L.T. Hanlon

Category: Technology

Using the Hovel pencil sharpener

June 20, 2020 L.T. HanlonLeave a comment

Typewritten text of the following. GETTING RIGHT TO THE POINT.
I just acquired a Hovel pencil sharpener. It's essentially a small wood plane that you stroke over a pencil's casing and lead. I never was any good at using normal-size planes, so perfecting my Hovel technique is taking a little work. With patience, it's possible to create a longer, sharper point than with most conventional sharpeners. In the photo above, I used a Kum Masterpiece on the yellow Blackwing and the Hovel on the Blackwing 602. Thanks to my pals Andy Pierce and Frank Mariani for letter me know about the Hovel sharpener! Olympia SM7 - Pica No. 12

Check out Frank Mariani’s art, editorial cartoons, and more.

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Screws get loose

June 6, 2020June 6, 2020 L.T. HanlonLeave a comment

Image is a photo of a page of typewritten text that reads: CLOSE ENOUGH FOR WRITERS.
Although I love the feel, smell, and sound of typewriters, I’m also mindful of the reasons why so many people see these machines as charming but.
There's a reason why these things are so finicky: They're built from hundreds of parts and need to operate in a complex ballet.
Too often, that ballet degenerates into interpretive dance that's interpreting lord knows what.

This is the reason why prior to the Coming of the Computer, there were so many typewriter shops. Even small towns had a couple.
Joe Van Cleave has addressed this several times. Gears lose teeth, parts wear out, screws get loose. That's just part of the deal.
The need for repair and upkeep for type— writers was so great that a member of my extended family worked as a typewriter repairman in the Rocky Mountain West. He'd travel from town to town by train, often bn narrow gauge —— and call on businesses and individuals with typewriters. Probably quite the high—tech guy for his time.
But despite all that attention by mechanical technicians, typewriters forever retained their own characteristics. No kidnapper worth his salt would ever consider typing a ransom note.
I’ve often wondered whether U.S. police departments got writing samples from typewriters kept for public use in libraries. I’ll bet they did!
Olympia SM7 -- Chicago, Illinois

Typewriter aficionado, photographer, writer, and philosopher Joe Van Cleave covers this topic in much greater detail — and far better than I have here — in “Is Good Enough Good Enough?” If you’re interested in anything creative, Joe can steer you true.

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Beaten by The Beast

May 17, 2020May 17, 2020 L.T. HanlonLeave a comment

Photo shows a small, manual typewriter painted gray and white. The faceplate reads Sperry Rand Remington 666. There is a rectangular blemish on the nameplate where a sticker has been removed. — This typewriter was picture perfect — until the Dark Prince made me defile it.

Photo shows a typewritten page with the following text. YOU-KNOW-WHO IS IN THE DETAILS. I recently got a good deal on a 1968—vintage Remington 666 manual typewriter. This machine with a rather unfortunate name came to me pretty much in NOS condition except for a Dymo label with a previous owner's name on it stuck on the front. At first, I figured well, that gives this typewriter an extra bit of character. But after a couple of days that name sticker really got to annoying me like an itch you can’t scratch or a pimple overripe for squeezing. So I carefully picked off the label sticker. But the old, dry adhesive didn’t release entirely and the surface beneath looked lighter than the surrounding faceplate. I knew I had to be cautious here; I tried to gently remove the adhesive with a Q—Tip swab. That didn't work, so I diluted a bit of Soft Scrub and gingerly massaged it in. And that's when I realized that Typewriter No. 666, the Remington Mark of the Beast, had tempted me as surely as Satan because not only did the adhesive fail to be removed but the surrounding surface had been marred. This typewriter -- a rebadged Brother JP-1 -- still works perfectly. But in having tried to delete its Ione beauty mark I 've made it uglier. The devil made me do it! I bought some cleaning goo I saw advertised on Facebook and it just arrived from China. This stuff comes in a small container, looks like Jell—O, and you press it to keyboards, car dashboards, and the like to pick up dust, particles, and various and sundry detritus. It’s almost like the title character of "The Blob." I tried it on the 666’s typeslugs and it seemed to pull inky deposits off pretty well. But when I tried it on the leftover label adhesive? Nada. I guess Satan never sleeps.

Photo shows a container with the label Super Cleaner. The container is open and a blue blob of goo sits next to it. This goo is the cleaning stuff. — What the heck is this stuff made from? Beats me. But it seems to work.

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What purpose did this paper serve?

September 24, 2019May 8, 2020 L.T. Hanlon2 Comments

Photo of a 4-by-7-inch piece of brown paper lying on top of a Hermes 3000 semi-squaretop typewriter. The piece of paper has the brand name Bran-O-Rost printed on it. This specially coated paper was found inside the typewriter and might have been there to prevent rust.

Bran-O-Rost (or Branorost) paper is still available and Brangs + Heinrich is still around too — although its headquarters is now in Germany, not Switzerland.