116 Matching Annotations
  1. Mar 2026
    1. reply to u/Vibeuel_ at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1s7lfdu/i_hate_loving_typewriters/

      He used Chapstick as a heavy grease to hold ball bearings in place to re-insert the carriage and ball bearings into a Royal Arrow.


      Sorry you went through this insertion of ball bearings into a Royal in this manner. For the future attempts, there is a re-creation of a custom tool for doing this sort of operation which also includes some repair manual details: https://www.m-morren.nl/product/17071027/royal-bearing-guide-ball-feeder-tool

      Lucas Dul also has a video that might help: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_PONcT8HHI as well as some discussion of using straws at the 21:40 mark in this video: https://virtualhermans.com/lucas-dul

  2. Feb 2026
    1. Royal Typefaces from 1967 WOMDA

      • Royal Farnsworth - 11 pitch
      • Royal Pembrook - 11 pitch
      • Windsor - 10 pitch
      • Oxford - 11 pitch
      • Merit Elite - 12 pitch
      • Merit Pica - 10 pitch
      • Canterbury Elite - 12 pitch
      • Canterbury Pica - 10 pitch
      • Graphic Elite - 12 pitch
      • Graphic Pica - 10 pitch
      • Elite Century - 12 pitch
      • Contemporary Elite - 12 pitch
      • Contemporary Pica - 10 pitch
      • Executive - 9 pitch (double caps, italic)
      • Patrician - 12 pitch
      • Standard Elite - 12 pitch
      • Standard Pica - 10 pitch
      • Medium Roman - 10 pitch
      • Clarion Gothic - 12 pitch (double caps)
      • Manifold Elite, Single Gothic - 12 pitch
      • Manifold Pica, Single Gothic - 10 pitch
      • Manifold Roman, Single Gothic - 9 pitch
      • Modified Pru, Double Gothic - 12 pitch
      • Pica, Double Gothic - 10 pitch
      • Medium Roman, Double Gothic - 9 pitch
      • Small Double Gothic - 16 pitch
      • Small Elite - 14 pitch
      • Great Primer - 9 pitch
      • Farrington Optical Scanner Type 12L - 10 pitch
      • Policy Print - 10 pitch
      • Check Validation Type - 8 pitch
      • Small Spencerian - 12 pitch
      • Spencerian - 10 pitch
      • Butterick - 8 pitch (similar to Congress, but larger)
      • Large Vogue - 6 pitch
      • Small Bulletin - 6 pitch
      • Elementary Primer - 6 pitch
      • Bulletin - 6 pitch

      also has keyboard styles for Royals

  3. Jan 2026
  4. Nov 2025
    1. Royal KMM basic introduction

      Looks like a post-war standard Royal KMM, sometimes best known as the machine used by Jessica Fletcher in the TV show Murder She Wrote (as well as the upcoming Jamie Lee Curtis reboot.)

      Richard Polt has you covered for the manual and some repair manuals/information.

      Some contemporaneous videos on use and maintenance may help.

      As for ribbon replacement, try this video. The spools for the standard Royal typewriters (Ten, H, KH, KHM, KMM, KMG, RP, HH, FP, Empress, 440, 660, etc.) have a custom metal mechanism for their auto-reverse. The spools are known as the T1 (which is the same as General Ribbon part # T1-77B , T1-77BR, and Nu-Kote B64.) If winding on 1/2 inch wide universal ribbon onto them, remove the eyelette which isn't needed and may interfere with the auto reverse. If necessary, Ribbons Unlimited carries these spools or you can get them (and ribbon) from a local typewriter repair shop.

      Ribbon purveyors: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-faq.html#q1. I prefer Baco and Fine Line for their spectacular pricing and quality.

