Saturday, April 12, 2014

The Perfect Typewriter: a poll

16 comments:

  1. Done.
    Any reason why you chose Scheidegger? Does it come close to your perfect typewriter?

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    1. It has many merits. I don't want to prejudice anyone by getting into my preferences, though, until the poll closes.

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    2. This is an awesome survey, thanks for this project! I look forward to the published version.

      Royal Aristocrat??? What a surprise! What model exactly? Surely, you don't mean the Safari version.

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  2. 1950's Swissa Junior perhaps, as "close to perfect" at least in terms of build quality and feel. I think if I had to pick a "Desert Island" typewriter, it'd prolly be a Brother JP-1.

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  3. I was trying to work out what my ideal typewriter would be like a little while ago…I can figure out features and their placement, but I can never decide anything on how it would look.

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    1. My poll doesn't cover any aesthetic qualities. Maybe we should do a separate poll for that later!

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  4. I took the survey, but it didn't output what my perfect machine is! ;-)

    Surely there's an app for that.

    Yes, it's called Collect Them All and See.

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  5. I had a really hard time getting past the first question (standard vs portable vs ultralight). I think it would actually be really valuable to be able to see the results of three separate surveys: ideal portable, ideal standard, etc.

    Also, and since I freed up one question by getting rid of question #1, could you ask "which side should the backspace be, right or left?" I find that key tripping me up a lot more than the tab key placement.

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  6. Something with the mechanical build quality and precision smoothness of a Hermes 3K, Adler, Olympia, Olivetti 44. The size and weight of a Dutch Royalite, the light touch and easy feel of a '40s/'50s Royal Quiet De Luxe mixed with a Lettera 33, the sound, loudness, and acoustical tone of a Hermes 3k merged with the Quiet De Luxe, - with an exclamation point character, elite typeface, simple tab set/clear control, basket-shift, the speed of an Adler J-series and a KMM/KMG and Smith Corona super-5 series, clamshell type case cover, brushes included, rubber feet that really grip and also insulate vibration a bit, metal/aluminum body/shell, easy carriage removal and access to vital adjustment screws/nuts, machined/polished-smooth carriage track rails like the Adler, keytops shaped like the '60s Hermes 3k.

    Brad

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  7. Sadly, I found I couldn't answer many of your basic questions. For instance, I love the feel/touch of typing with my 1958 Alpina. But the backspace and shift are annoyingly heavy. So, should I say I prefer segment shifted machines, with a different location for the backspace key? The problem is, my Alpina is a wide carriage model--so the issue is likely compounded by the sheer size and balance of what needs to be moved. What's more, I own some highly regarded basket shifted beasts that I find spongy and annoying (Lettera 22, anyone?) and carriage shifted machines that are light and responsive (Patria, Royal model P, Remington Noiseless 7 & 10).

    I'm with Rino: accumulate as many as you can and try them all.

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  8. I think it sort of depends on the situation. The Olivetti Graphika is the only serious contender for sub-500 word spooncasts, but I wouldn't want to write a novel on it. It just isn't snappy enough.

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  9. The hard question for me to answer in the survey was the choice of typeface. My dream manual typewriter would have a double shift (a bit like the 3-bank Underwood) which allows you to switch from Pica to cursive/italics typeface. So each slug would need to have 4 styles of the one letter on them (lowercase Pica, uppercase Pica, lowercase cursive/italics, uppercase cursive/italics). Too much to ask for?

    Although I haven't tried that many typers, if I had to pick one today to write a book with it would be the Hermes 3K.

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  10. I think mine basically came out to be a Brother portable, or a Smith-Corona Corsair

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  11. The size of a Lettera 32.
    The shape/design of a SM2.
    The feel of a Quiet De Luxe.
    That would just about do it for me.

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  12. Why, an IBM Selectric, of course! Though it would have to be a "Frankentyper" of sorts: Selectric I case with Selectric II carbon ribbon and correcting mechanism, Selectric III character set, with Olympia SG3 decimal tabulator capability, and with a self-winding spring-driven mechanism to power the whole shebang without having to tie it to an electric outlet. Think of a sturdy spring that would use the carriage return movement to store energy, which would then be used by the mechanism. Any Gyro Gearloose out there willing to give that idea a shot?

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  13. My Royal HH comes close to perfection. I love my Olympia SG3, but it has issues. That's for manuals. For electric, no question at all: the IBM Selectric III. You can type for days on that thing without feeling anything but joy at the growing pile o' pages.

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