Typewriter: Olympia SM9 vs SM8 & Typewriter Obsolescence 

Hello, Dean, thanks for watching and for sharing your story. I've yet to try an SM7. They don't seem anywhere near as plentiful as the later or earlier in the SM series. The SM9 and the SM8 are really comfortable typers, though, and it is probably a good idea to have one spare, just in case. Prices seem to meander a bit, and you can certainly still grab bargains with a bit of patience. They don't seem hugely different to me now than when I was buying a few years ago. There are still enough machines on the market that you don't have to buy an expensive one - unless it's worth it for the condition, if it has been fully serviced.

Thanks for your comment. The idea for the video effect and an excuse to use it was actually one of my motivations for making the video.

That was very good advice. An Olympia SM-9 would have been very pricey 50 years ago, but it's a machine you only had to buy once, and even a modicum of maintenance should keep it going and going. In another 50 years, there will still be many Olympia machines that simply just work.

Thanks. Yes, these are great machines, many of which will still be functional another 100 years from now. I like collecting different country or unique keyboard layouts, so I have one more SM8 which is my only Russian machine. I generally like the Olympias, though. I think a third of my typewriters are of the brand. They are just so well made and reliable, and they don't distract you from your writing by feeling as if they could suddenly fail.

You're welcome. Thanks for watching and commenting. Nice to hear you found it useful and/or interesting.

Thanks. I've heard good things about those Clippers, but I've never got to try one. Smith Coronas aren't the most common brand around my way, but Olympias are plentiful, and considering it's a third of my small collection, it is by far my favourite brand. Olympias are possibly the ones with the most consistent build quality through their history, not counting those made after the brand was sold, of course, whereas many other brands participated more eagerly in the race towards the bottom as entry-level typewriters became cheaper and cheaper through the 70's and into the 80's.

@@hakonsoreide Yes, the build quality of the Olympias is just great. Maybe second to none. What I like about the Clipper is that it is easy to type on for a long time without getting fatigued. I like both machines but the SM8 is so well built and a pleasure to use too!

Thanks for your comment. Yes, a typewriter of this kind of quality was very expensive when new, and it would be prohibitively expensive to manufacture today as it's a precision mechanical machine with many moving parts. For whatever it cost back then, of course, you'd get a machine that even without any major maintenance would work as well today as it did when new, and that will probably work fine, too, another 50 years from now. For someone using one daily, it would be a worthwhile and cost-effective investment for life. Luckily the economics of scale, the erstwhile ubiquity of typewriters, and the durability of these ones, means they are relatively cheap and plentiful these days.

Since you like retro stuff, typewriters are great. Despite my age, I actually grew up with computers and not with typewriters (my family were early home computing adopters), so my exposure to them was quite limited. Then, just over two years ago, I had a design project involving trying to make text look typewritten, realising there was actually no way that was possible on a computer, I bought my first typewriter and immediately got hooked.

@@hakonsoreide That's cool - I vaguely remember my parents had a typewriter for a while, I tried to use it but the big prongs kept getting stuck together, and the keys went down such a long way. Great story there. A really nice video to watch, something different for me :)

Thanks for watching and commenting. These machines went through a few iterations, and I have heard some of the very early ones have slightly different features, but I think no SM8 ever had the touch control, so if yours has that, then it is an SM9, if it doesn't, then it is an SM8. These machines are so similar, to the extent that many can't tell them apart, which means it really does not matter and discussions of which is better, and even what the differences are, become almost purely academical. The touch control, for instance, while something that a seasoned typist might appreciate to set it just right, won't actually make that huge of a difference as the SM8 is fixed to the kind of resistance that is what 99% of people would have used on the SM9 in any case. They are both amazing machines, reliable and great for everyday typing.

I think if I were to pick just one, I might go back to the one that got me started: the Olympia Traveller de Luxe. Solid, reliable, compact, quick and easy to set up, and mine has a nice 11 characters per inch elite typeface as well: not too small, not too big. That said, It does have a slightly heavier typing action than on something like the Olivetti Letteras, or on the SM8 or SM9 or Hermes Media 3 or 3000, but I have got rather used to it.

Thanks for watching, and for taking the time to leave a comment. Always highly appreciated. Often, watching my videos at 1.25 speed is a bit risky as I do have a tendency to talk too fast, but it's nice to hear that was even possible 😁. Yes, half spacing is absolutely amazing, and I think I need to make a video just showing how great it is one of the these days. Sounds like you have a nice and small collection of typewriters, hardly anyone uses tabs, and you wouldn't need touch control on such a well-engineered machine as the SM9/8/Monica, so in most cases, a Monica is as good as an SM9, only far cheaper and thus better value for money - and with fewer things that can fail, too, ultimately making them more reliable. I don't have any French Canadian keyboard machines. They are of course rather rare to find here in the the UK, or in Europe in general, but it's a very nice layout, far better than the French one, and I did bid on a few that I ended up not winning back when I was adding to my collection two years ago. I still don't have any script typewriters, but generally, I find the asthetic appeal of normal serif typewriter fonts far greater, appreciating the subtle differences between the various ones. I also quite like the shaded letters I have on some typewriters. I would probably have had a script typewriter too, if they hadn't been so expensive, just for completeness.