      Other known historical users of the Royal KMM:

      • John Ashbery
      • Russell Baker
      • Ray Bradbury
      • Richard Brautigan
      • Richard Brooks
      • Pearl S. Buck
      • Johnny Carson (or possibly KMG)
      • Norman Corwin
      • Frank Herbert
      • Helen Keller
      • Murray Kempton
      • Ken Kesey
      • George Washington Lee
      • Harper Lee
      • Ursula K. LeGuin
      • David McCullough
      • Margaret Mead
      • Dorothy Paraker
      • Grantland Rice
      • Georges Simenon
      • Christina Stead
      • Tom Wolfe
  5. Oct 2025
    1. Royal KMM FPE HH KH 10 T1 B64 Typewriter Ribbon Install Rewind Respool Replace by [[Phoenix Typewriter]]

      The spools for the standard Royal typewriters (Ten, H, KH, KHM, KMM, KMG, RP, HH, FP, Empress, 440, 660, etc.) have a custom metal mechanism for their auto-reverse. The spools are known as the T1 (which is the same as General Ribbon part # T1-77B , T1-77BR, and Nu-Kote B64.) If winding on universal ribbon onto them, remove the eyelette which isn't needed and may interfere with the auto reverse.

      The function of the mechanism is fairly similar to that of the Remington, but the mechanism is on the spool itself rather than on the spindle.

      If necessary, Ribbons Unlimited carries these metal spools: https://www.ribbonsunlimited.com/6N064-Royal-Standard-Electric-Ribbon-64-p/6n064.htm

  6. Sep 2025
  7. Aug 2025
    1. Royal Century - Silver Seiko Typewriter Review - YouTube<br /> by [[Joe Van Cleave]]<br /> accessed on 2025-08-28T11:37:07

      Broadly a review of the Royal Century made by Silver-Seiko, but he also compares the performance with the Hermes Rocket/Baby and the Smith-Corona Skyriter, which he feels aren't as solid as the Century despite their lighter weight and portability.

    1. Portable Typewriters Today - February 2015<br /> by [[Will Davis]] on 2015-02-10<br /> accessed on 2025-08-05T16:35:48

  8. Jul 2025
  9. Jun 2025
  10. themechanicaltype.blogspot.com themechanicaltype.blogspot.com
    1. Gerren HotRod TypewriterCoThey are tough to install. It's not the taking things apart that gets you, it's putting it back together. I recommend not pulling a Royal carriage unless it's broken to the point there is no other option. If you like the color you can buy another $25 QDL and put the body on the new one. There is almost no reason to remove the carriage on these unless you need to replace it with another or swap out the main escapement

      https://www.facebook.com/groups/705152958470148/posts/1010406587944782/

      Removing the carriage of the Royal Quiet De Luxe is generally not recommended.

    1. Successful Secretary Presented by Royal Office Typewriters. A Thomas Craven Film Corporation Production, 1966. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=If5b2FiDaLk.

      Script: Lee Thuna<br /> Educational Consultant: Catharine Stevens<br /> Assistant Director: Willis F. Briley<br /> Design: Francisco Reynders<br /> Director & Producer: Carl A. Carbone<br /> A Thomas Craven Film Corporation Production

      "Mother the mail"

      gendered subservience

      "coding boobytraps"


      "I think you'll like the half sheet better. It is faster." —Mr. Typewriter, timestamp

      A little bit of the tone of "HAL" from 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). This is particularly suggestive as H.A.L. was a one letter increment from I.B.M. and the 1966 Royal 660 was designed to compete with IBM's Selectric

      This calm voice makes suggestions to a secretary while H.A.L. does it for a male astronaut (a heroic figure of the time period). Suddenly the populace feels the computer might be a bad actor.

      "We're living in an electric world, more speed and less effort."—Mr. Typewriter<br /> (techno-utopianism)

  11. May 2025
    1. follow up reply:

      After some additional research on the typewriter database, the YY = 92 (where the serial number is of the form: FP[P,E,S]-XX-YY-#######, where XX is the platen length and YY is for other special features) indicates that the machine has 46 character keys (and thus 46*2=96 glyphs on the slugs). There are also examples of YY=88 with 44 keys versus the standard 42 or 43 keys.

      This means that your machine has a few extra keys not found on their standard keyboards at the time.

    2. reply:

      I've been looking at the typewriter database and have been able to discern the fact that the designator YY=88 seems to indicate that an FP had a Royal HH-like palm tabulator, where the serial number is of the form: FP[P,E,S]-XX-YY-#######, where XX is the platen length and YY is for other special features.

