1 of 1- IanSB
- New Member
Offline - From: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Registered: 12-1-2022
- Posts: 16
Hermes Baby - is it just me?
I acquired a (very) cheap 1941 Hermes Baby from eBay a week or so ago. To my surprise, when it came to me it didn't seem to need more than a clean up and the previous owner had obviously taken care of it. However, there was one thing that I couldn't get to the bottom of - every couple of lines, at random and intermittently, the letters would pile together. So I took it out of its case and gave it a much deeper clean. It improved things a lot and it writes really well, especially seeing as it is 81 years old, but I still had the piling problem every couple of lines.
This afternoon, I realised that the problem wasn't with the machine at all.
: the problem is me. This particular one seems to be intolerant of poor typing technique - such as the one I have after 40 years of using computer keyboards. When I typed at a steady rhythm, taking care not to rush through certain common letter combinations (like th), it's fine and snappy and a pleasure to use.
So, is it just me?
I wish I was a head light on a north-bound train
- fountainpensplus
- Touch Typist
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- From: Eugene, OR, USA
- Registered: 11-10-2021
- Posts: 142
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
Hello Ian, Personally I am very comfortable giving my opinion that it is not just you. I think computers, their keyboards and corrective auto spell check had nearly ruined my early love of using a typewriter. I am coming up on two milestones; turning 70 soon and enjoying nearly half a year of writing on a typewriter again. It is really great to never see any words underlined in red due to spelling. It does mean I grab the dictionary more as I realize I’m unsure of a spelling. I’m also using an Apple ‘Magic’ (?) keyboard at the computer. There is very little tactile feedback and absolutely no audio sounds for keys. I also type with all my fingers and it takes a real effort on all but an electric typewriter to put a good solid force behind my ‘pinky’ finger. There are some key combinations writing on a keyboard that I tend to use a rolling action rather than a solid push. I can usually get away with it but on a typewriter the keys will cause a stack up. All that being said I find writing with a typewriter a lot more fun than a keyboard. George
- Phil_F_NM
- Speed Champion
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- From: Mid-Atlantic region
- Registered: 16-4-2020
- Posts: 267
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
Definitely not just you, don't worry.
I don't own a Baby or a Rocket but I can say that I can easily stack up the letters and get a jam if I use my computer typing technique. I've found that my Remington Noiseless Model 7 requires me to type very deliberately with even strokes and vertical key press. My most forgiving machine is a 1948 Smith Corona Silent and it can type as fast as I can as long as I don't choose letters which are adjacent to each other in the segment often. Each of my machines has its own required technique in my opinion.
Phil Forrest
- Laurenz van Gaalen
- Speed Champion
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- From: The Netherlands
- Registered: 20-7-2019
- Posts: 395
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
My 1953 Baby piles up letters once in a while, but not as often as your machine. I think it occurs once or twice per page. It always happens when I type fast, never when I type at a slower, steady pace.
It is my experience that in addition to extensive cleaning, using the machine frequently may decrease the problem further.
Lau
- Uwe
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- From: Toronto, Canada
- Registered: 12-3-2013
- Posts: 4,408
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
My personal rule of thumb is to not think too much about a new-to-me typewriter until I've run many fully typed pages through it. This also applies when I switch between typewriter models, particularly those I haven't used in a long while, or when it's a disparate type. I wouldn't describe the Baby/Rocket of that era as a key 'piler' any more than other ultra-portables, but it does require a subtle technique change, especially when I've been using a heavy standard for the past week.
The pronoun I has always been capitalized in the English language for more than 700 years.
- skywatcher
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- From: The Prairies of Alberta
- Registered: 14-3-2013
- Posts: 719
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
Hi Ian
In my experience of both Hermes Rockets and Babies along with Empire Aristocrats, their maximum mechanical typing speed is about 3 strokes per second, or 4 if you use an absolutely steady rhythm. The type basket is wide, close to 120º and the type bars are short, so type bar interference is a common issue on these units if a steady rhythm is not maintained when typing. Hope this gives you some food for thought,
Sky
We humans go through many computers in our lives, but in their lives, typewriters go through many of us.
In that way, they’re like violins, like ancestral swords. So I use mine with honor and treat them with respect.
I try to leave them in better condition than I met them. I am not their first user, nor will I be their last.
Frederic S. Durbin. (Typewriter mania and the modern writer)
- IanSB
- New Member
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- From: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Registered: 12-1-2022
- Posts: 16
Re: Hermes Baby - is it just me?
I see this as an opportunity rather than a problem - if this machine forces me to improve my technique, then I'll use it as my primary typewriter for a wee while until the muscle memory kicks in. My theory is that, if I can develop technique on this machine, it stands me in good stead with the others.
Thanks for the comments so far.
I wish I was a head light on a north-bound train
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