@@hakonsoreide I agree with you the Script is not as versatile as the more common typefaces. I was not looking for it and was a surprise when I went to see and try the Monica. The seller was not aware it was special. I have been looking at versions of keyboards and there are some Hermes with a QWERTY keyboard for latin languages that appeal to me. There is one listed in the Typewriter Database. If you want, I will look up the link and share it. Daniel

@@AtelierDBurgoyne Yes, it is possible to get good deals on scripts if the seller doesn't advertise it and doesn't know it is supposed to be special. Same with other unusual typefaces. Two of the ones I have with shaded typefaces, for instance, I didn't know until I received the typewriter, so it was a pleasant surprise. I have also tried to collect a variety of keyboard layouts, and generally also focusing a bit on the ones that are actually suitable for typing English (which rules out the UK and US layouts as they don't have the diacritics needed for typing correct English). In my collection, I have keyboards from France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Poland, The Netherlands, and Russia, a few UK ones (simply because that's mostly what I can get hold of here and they were typewriter models I wanted), and also some non-standard ones: an Italian keyboard that has been modded to QWERTY and with Danish/Norwegian Æ, Ø and Å added; and two standard QWERTY where the fraction symbols have been replaced with a comprehensive set of diacritics, which is exactly what I am looking for in a typewriter. I do like my accent marks.

@@hakonsoreide Hi again, in your last reply, you mentioned diacritics and correct English. I can only assume you meant another language? ;)

@@AtelierDBurgoyne No, I meant English: you cannot type strictly correct English without being able to type fiancée, mêlée, château, Brontë, lattè daïs, naïve, háček, jalapeño and soupçon, etc. Usually I have to manage without the last two, but I quite like having all the others. The only reason they aren't used as much in English as they used to be, and as they should be, is because they were no longer included on standard UK and US typewriter layouts after the 1920's.

Thanks for your comment. The SM8 and SM9 machines were made over a timespan of 15 years and with many more or less subtle revisions, and so there are several variations of the two and I've not been able to study them all up close. While I have heard there may have been some SM8's made with tabs next to the space bar, I don't think an SM8 was ever made with the carriage release on both sides; but the one difference that definitely should always be there is the presence of a tension control at the upper left of the keyboard, which would only ever have appeared on the SM9. All sources I've found agree the SM8 never had that. Since it seems most people struggle to tell, the difference between the two models is arguably more academical than practically important: the actual typing mechanism is identical and still one of the best ever made, indeed many of these machines still being in perfect working order with little or no maintenance from when they were built up to 60 years ago.

The first SM9's made in 1964 had turquoise lettering (the only year that was done) in the front and it did not have a carriage release on the left side. I believe based on pics in the typewriter data base that it was not until 1966 that carriage releases were put on the left. I have the very early one and it is a real pleasure to use.

Thanks. I didn't know that, and find that very interesting, so perhaps it does need saying after all? How early models would we be talking about that would not have the left side carriage release?

@@hakonsoreide It may only be the 1964 model. Mine has it's original warranty tag, model description, and receipt of purchase. When I see photos of those 64' models, with mine included, I've never seen a left sided carriage release.. Otherwise, I think you are spot on. Merry Christmas. xoverit.blogspot.com/2015/04/olympia-sm-series-part-2-1964-1980s.html

It's interesting how the first year of the line, the 1964 models, don't have it. The article you linked to does say it was redesigned after a year, even though the left-hand carriage release doesn't seem to get a mention anywhere. Amazing typewriters. Olympia are my clear favourite. I think almost a third of my collection are Olympias.

@@hakonsoreide Oh, that makes sense regarding the link. Sorry about that. Well, I learned something here, and I'm grateful for it. Have a happy New Year.

By "lid" under the machine, I presume you mean "baseplate", and, usually the only reason a typewriter has one is when it is needed to protect the mechanism of a portable during transport. That means most typewriters that have one are the ones where the bottom of the machine also doubles as the bottom of the carrying case, with only a lid to lift off, such as Hermes Baby and Olympia Traveller de Luxe. For a typewriter with a zipped soft case or two-part rigid case, the case protects the mechanism and no baseplate is needed, except, possibly, to provide sound reduction. I haven't used any intentionally quiet typewriters, but I would imagine those would have a baseplate regardless of carrying case design.

@@hakonsoreide yes without a lid I thought that all machines have one ... Do you mean typewriter like Robotron Erika model 150 , I mean for protection or to reduce the sound ? thank you very much

Judging by the demographics of the typewriter groups on Facebook, I'd say that is not true. Most of them are old enough to have had to use one. Nothing wrong with the world at all. At least not when it comes to typewriters.

Not true. I'm one of the people you speak about, and I used a manual typewriter all through high school. Actually started typing on one when I was ten. That was 50 years ago. But there's one thing I agree with - the world IS going crazy!

I learned to type with a Selectric in the late 1960's. Work places had me using various electrics and manuals through the mid 1990's. I was using computers in the late 1970's and am certainly no Luddite. After most offices switched to computers/printers, the office typewriter became more rare. However, I have kept manual machines at home ...and I happily use them. Using my manual typewriters - especially for creative writing - keeps me sane. No internet, no GPS, no frantic message alerts, no news pop-ups, no phone - no distractions. A growing number of folks are finding similar solace with the typewriter. While I own a Selectric and quite modern computers/phones/pads, my old Olympia (built when Eisenhower was president) is usually the one I'm sitting at when chasing the muse.