      I can't help but wonder what the YY = 92 indicates on Martyn's machine.

    1. https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1kg820b/just_bought_this_typewriter_for_10_at_a_charity/

      For a second, I thought perhaps the "88" in the serial number was a designator for the palm tabulator, but one of the other two in the database doesn't have that option (visually), though the single picture (of 5853) looks like it may have broken off or been removed on that example: - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1960-royal-fp.1241.typewriter - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1961-royal-fp.5853.typewriter

      If you upload some additional photos of yours to the database, perhaps we can puzzle out what the "88" designator means if it's not the palm tabulator functionality?

      The E on FPE means "elite" or 12 characters per inch. The "13" indicates a 13 inch wide platen. The raw serial number seems to indicate it was made in 1960: https://typewriterdatabase.com/royal.72.typewriter-serial-number-database

  12. Mar 2025
    1. The factory is in Indonesia, he explains, and is run by a team from Nakajima, a typewriter manufacturing firm from Japan. Every year, Royal still sells around 20,000 new electric typewriters and more than double that amount of mechanical typewriters. The latter have become desirable partly as decoration – a librarian might buy one for a display at the front of their library, for instance, suggests Althoff. The mechanical and electric models Royal sells cost between $300 (£238) and $400 (£317).
    1. Royal Typewriter Family by [[Joe Van Cleave]]

      In Typewriter Video Series Episode 321 Joe and Kevin explore the Royal Heritage, Empress and Safari.

      The Royal Futura and subsequent Royal Heritage were successor machines to the Royal Quiet De Luxe.

      The Empress and the Safari have a sort of Jetsons (1962-1963) aesthetic.


      Colloquial collection of typewriter fan names by Kevin and Joe:<br /> Cult of Hermes<br /> Royal Family<br /> Remington Rebels<br /> Smith-Corona Silent Superiors

      2025-03-21: edit (spelling)

    1. KoponewtPelicram ❤️ Slug Goblin 3 points4 points5 points 3 hours ago (3 children)Do you know what's the serial number on that? Some manufacturers had special models mostly for export purposes with extra keys. For example Royal 11 is a 10 with extra keys, Underwood No. 46 is a 5/3/6 with extra keys. Remington No. 9 is an 8 with extra keys.

      via https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1jgg4kh/royal_kmm_extra_column_of_keys/miyumvn/

  13. Feb 2025
  14. Jan 2025
  15. Dec 2024
    1. The 2023 Rover Typewriter: Worst Machine Ever? by [[Typewriter Chicago]]

      I know Michaels was carrying the We R Memory Keepers typewriter, but hadn't heard about Home Depot carrying them.

      Rover made by Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company still making typewriters (bad quality control, plastic, poor alignment). These are variously rebadged as: - the Rover - the Royal Epoch - We R Memory Keepers (Michaels, Home Depot) - Royal Classic (metal shell) - Maplefield (Target, Walmart, Michaels) - The Oliver Typewriter Company

      Will Davis has determined that they're all based on the Olympia Carina.

    1. The markets and level of ubiquity of these items in their heyday are so dramatically different that this is certainly an apples and oranges comparison.

      However, if you want to compare the artist/users of the instrument to their machines, which is a way of potentially intuiting a potential answer to your question (one which is highly subjective), you might go by who was using particular typewriters of the time. Here's some data to consider: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/typers.html

      For that rough era in American-made machines, you'll see peak engineering/manufacturing in the 1950s out of the Smith-Corona Super Silent, the Remington Quiet-Riter, and the Royal Quiet De Luxe. Design, touch, and tuning can all be such subjective measures here so as to heavily Muddy (the) Waters ('52 Gibson Les Paul Gold Top/'58 Fender Telecaster) on style, quality, and popularity amongst the cognoscenti. Peak quality in the 60s had broadly moved to post-war Germany and Italy with machines from Olympia (SM3, 4, 5, 7, etc.) and Olivetti respectively.

