Extreme 2-finger typing

Best viewed in full screen, of course.

Sent from my Torpedo 18b

Torpedo 18: '56 v. '59

1956 Torpedo 18b 873763

1959 Torpedo 18a 1078677

There are a lot of little differences between my '56 and '59 Torpedo 18s. I'll be focusing on the changes made due to different year of production (most were made around serial number 1050000), but there are also other differences I'll point out. My 1956 Torpedo is a model 18b and was sold in the US, while my 1959 is an 18a and was sold in the Netherlands. This isn't an exhaustive list of differences, but I have tried to be fairly complete.

The 1956 18b comes first in each image pair, followed by the 1959 18a.

First, the location of the Torpedo logo changes in 1959 from the paper table to the ribbon cover. Also seen in these photos, the card holders (both metal and plastic) are slightly altered in 1959.

The Torpedo Werke emblem is removed in 1959. You can also see that the exposed metal pieces are black on the 1956 model, while they are silvery on the 1959 (and corroded in this particular example; not an uncommon problem with the 1959-1962 Torpedoes)







The 1956 model has a matte-finish segment center, while in 1959 it is chromed.

The ribbon cover is hinged on the 1956 model and can be removed with considerable force, while it pops right out on the 1959 model. You can see the empty screw holes where the hinge was removed.

The US-imported model has an American-size ribbon spool pin, while the Dutch one has a larger DIN center pin.

The location of the rubber pads under the ribbon cover changes from 1956 to 1959, as does the serial number paint color.

The end of the paper arm is more rounded on the older Torpedo.

The ribbon color selector plate is body color on the 1956 model and chromed in 1959.

The difference here is unrelated to the year of production. The addition of a tab key on the 18b and a tab set/clear lever beside it that is lacking on the 18a.

The same goes for this. The extra lever on the 1956 model is the tab stop all-clear.

The "Made in Western Germany" decal is often found on Torpedoes imported into the US, but not always. In this case it is present, while lacking on the Dutch Torpedo.

The older Torpedo has a less-rounded case and a different handle.

It can't be shown in pictures, but the feel changes a bit between the two years. It's subtly refined in the 1959 model, though the two are comparable in touch.

My original blog posts on the 1956 Torpedo 18b and on the 1959 Torpedo 18a.

"Typewriter" in 44 languages other than English

Sent from: Soemtron KsT (German), Torpedo 18a (Dutch), Hermes Rocket (Russian),

Underwood Standard Portable (Croatian), and Everest Mod 90 (Brazilian Portuguese).

These are all the languages in google translate that I have a typewriter that can type, or else I can very closely approximate. I actually didn't mean to leave English out, but I forgot it. XD Here is the text again, fresh from google translate (showing what the languages are) in case if I made any errors in the typing.

"teeb" in Somali seems to just mean "type", so maybe that's not quite correct.

tikmasjien - afrikaans
makinë shkrimi - albanian
makina - azerbaijani
idazmakina - basque
пишеща машина - bulgarian
màquina d'escriure - catalan
pisaća mašina - croatian
psací stroj - czech
skrivemaskine - danish
schrijfmachine - dutch
kirjutusmasin - estonian
makinilya - filipino
kirjoituskone - finnish
machine à écrire - french
Schreibmaschine - german
bugun tafireta - hausa
írógép - hungarian
ritvél - icelandic
nkumigwe - igbo
mesin tik - indonesian
clóscríobhán - irish
macchina da scrivere - italian
rakstāmmašīna - latvian
rašomoji mašinėlė - lithuanian
машина за пишување - macedonian
mesin taip - malay
patotuhi - maori
бичгийн машин - mongolian
skrivemaskin - norwegian
maszyna do pisania - polish
máquina de escrever - portuguese
mașină de scris - romanian
пишущая машинка - russian
písací stroj - slovak
pisalni stroj - slovenian
teeb - somali
máquina de escribir - spanish
tapureta - swahili
skrivmaskin - swedish
daktilo - turkish
друкарська машинка - ukranian
teipiadur - welsh
ẹrọ itẹwe - yoruba
umshini wokubhala - zulu

Entstehung 18

1939 Torpedo 18a 234156

Entstehung ≈ Genesis

I didn't want to call it Genesis 18, because Sodom and Gomorrah.

If you ever want a really strange read… anyway, the German word sounds cooler.

Sent from my new Torpedo 18a

I keep my collecting under control

This is not a joke.

*I see it as supreme truth, not a load of rot.

Sent from my Torpedo 18a

Typing filmed at 120fps

My camera has a high speed (120fps) setting, although the resolution is limited. Enjoy these slow motion videos of me typing on my Hermes 3000, Olivetti Valentine, Remington Noiseless, Remington Portable 2, Torpedo 18, and Triumph Norm.

View them all and more at my youtube channel, X Over It.

It is said that the Torpedo is one of the fastest typewriters. I think that the footage backs this claim up because the typebars seem to be a bit snappier than on the other typewriters! (or am I just wishing?)

Winter

Sent from Torpedo 18a

An Interesting Torpedo 18 Advert

For those of you who haven't seen it on tumblr, check out this amazing early 1960s Torpedo 18 advertising leaflet! Two important conclusions. I never new the Torpedo 18 was offered with a wide carriage (the 18/33, which I now must have!), and the (double--old and new!) list of colour combinations is exactly what I needed. If you haven't heard, a little goal of mine is to own one of each Torpedo 18 colour combination (in as many different typefaces as possible) before I die. Probably impossible, but worth trying for.

Some of the cream/colour ones were made with only ribbon cover in the colour, whereas some were made with the ribbon cover and the carriage in that colour. It appears that from reading this ad, the carriages were coloured first, and then later it was only the ribbon covers. My quest would disregard this fact. XD Now, my own humble array of Torpedo 18s. :)