Tale of Hermes 3000 Substitute Platen Knobs

Atwater-Kent radio bakelite knob. 

Knob 63625K21 from McMaster-Carr

Hermes 3000 Techno Pica

Typo 1, od, should be of. Typo 2 vit should be bit

Setag Techno Pica

Fountain Pen Friendly Staple's Find

I have been using a Moleskine 3.5 inch by 5.5 inch leather bound pocket notebook since this past summer.  I like Moleskine products, but I was very disappointed when I noticed they were made in China and cost a fortune.  Very over rated.

I set out on a quest to find another notebook locally that I may like and did not cost as much as a Moleskine notebook.  The criteria was same size, good paper, preferably leather bound, and fountain pen friendly.

I like the Moleskine paper.  To me it is unique unto itself.  Writing on the paper is nice when using pencil or anything but a fountain pen.  My fountain pens write fine on it, but not all inks work fine.  Many inks feather and most bleed through the page.

On my last trip to Staple's I found this notebook on sale for less than half of the normal selling price, and I could buy up to 4 of them at the special price.  I bought them thinking if they do not work for a fountain pen I will have a nice notebook for pencil.

Compared to Moleskine. This notebook is the same size.  This notebook is also made in China.  It is more economical, even at the regular price of $6.99, than my Moleskine.  The paper is smooth and nice to write upon.

Next I tested the paper with the pens I presently have inked.

Please pardon my sloppy penmanship.  I was too lazy to look at the Pilot ink and I mis-spelled Namiki.  Like I blame my typewriters for making typos I will blame the pen for the mistake(s).

This paper does not have the nice feel of Moleskine paper, but it is smooth and takes to fountain pen ink nicely.  There was no feathering, only a small smudge on FL Blue because I did not give the ink enough time to dry before letting the cover page touch it.

As seen below bleed though is minor.  A slight bit better than my Moleskine?

The Jinhao pen with Higgins ink seems to be the worst.  All pens wrote smoothly and none scratched or stubbed.  None bled to the next blank page.

I prefer an unlined notebook for fountain pens so I can write any size I like.  For the price this will be fine.  (The local store did not have any unlined ones.)

For those who, like me, like the ribbon page marker, the elastic closure, and the pocket on the inside of the back cover, this notebook has all three.

I still plan on trying others including Clairefontaine, Rhodia, and Quo Vadis Habana and other notebooks as I get around to ordering some. 

The Mysterious Hermes 3000 Techno Pica

The Hermes 3000 Typewriter with Techno Pica is not really mysterious.  I am just not posting a picture of it at the moment.

Adler J4 Part 2

Carriage without platen

All the parts removed from the carriage

Original left knob, repaired right knob

My Olympia B12 started to skip badly tonight.  It may be due to using it on my lap.  I still have a bit of a problem with consistent pressure using my left hand since I broke it last summer.  However, there is no comparison between this Japanese machine and my Hermes 3000.  Hand injury or not the Hermes 3000 does not skip and the letters impact the paper at the same velocity giving consistently good clean impression.

I should have taken a picture of the knob when it was broken.  I am surprised I had all the pieces.  In my typecast I mentioned polystyrene and Duco Cement.  I used Duco since it does melt the pieces together, just like Testor's will.  Something I remembered from many years ago building plastic model airplanes and cars.  The result is be careful and you get a joint that stays together quite quickly.

All the keys and typebars are now working freely since the carburetor cleaner bath.  Someone tried to improve this typewriter by using Moly grease in the segment slots!  Carb cleaner is one of the few things that will clean Moly grease from things.

A few cautions if one decides to take typewriters apart (I know many who read this blog already know what I am about to write)  use gunsmith screw drivers (and even these may need to be honed a bit to correctly fit the screw slots), and if one chooses to use carb cleaner it will eat rubber and can harm plastic.  I ensured there was no rubber anywhere that could be hit with the spray, and I covered the keys with aluminum foil to prevent any splashes from white-spotting the keys.  If using any kind of compressed air and / or spray cleaners; wear appropriate goggles, safety glasses do not protect from sprays and splashes.

Adler J4

I really do not work on typewriters with any part of them hanging off of the workbench.

Easy carriage and cover removal.

The carriage ready to be further taken apart and cleaned.

I broke the right platen knob.  I did not look at the last photo when I wrote the typecast.

Well, I am still not keeping my resolution about the typos.  I think it is the typewriter.....

Zebra V-301 Fountain Pen Revisited

Well, I'm still making typos and for this post I did not edit the images to display full size on the blog so they can display in a larger size in the slide show.  Not really sure which I like best.

Ever wonder why you may not show as joining my blog?

Ici et La

Waterman Florida Blue ink on Wausau Astroparche paper.

More on Waterman pens can be found here:
http://captainchang.com/pens/waterman.html

2012

Auld Lang Syne
http://www.robertburns.org/works/236.shtml