      For my personal money, in American machines of the time, I love the design and performance of my well-tuned, and mostly restored 1950 Royal KMG. However, the current market certainly wouldn't indicate a broader beloved status for these the way you'll see for Stratocasters. (You'll also find some horribly maintained and un-tuned machines out there on the market, which is why so much of the antique and vintage typewriter market pricing is so wildly out of whack.)

      A separate flavor of question certainly, but if you're looking for a solid performing typewriter to pair aesthetically and temporally with a '64 Strat, I'd go with a Royal FP ('57-62) (which came in Royaltone or Pearl Dark Gray smooth, Royaltone or Pearl Light Gray smooth, Willow Green smooth, Sea Blue smooth, Cameo Pink smooth (Petal Pink) , Brushed Aluminum, Sandstone smooth, and Coral Rose) or the smaller Royal Futura 800 ('58-'63).

  16. Nov 2024
  17. Oct 2024
    1. Royal KMM KMG Typewriter Feet Spacers Original Smashed Rubber Replaced by [[Phoenix Typewriter]]

      Squished rubber feet spacers on the Royal standard typewriters can cause interfere with the universal bar and when they do, they'll need replacement.

      This is the same sort of interference seen on Olympia SM3s due to their squished/flattened rubber gaskets, though the symptoms are different.


      "Phoenix typewriter. Have a Royal day!" <br /> A slightly different sign off from Duane's usual... :)

    1. Royal Quiet DeLuxe Typewriter Complete Total Body Removal by [[The HotRod Typewriter Co.]]

      Gerren uses a Weaver gunsmith screwdriver set for most of his screwdriver needs. [5:00]

      On the newer QDLs two of the screws for removing the rear plate are accessible from the top underneath the carriage instead of all on the rear.

      The screws for the front body plate can be loosened and don't need to be fully removed to take the body plate off of the machine.

    1. I just got a 1950 version of this KMG this week in medium rough shape too. (My 7th Royal and my 2nd Standard)

      Looks like a Royal KMG with the Henry Dreyfuss glass tombstone keys in Gray Frieze paint. https://typewriterdatabase.com/Royal.KMG.72.bmys

      Mine has some minor carriage issues that I'm hoping clear up with some cleaning. Otherwise it may need some tools and internal repair work and/or parts. If yours is generally working, a good cleaning and oiling should get you going: https://boffosocko.com/2024/08/09/on-colloquial-advice-for-degreasing-cleaning-and-oiling-manual-typewriters/

      Diagram of parts: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/RoyalKMGdiagram.jpg

      Manual of the prior model KMM which preceeded it, so the functionalilty should be almost exactly the same: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/RoyalKMM.pdf (Royal Standard internals were almost exactly the same from the Ten (1909) through the FP/Empress (1966).)

      Home Study Course in Typewriter Repair and Service: ca. 1959, published by the Typewriter Repair School in Little Falls, New Jersey. Focuses on the Royal KMM among others: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/homestudycourse.pdf

      See also:<br /> - https://typewriterdatabase.com/manuals.php - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1968-Ames_Standard_SVC.royal-repair.manual - https://typewriterdatabase.com/1960-Ames_Gen_Cat_10-March.royal-parts-01.manual

      Searching on YouTube for cleaning and repair advice should help out a lot. Phoenix Typewriter has some solid videos on related models (search also the Royal X (ten), KH, KHM, KMM, KMG, HH, FP, and Empress which are all roughly the same internals with slightly different body styles.)

      If you need some basic typewriter 101, try: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJtHauPh529XYHI5QNj5w9PUdi89pOXsS

      reply to u/MajesticWear5478 https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1g1i440/tips_for_cleaning_and_fixing_a_1949_royal/#lightbox

  18. Sep 2024
    1. reply to u/NoDoctor4602 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1fjrjns/ive_spent_a_few_days_searching_for_any_concrete/

