1 of 1- Bob3k
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- Registered: 14-2-2018
- Posts: 12
Hermes Ambassador
Hi all,
I'm looking at purchasing a Hermes Ambassador; I've found a few mentions of the machine on this site and YouTube, and various blogs, and I'm looking for more info! Is it fairly rare in North America? The machine I tried is a true delight and smooth typing; it doesn't have the sort of "clunk-clunk" after hitting each key the 3000 has. I notice that I don't see the type so well as I write on it, but the machine moves so quickly that for me, this isn't an issue so much. I like the little card/notebook holder on the front, and the customizable paper injector is awesome. Anyway, any experiences with this machine first hand are welcome. And I know, it is freakin huge.
Thanks!
Bob
- beak
- Key Master
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- From: Qld Australia
- Registered: 24-3-2013
- Posts: 912
Re: Hermes Ambassador
It's a Rolls-Royce, intended for heavy, professional office use, and there will be nothing to disappoint!
Made in several similar models - mine has extra reels to take carbon ribbon which then becomes available at the ribbon colour selector. Carbon ribbons can often be stripped out of cassettes intend for electric TWs.
Sincerely,
beak.
- Bob3k
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- Posts: 12
Re: Hermes Ambassador
Right on, can't wait to get it home!
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Thread Starter- Uwe
- Moderator
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,410
Re: Hermes Ambassador
Bob3k wrote:
... Is it fairly rare in North America? ...
I can't speak for other North American markets, but here in Toronto it's a very uncommon machine, which is why I don't have one in my collection. I've always wanted an Ambassador, but will have to wait to find one locally as I'm not willing to risk/pay for shipping one.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- thetypewriterman
- Key Master
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- From: Leiston, England
- Registered: 29-5-2013
- Posts: 919
Re: Hermes Ambassador
The Ambassador isn't particularly common here in the UK, but I suspect there may be more about than in North America. Due to the exchange rate with the Swiss Franc when they were new, it was a very expensive typewriter and most businesses plumped for the cheaper (and almost as good) Olympia SG3 or Adler Universal 390. Yes, the Ambassador is the Rolls-Royce of office manual typewriters and every detail has been thought of - even down to a tiny brush on the underside of the carriage, to brush away the rubber dust after you have stopped to erase something !
- Roginald
- Novice Typer
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- Registered: 10-7-2018
- Posts: 49
Re: Hermes Ambassador
I picked up one in the UK a week ago. The one and only completely positive thing I can say about it is that I love the font.
Other than that it is going to take a lot of work to see if I can enjoy using it. The paper injector doesn't work, and perhaps most disappointing was the feel of the keys. I'm not sure it needs much cleaning, so maybe the keys really do need to be pressed that hard. I'd only bought it after reading that it had a very nice light touch. Currently I find it needs a hard touch, and is not very forgiving - a slightly too light touch, and there is barely a character print at all.
- Bob3k
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- Posts: 12
Re: Hermes Ambassador
Sorry to hear your experience hasn't been so great, Roginald. After some negotiating, I picked up my Ambassador this week, and it's delightful, and gigantic! The carriage is very smooth, and with some thick padding underneath it, the machine isn't too noisy. It's a very solid typer and I'm happy to have it! I've set the touch at about the middle, and I like it there fine. On the lightest setting, it's a bit spongy for me, and on the hardest setting, very snappy, almost like my SM9.
- •
Thread Starter- Roginald
- Novice Typer
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- Registered: 10-7-2018
- Posts: 49
Re: Hermes Ambassador
Sorry to hear your experience hasn't been so great, Roginald. After some negotiating, I picked up my Ambassador this week, and it's delightful, and gigantic! The carriage is very smooth, and with some thick padding underneath it, the machine isn't too noisy. It's a very solid typer and I'm happy to have it! I've set the touch at about the middle, and I like it there fine. On the lightest setting, it's a bit spongy for me, and on the hardest setting, very snappy, almost like my SM9.
I'm glad you are happy with yours, and I may well end up being very happy with mine if and when I put some work into restoring it. I like the look of it, that's for sure, so I may well end up putting the time in. I've got the touch at the lightest and it still seems a bit hard to me, but there's lots to try, obviously cleaning the mechanism, then maybe using a rubber backing sheet to make it more forgiving, i.e. to get a decent character impression over a wider range of hardness of key presses.
