Weapon of Choice: 1960 Aztec (Erika) 700 #1930178
Unboxed at Typewriter Club LIVE: 2022-01-30
Erika 10, Optima Super & Aztec 700 User Manual
Joe Van Cleave’s Optima Super, which is actually an Optima, rather than a relabeled Erika 10, like my Aztec 700. There are quite distinctly different machines, mechanically. In 1960 Optima began re-labeling Erika 10’s as Optima Supers, and this continued into 1962 or 63:
The Book of Boba Fett was actually pretty good until Episode 3…
congratulations on a fine typewriter!
You got an Erika from Erik. :-D Good looking typewriter there! I’m with you on appreciating the cosmetically flawed but mechanically excellent. I’ve yet to find a mint machine, but that’s okay, because I don’t worry about scuffing things up.
This and the Optima Humber 88 are twins.
Yuh, looks like that 1960-1963 era saw a lot of Erika 10 re-labelings. Interesting machine, indeed. (:
I’m glad you’re enjoying it, Ted! I wanted to give you something equal to your generosity with your time.
BTW – I call anything I haven’t cleaned and adjusted a project. I’m pretty sure you got it just as it came from the Goodwill.
I am very much enjoying it, thank you again (:
It is starting to exert a personality and thus a name. “Roosevelt” is coming to mind…
Very nice one, congratulations.
Can you leave some tips about the bleach technique you use for the mold inside the case? My grandfather’s SM9 case has a bit growing inside and I’d like to get rid of it before it’s too late.
Cheers, B
I just put a little bleach in a spray bottle and sprayed it on the mold spots and a rag, and wiped them off. Then I let that dry, then sprayed the spots again and scrubbed them with an old toothbrush and wiping it off with a rag and let it dry again, then did it one more time (like a full day in between each treatment). The idea is to kill all the mold completely but not soak the internal wood or cardboard to the point that you damage it. Good luck! (:
Thanks, it’s already working GREAT!
On the hoarder’s point of view, I got a nice 1976 Monica this weekend (with a broken plastic case, but for 5€ it was a steal) AND a (pristine) German Princess 200 (except for the leather case, it stinks of something really bad and I had to take the bottom out to have the typewriter inside the house). And now I’m on the run for another SM9, this one has a small carriage and the modern orange logo (and a fake black leather case, still leaving me on the hunt for a small-carriage two-tone case, eheheh!!!).
It’s kind of like a vinyl record collection, one never-ending/never-stopping reverse trip.
Cheers, thanks for the reply and keep up this wonderful place running. \m/
B
Great, greatm great. Last Sunday I opened my typewriter hunting season with collecting an Erika 10. Also very nice condition. Do you like the smooth automatic opening of the basket lid? Does the carriage-lock work precisly at “50”. Which typeface is it? Is it a 10 cpi Pica or the smaller 11 cpi font? Do you know the name of that smaller font?