      In the mid to late-1950's and after several typewriter manufacturers made limited runs of gold plated typewriters for special anniversaries or for bonuses to salespeople. They're uncommon, but not rare. I've seen at least 6 or seven pop up on auction sites in the last 6 months. If you really want one, watch the lower end of Facebook Marketplace, ShopGoodwill, Craigslist, et al. where one will assuredly pop up for a much more reasonable price. I'm not sure if it was this one or another I've seen since April, but one of these went up for sale on ShopGoodwill.com recently and sold for about $600. A week later it was listed on eBay for several thousand just like this one. Given the timeframe, I doubt they spent any time cleaning, oiling, or adjusting it in any fashion—it was a pure flip. I've also seen this recently with Royal typewriters with a less common, but highly collectible Vogue typeface: a Royal P sold for about $900 there and was listed on eBay shortly after for over $1,500 with no indication that it was cleaned or adjusted. (If you watch some of the sites carefully, you can pick up a Vogue machine for under $100 easily enough depending on the type and condition.)

      In my mind, as a collector, I'd try to find one in the wild and clean it up or I'd want it in stunning restored condition for over $2k. You might be just as well off picking up a working model for $100-$150 and gold plating the pieces yourself. It would probably be cheaper in the long run and you'd have a better machine in better condition. Some sucker with money to burn will eventually buy a Gold Olympia SM3 for over $2,000.

      Here's a vew posts/videos as examples of gold plated machines:<br /> - A video of another Gold Olympia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnUHgyABjw0<br /> - Royal QDL https://typespec.com/weve-got-gold-in-them-thar-hills/<br /> - https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kasbah-mod-typewriters_n_1453776

      If you're looking for something great that you'll use, I recommend visiting a repair shop that has some stock to try out some machines to see if you'd like their touch/fee/aesthetics first. Visiting a type-in or two might give you some experience with a wide variety of typewriter models as well. Then try to find a rare or exceptional version that's worth putting some money into. Why put so much into an Olympia if it turns out you're an Olivetti, Royal, or Smith-Corona person? https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/tw-repair.html (I desperately love Royals, but Smith-Coronas and Remingtons are much more forgiving of my mediocre typing technique, a fact which pains me dearly and cost a few hundred dollars and some sweat equity in cleaning and tuning machines to discover). Incidentally, I'll mention that for about $2,000 you could easily purchase a wide variety of about two dozen machines (even with shipping) and be able to get something truly exceptional in terms of condition and function.

      Incidentally, the higher prices of $250-600 for repaired/refurbished/restored machines being sold by repair shops are usually what Harry Beercan is using as a pricing guide when he's selling his grandmother's musty, broken, old typewriter online not knowing that several hundred dollars in labor and parts has been calculated into the selling price.

  19. Aug 2024
    1. Did it work prior to replacing the ribbon? If yes, then perhaps remove the ribbon and replace again. See page 19 of the manual here: https://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/RoyalKMM.pdf

      YouTube also has tutorials for how to thread these. (Also search for the No. 10, KH, KHM, HH, Empress, FP, etc. which also used the same general ribbon spools and set up if you can't find a KHM.) I can*t tell 100% from the photo, but the ribbon looks like it's spooling on clockwise on the right (and vice-versa for the left) and you want it the other way.

      Is it not advancing regardless of which direction you have the ribbon going? Usually just one side is not working. You can use this fact to compare the typewriter bilaterally. Watch what's going on with the side that does work and compare it with the side the doesn't. What's wrong on the non-working side?

      Often times the spindle on one or both sides is frozen up with dried up grease, oil, dirt, or dust. A small quirt of mineral spirits or lacquer thinner (or other degreaser) will free it up. (Here we use the mantra, a typewriter isn't really "broken" unless it's clean and broken.) See: https://boffosocko.com/2024/08/09/on-colloquial-advice-for-degreasing-cleaning-and-oiling-manual-typewriters/

      reply to u/UltimateAiden98 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1f0nzt8/my_royal_kmm_ribbon_is_t_advancing_what_should_i/

  20. Jul 2024
    1. Royal HH & FP typewriter shipping help by [[Typewriter Justice]]

      Advice for how to package a heavy standard typewriter for shipping. Two heavy rubberbands to hold the margin release buttons to protect the escapement. Then plastic wrap to keep the carriage from moving during shipment. Then protection for the knobs and carriage return levers put into a first box. Then packing peanuts in a second box, fill to completely full and tape closed.

