Comments on: Brother 44

By: Daniel Marleau

Daniel Marleau — Tue, 30 Apr 2024 01:36:34 +0000

Ah, yes, Facits are grand. I’ve not tried a TP2, but had a fine time with the 1620. https://typewriterreview.com/2015/04/11/facit-1620/

By: Ronald Steyn

Ronald Steyn — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 22:00:30 +0000

What about the Facit TP2. Made from good old Swedish Steel.

Then there is the Facit T2 12" Manual Typewriter.

Facits as well as Olivetti, who were our biggest competitor in South Africa are still manufactured in Brazil.

By: Stéphane D

Stéphane D — Wed, 31 May 2023 20:56:27 +0000

I recently got a Japy L72 (one local name for the Brother 44) and I totally agree with Mr Marleau: it’s far better than I thought it would be, especially for the price (it was given to me for free, by a lady I didn’t even know: here, in France, these Brothers are worth about nothing…)
I have several Baby’s (a HD1/40, two HD2/54s, an excellent HD2/60, a QWERTZ HD3/64b and… an Olivetti Tropical ! I’ve sold my bresilian HD3/64d), I also have Triumph Tippas 1 and 2, a Gossen Tippa and Lettera 22, 32 and a Spanish QWERTY DL, but my favourite portable typewriter remains, by far, the best of my (four… can’t help buying these !) Olympia Splendid 66, a wonderful ’62 burgundy and cream with a soft, fast touch that outshines most large typewriters I’ve tested (all of them, in fact, except the Hermes 3000 and… Olympia SM9 !)

By: Ilse Smith

Ilse Smith — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 20:15:21 +0000

I have a Brother and Helmes that I want to sell.

By: Chris Osmond

Chris Osmond — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 23:38:17 +0000

AGREED – My Brother Charger 11 feels like a machine 3x the cost — and I am not afraid of breaking it!

By: T. Munk

T. Munk — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 23:12:13 +0000

I really love the Brother JP-1 a lot – you can improve its tinny sound by replacing its crappy paper soundproofing with thicker and denser material like craft felt or yoga mat material, replacing the little rubber bumpers under the space bar and replacing the hollow tube typebar rest with something softer like dense felt or again, yoga mat material. Really makes it a nicer experience. As far as your sliding Rocket is concerned, I styll have a few sets of the HD-2/64 feet left: https://munk.org/typecast/2021/06/20/ujtu-three-typewriters-improved-in-one-evening/

By: Daniel Marleau

Daniel Marleau — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:16:49 +0000

In reply to Daniel Marleau.

https://typewriterreview.com/2015/11/19/groma-kolibri/

By: Daniel Marleau

Daniel Marleau — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 18:16:25 +0000

In reply to Martyn V. Halm. I've often hesitated recommending Kolibris for the reasons you've outlined. Rare finds and when you do, they often have the QWERTZ layout. But you're right, they're precious jewels. I went back to my review from a few years ago, and found this nugget: "If Apple made a typewriter, it'd be a Kolibri."

By: DonN

DonN — Fri, 03 Sep 2021 03:46:01 +0000

I agree that the JP1 Brother is not appreciated much. That might be due to how common they are! I believe they are the most common machine ever produced, sort of the VW Beetle of small typewriters. If they were rare they might be more loved and sought after. That would seem to be a truism!

By: Martyn V. Halm

Martyn V. Halm — Thu, 02 Sep 2021 12:46:12 +0000

As a collector of ultra-portables, I don’t consider the Hermes Baby/Rocket the ‘standard’ — I have the whole she-bang from Hermes (3000, 2000, Media, Media 3, and 6 different Baby/Rocket machines from different eras). My favourite Baby is the Featherweight from 1938.
However, my favourite ultra-portable typewriter is the Groma Kolibri. I have three of them with QWERTY keyboards, but the Kolbri is notoriously hard to come by and most of them have the QWERTZ (German) keyboard. I’m very critical of ultra-portables because I carry them around town to do ‘poetry-by-request’ (my poetry can be found on instagram under ‘amsterdamassassin’). Other ultraportables I use are the Antares Parva and the Olympia SF/Splendid 66; as well as the Gossen Tippa and the slightly bigger Princess 300, Voss Privat and Swissa Junior.
But the Groma Kolibri (Luxus) rules supreme.