What Comes Around Goes Around: Typewriters Return to CFM<br /> by [[Robert Messenger]] on oz.Typewriter<br /> accessed on 2026-01-18T11:05:23

reply to u/rawbran30 at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1py74mf/internet_hype_trendeffect_and_brand_popularity/

Olympias were imported into the US from the 50s into the 70s and were manufactured at peak typewriter engineering and manufacturing methods before machines slowly got cheaper and cheaper in terms of materials and craftsmanship through the 60s and into the early 80s before typewriters were subsumed by the word processor market.

Compared to Smith-Coronas and Remingtons of the 50s and early 60s (their peaks), Olympias are slightly better manufactured in terms of fit and finish. They're also slightly more modern looking in terms of body shapes and colors compared to other machines, which also helps to drive up price amongst collectors.

Now is an Olympia SM3 or SM9 really so much better than a Smith-Corona Silent Super that they should enjoy an almost 2x jump in price for an unserviced model? Potentially not, but if this is your issue, then buy something from a professional shop that's been cleaned, oiled, and adjusted and a lot of the price differential evaporates.

u/capnrefsmmat reply to

u/lodger238 at https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1hslx56/huh_i_thought_wd40_was_horrible_as_a_lubricant/<br /> Agree completely and to further the point; typewriters were manufactured with low tolerance in many areas just so they wouldn't need lubricating.

advice via Nashville Typewriter, a repair person. <br /> https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1o4qxvn/chasing_problems_stuck_keys/

reply to u/BudgetSprinkles3689 at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1nkbw85/serial_number_location/

What is the purpose of a serial number? What does it do for you? There are serial numbers on things all around you; do you know where all of those are? The VIN number on your vehicle maybe?

People now are only using them to approximate manufacturing dates for fun, but they were generally only used by the factory or repair people to identify specific machines and/or tie issues after manufacture back to production line problems. Do they need to be easily accessed or visible for these purposes? The people who really need them generally know exactly where they are and how to find them.

Sometimes they're used to create inventories for owners or in cases of theft, but these generally aren't common uses that need high visibility. Because they can be removed or defaced, should they be put in easily findable and accessible places?

Generally they're stamped in at the factory during production on integral parts of the machine during assembly. As a result, they can often be hidden or covered up by parts (especially exterior panels and body styling) added later. If it's on an exterior, easy-to-remove part, what good is it?

If it helps, here's a diagram of some common locations:

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

The World's Last Typewriter Factory Closes in India - Business Insider<br /> by [[Gus Lubin]] for Business Insider accessed on 2025-08-01T09:26:55

Godrej & Boyce manufactured typewriters to 2009 and were selling off their final machines in 2011.

The final typewriter manufacturers still out there: - Shanghai Weilv Mechanism Company (you really don't want one: https://boffosocko.com/2025/06/09/the-typewriter-you-probably-dont-want-to-buy/)<br /> - Nakajima still puts out daisy wheel word processors - Swintec still makes machines, but primarily clear bodied ones for prisons

The last of the serious manual typewriter manufacturers included: - Brother, who stopped manufacturing machines in Wrexham, Wales in 2012 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-20413234 - Godrej Typewriter quit manufacturing in 2009 and was finishing out the last of their stock in 2011 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/world-s-last-typewriter-plant-stops-production-1.1090626

Reply to https://reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1meum7j/new_typewriters/

Typewriters Still Find a Few Key Customers by [[Laura Kusisto]]

'Last' UK typewriter built in Wrexham

Brother manufactured 5.9 million typewriters in Wrexham, Wales from 1985-2012.

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).

Hulse Manufacturing Co.<br /> 15 Lewis Street<br /> Geneva, NY

manufactured steel type for typewriters, adding machines, check protectors, etc.

https://discord.com/channels/639936208734126107/639939010541649951/1288998274916683886

Smith-Corona typewriters generally have either Hulse or RaRo slugs.

Both used the number "1" as their code for their Standard Pica typefaces.

Hulse slug pattern:

RaRo slug pattern:

via Pelicram at https://discord.com/channels/639936208734126107/639939010541649951/1289001269712916595

https://www.weaveroptics.com/gunsmithing-tools/driver-and-hammer-sets/multi-bit-tool-kit/WV-849718.html

Weaver multi-bit gunsmith tool kit

Recommended by u/Private_Bonkers over the Chapman typewriter screwdriver set at https://old.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1f0q3pw/chapman_typewriter_screwdriver_set/ljttlx1/

via u/Private_Bonkers

the cons of the Chapman 0623 screwdriver set for typewriter repair

Portable Typewriter Relabeling...how and why by [[Will Davis]]

https://chapmanmfg.com/products/0623-r-typewriterset<br /> #0623 Typewriter Set | Chapman MFG<br /> $53.00

reply to u/ingeniouskeys at https://www.reddit.com/r/typewriters/comments/1e0utt9/differences_between_olympia_sge_typewriters/

The Typewriter Database is going to be one of your better sources, but will require delving into each particular exemplar to see what their owners may have written about them. So, for example, go to https://typewriterdatabase.com/Olympia.SGE40.61.bmys and then click on the individual galleries for all the machines. If you've got an account, you can message those who currently have them and ask questions directly.

Given their manufacture in the late 60s and into the early 70s you're likely to find small incremental improvements in the electrical side, but you're also likely to find more dramatic changes in manufacturing which made them cheaper (replacing metal pieces for flimsier plastic.) I doubt the 45 (later 70s) is going to be incredibly much better than the 40, which I would suspect to be more robust from a manufacturing standpoint. You may have vaguely better "specs", but its build quality is likely going to suffer even more, so you'll have to balance out what you're after.

If you want to delve into the deeper specifics, then try out the repair manuals for them: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ted-munk/the-olympia-sge-304050-typewriter-repair-manual/paperback/product-1e4pnd4v.html?page=1&pageSize=4