Mid last year I did a blog entry on the typewriter/s on the Doctor Blake set, and a blog about the show itself (as well as a few other Australian crime shows) which can be found at – My Marvellous Indulgence in Dr Blake.
Yeah, I liked it so much that I even monogrammed my initials onto the case.
You can have your desk set Blakey, I’ve got my Rheinmetall now. Oh wait, those trays are looking pretty sexy…..
The Filthy Platen 
Congratulations! It is an amazing feeling when you start typing on a machine (for the first time or not) and immediately everything feels right.
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I'm going to have to give Rheinmetalls another chance… I bought one (domestically) and ended up selling it because I never used it. Partly due to it not meeting my hopes as a typer, but also because it had a Norwegian keyboard which switches the comma and full stop. Surprisingly much harder to get used to than QWERTZ.
That is beautiful.
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Congratulations on the Rheinmetall.
I need to get one! That is a beautiful typewriter for sure. I wonder if it types better than an Underwood. Only one way to find out. I need to get one.
Thanks for the great post.
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Fantastic looking Rheinmetall! I didn't experience that “this is the one for me” feeling when I typed on mine, but I'm happy to say I have experienced that feeling with a recent acquisition (my next post). 🙂
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What a score, congratulations, Scott! I know the frustration when you're eyeing a machine and it slips from your fingers. Glad you were able to finally land one.
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Hooray for German typewriters!! And what a wonderful Rheinmetall. It's gorgeous!
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Hooray for German typewriters!! And what a wonderful Rheinmetall. It's gorgeous!
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wowser, that's a stunner for sure 😀
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You are so doomed. Once German typewriters take hold of your life, they will never let you go. That machine looks fabulous in all black. The ones that turn up in the U.S. are usually light green.
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Great!
I've got one of these:
http://site.xavier.edu/polt/typewriters/rheinmetall1952.jpg
The keys and typebars come out so easily that I got it into my head to turn a QWERTZ into a QWERTY. I just swapped the keys and typebars. So easy ….. not. I had to bend the typebars and ended up with the characters misaligned. This was back in my oh-so-naive days before I understood that such an operation has to be done by unsoldering and resoldering. A tricky challenge, to be sure.
Enjoy your Schreibmaschine!
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Exactly. Mind you, I feel that this isn't going to be the same for everyone. It just felt right for me.
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Ahhhh. It isn't a machine for everyone, but it just felt right for me. They are very heavy on the keys, which is good for my heavier hand.
Norwegian keyboard? That's interesting… I'd loved to have seen that.
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I do very much like them. Better than an underwood? I'd say different, more than better.
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Ohhhh. Looking forward to seeing what you've got! This could be good.
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For sure. And hopefully I will see another two that I've paid for (but haven't been sent by the seller) soon!
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Hey! Hooray indeed. Just wait till you see what other machines I got my hands on. And I agree, it is gorgeous. That view looking through the ribbon-cover to the segment is totally unique. It just looks and feels purposeful.
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Thanks! I'm going to have to get this guy up on your database soon.
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I've seen a fair few of those in the green. Surprisingly I discovered only recently that they also come in red and blue. I hope to have samples to show you soon.
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Yep, that one certainly looks very much the same as mine. There seems to be no particular designation as to what the model is though, and I'm finding the information on this machine particularly hard to come by.
Good grief… Swapping type bars would have been an incredibly painful way of doing that. Ouch!
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Beautiful machine, Mein Herr! Despite my recent refrigerator woes, I haven't gone off German design. You don't need me to tell you that one's a keeper.
By the way, I'm curious about what method/contraption you used to put your monogram on the case. Very Gatsbyesque. Might have to do the same to mine. It'll avoid typewriter case confusion at airports…oh wait, I'll probably be the only person at an airport with a typewriter case, anyway. Still, I'm curious.
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Oh, just wait till you see the next German machine I'm going to feature. I have a real beauty to show yet.
As for the monogram, It's easier than you think. If you head over to a craft supply store you can find sheets of gold leaf lettering which is designed to be rubbed off the sheet and onto a surface. I'll do a blog in the future and show you how to use it. But it is surprisingly hard wearing when applied, and comes in a few fonts.
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Congratulations again! My portable epiphany came with a Halda and I'm glad yours came with such a sparkly shiny machine.
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Ah yeah, I was thinking Letraset, those kid's hobby thingies that were sheets of letters that could be placed on a surface and rubbed onto them. I'll have to check out some of my nearby craft stores.
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Thank you sir. A Halda! I keep hearing those a great machines, but I have yet to bang on one in person.
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