    1. Royal HHE Typewriter Demo of Features and Functions by [[Cincinnati Typewriter]]

      Orange and black typewriter painted when they thought Bengals were going to Super Bowl.

      Sadly didn't get the purpose of the numbered guides... presupposed they were in millimeters, but knew it wasn't that.

      Very shaky video... nauseating.

      Didn't differentiate between permanent and temporary variable line levels. Didn't get the way these work at all.

      Missed subtleties of Magic Margin, but did well enough.

      "strikers" instead of slugs or hammers

      Painted the colors on the bichrome wrong.

      Only partially understands touch control. Definitely doesn't know how to adjust them.

      Definitely don't use this as an example.

      Seems like an amateur painting and (maybe) cleaning up typewriters from home. I don't think I'd trust him based on this video.

    1. 1954 Royal HH, repainted | Typewriter Tutorial by [[Jot & Tittle Vintage Typewriters]]

      Pseudo-professional explaining the functionality of a Royal HH (sales video)

      took her two tries to get the proper ribbon reversal... <br /> didn't get/understand the touch control function<br /> Not original spools<br /> Doesn't understand card fingers<br /> At least knew "stencil", but didn't explain it beyond "it won't type"<br /> Didn't have a specific size for the large carriage<br /> Had issue with ribbon tension<br /> Couldn't get the hood button several times

      "I wouldn't write a long book on here." What the hell is she talking about? This was the entire purpose of this machine.

    1. Given my current r/typewriter flair ("typewriters + card index = magic"), I couldn't help but appreciate that Lucas Dul features a 3x5" card index (aka database) of typewriter typefaces in a recent video on the 1896 Williams 3 typewriter: https://youtu.be/T1zzXwB3Xh8?si=K4FeiS-V_aev9_SZ&t=506. Those who have been following along on the typeface front will recognize some of the samples from this small index having been featured in a video on typewriter typefaces at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scrguKgDNIY.

      I'm reminded of a similar card index (or Zettelkasten if you speak German) database of type I saw last year via the Letterform Archive article at Schriftenkartei [Typeface Index], 1958–1971 and a related Flickr version of it at https://www.flickr.com/photos/letterformarchive/albums/72177720310834741/

      Lest you think these sorts of analog office pairings are completely obsolete, I feel compelled to mention that I've recently noticed that Pam Beasley's character had both an IBM typewriter and a metal 1970s/80s era two drawer metal card file behind her desk in the TV series The Office (NBC, 2005-2013).

      If typewriters and card indexes are your sort of thing, I've got a small personal collection as well as some research and writing about them which can be found at https://boffosocko.com/research/zettelkasten-commonplace-books-and-note-taking-collection/#Boxes

      If you follow my collections and work, you know I'm not beyond pairing up a nice typewriter with a card index (or two).

      img

      Image of a 1948 Royal and a matching Steelcase card index.

      Syndication link: https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1e5u5z3/era_appropriate_database_for_typewriter_typefaces/

    1. Likely the key lockout isn't resetting like it's supposed to upon carriage return - the little part you mentioned. Cleaning and light oil on the friction and pivot points of that and the margin stop assembly usually can get things moving again. That's the most common issue I see in Royal Standards.

      Advice by Nashville Typewriter at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1dwqi1r/friend_found_in_junk_pile/lbwege9/

  21. Jun 2024
    1. And David McCullough is not typing on a computer. He’s using the pre-digital dinosaur that requires a considerable force of those digits called fingers: the typewriter. Not even a zippy electric version, but a 1940s vintage Royal manual typewriter that he bought second-hand in the 1960s. So if you want to know how it is that David McCullough’s books always hit the New York Times bestseller lists, capture Pulitzers, and have never gone out of print, it just may be this old machine.

      too many people want to attribute the accolades stemming from the work of a person and their process to the tools they use....

  22. May 2024
  23. Apr 2024
  24. Mar 2024
  25. Apr 2023