
Compared to the Montana, what differences can you find? It´s a bit hard to compare those, because Hebrew typewriters work the other way round, but at least the main features can still be compared.
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To tell you the truth Javi I like the action of the Montana better, but the internals of the Hermes feel a little better built. With the Hermes the keys seem easier to press, in a way, but the Montana has a solid thus at the bottom. Also the Hermes has a solid spring loaded paper support, where the montanas is loose and dangling.... I also think the Hebrew machine has an 11 CPI layout... I know the standard is 10 or 12 generally, right? But I counted with a ruler up close and I'm pretty sure its 11... The text does seem much smaller
But other than typing out the lazy fox phrase about 20 times, that's all I can really say!
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I have an Olympia SM-9 that is 11 cpi. It's nice to have something in the middle.
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Oh nice!
Ok so it is a thing
Good to know
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Yes,10 and 12 CPI are the most common sizes, but you can find wildly diferent pitches. I´d say 10 is the most common by far, and 11... I should check. TBH, this is something I´ve never paid the attention it deserves because at first I was totally lost with sizes and typefaces and Pica and Elite and Congress (note the mess) and whatnot, mixing all of them and confusing myself even further.
There´s a nice thread here about that: Sizes
Besides, there´s another thread which has great potential: Typefaces and languages
Fonts and sizes, and if you throw every typewriter´s particularities into the mix you have... a really big mix. No witch has a caludron big enough for sooo many interesting things. This weekend I´ll be on holiday, but next week I´ll look for any potential 11 CPI typewriter at home, or at least something out of the 10 -12 realm.
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I have my type samples.cor my machines on 3x5 cards and used a ruler to check the cpi.
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10 and 12-pitch was the most common on American typewriters, but 11-pitch can be found on many European machines.
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Well the search is over for a Hermes rocket
this one came in the mail yesterday, and thankfully it was free of damage.
Photobucket just changed their policy so I don't think I can use them for pictures anymore, I will try IMGUR
pics to come
It's a 1968 Rocket, very clean besides missing knob on right. Believe it has a 13 Pitch too, which I've never heard, but I'll have to upload the picture where you can clearly see 13 characters in one inch of space.