Buyer's checklist

In-Person Typewriter Inspection: A 10-Minute Checklist

The best typewriter deals happen in person: a thrift shop shelf, an antique mall booth, a garage sale card table. The catch is that you usually get a few minutes, no repair bench, and a seller who may know nothing about the machine.

This checklist is built for exactly that situation. It runs in roughly the order you would touch the machine, it needs only a sheet of paper and your phone, and it separates problems that are routine to fix from problems that should make you walk away. It assumes a manual typewriter; electric machines need extra checks, which are noted at the end.

What to bring (and what to ask first)

You need very little: two or three sheets of ordinary printer paper folded into a pocket, your phone for a flashlight and photos, and ideally a small soft brush. Before you start pressing keys, ask the seller if it is okay to test the machine. Most say yes, and asking makes it easier to linger.

Ask three quick questions while you look it over: where it came from, whether anyone has used it recently, and whether it came with a case or keys for the case. The answers are not proof of anything, but a machine that was "typing fine last year" and one that has "been in the barn since the seventies" deserve different expectations.

Step 1: The two-minute walkaround

Before typing, look. Many deal-breakers are visible without moving a single part.

• Body and frame: look for cracks in the cast frame, especially near the corners and feet. A cracked casting on a standard machine is rarely worth taking on.
• Rust and moisture: surface rust on chrome trim is cosmetic; rust on the typebars, segment, or the escapement area under the carriage is more serious.
• Missing parts: platen knobs, carriage return lever, paper table, paper bail, ribbon spools and ribbon cover. A missing ribbon cover is common and covered in our guide to buying without one; a missing return lever or knob can be harder to source.
• Bent typebars: shine your flashlight into the basket. The typebars should rest in an even fan. One bar sitting out of line usually means it was bent or knocked.
• Smell: mustiness is common and usually treatable. A strong mildew smell plus visible mold on the case lining is a sign of long damp storage. See removing odor from a typewriter case.

Step 2: Carriage travel and the carriage lock

Many portables have a carriage lock that holds the carriage centered for transport. If the carriage will not move at all, look for a lever or switch near the carriage ends, the back, or under the right side before assuming anything is broken. Never force a locked carriage.

Once it is free, press the carriage release (usually a lever at one or both ends of the carriage) and slide the carriage slowly from end to end. You want smooth movement with no gritty spots or hard stops halfway. Then let go at the right end and see whether the carriage pulls itself back toward the left under spring tension when you press a key or the spacebar repeatedly.

Step 3: Escapement and spacing

The escapement is what lets the carriage step one space per keystroke. Test it in three ways:

1. Spacebar: tap it a dozen times. The carriage should advance one space per tap, every time, with a crisp click.
2. Every key: press each character key once, slowly, across the whole keyboard. Watch for keys that do not advance the carriage, or advance two spaces.
3. Fast typing: type a quick burst like the the the. Letters that stack on top of each other or skip spaces point to an escapement that needs cleaning or adjustment.

Occasional skipping on a dirty machine is very common and often clears up with a proper cleaning. Our post on why a typewriter skips spaces goes through the usual causes.

Step 4: Keys, typebars and the segment

Press each key gently and watch its typebar rise and fall back to rest. Sluggish return is usually old, thickened oil or dirt in the segment (the slotted arc the typebars pivot in). That is cleaning work. What you do not want to see:

• A typebar that will not move at all, even with gentle pressure
• Two typebars that collide or jam repeatedly
• A type slug that is loose, cracked or missing from the end of its bar

Press two keys together lightly and let them jam, then free them by hand. This tells you nothing bad on its own, but if bars stay stuck together afterward, the segment is gummed up.

Step 5: Shift, platen and paper handling

Hold the shift key down and type a few capitals, then release and type lowercase. The basket or carriage should lift and drop cleanly. Lock the shift lock and release it. If the shift feels very heavy, sticks up, or capitals print visibly higher or lower than they should, the shift mechanism needs adjustment.

Now roll in a sheet of paper. Turn the platen knob and feel whether the paper feeds straight. Press a fingernail into the platen rubber. A very hard, glassy, or cracked platen will type loudly and can punch through thin paper; it still works, but you should factor in recovering it eventually. More on that in what a hard platen does.

Check the line-space lever (the carriage return lever usually doubles as this). It should advance the paper by an even amount every time, and the line-space selector should click between its settings.

Step 6: The typing sample

If there is a ribbon, type a short sample: the full alphabet in lower and upper case, the numbers, and the common punctuation. A pangram such as "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog" is fine, but also type every key on its own so nothing is missed.

Then read the sample under good light:

No ribbon? You can still learn a lot by watching each typebar strike the platen and checking that the carriage spaces after every keystroke. If the seller allows it, a strip of carbon paper behind a sheet of paper can give you a rough impression, but do not count on finding one at a thrift store.

Step 7: Bell, margins, tab and backspace

These are the details that make a machine pleasant to use, and they are often overlooked:

• Bell: type toward the right margin. A bell should ring several characters before the margin stop.
• Margins: set the left and right margins and confirm the carriage stops where you set them.
• Margin release: press it and confirm you can type past the right margin.
• Tabulator: if the machine has a tab, set a stop and press the tab key. The carriage should jump and stop cleanly.
• Backspace: one press, one space back.
• Ribbon reverse: watch the spools while typing. One should feed, the other should take up. If there is a manual reverse lever, try it.

Red flags vs normal wear

None of the left column should scare you off. The right column does not always mean "no", especially for a rare model, but it does mean the machine is a repair project and the price should reflect that.

Electric machines: extra checks

Do not plug in an electric typewriter with a cracked, brittle or frayed cord. If the cord looks sound and the seller allows it, switch it on and listen: a steady hum is normal; grinding, a burning smell or a motor that runs but nothing moves are reasons to switch off immediately. Electric machines often need a technician's service after long storage, so treat "untested" as untested.

After you buy: research the next step

Once a machine is home, compare it against similar examples so you know what you have. Search active listings to see how the same model is usually presented, and check sold listings to see how condition affects buyer interest. The sold comparables guide explains how to compare like with like.

If you are going to do your own first cleaning, a basic kit of soft brushes and lint-free cloths is enough to start. Browse typewriter cleaning brushes on Amazon. For replacement ribbons, search by your machine's model so you get the right spool type: universal typewriter ribbons on eBay.

For more collector-focused searches on popular portable families, try Olympia SM-series portables or Smith-Corona portables.