Klein-Adler with an extra trick

This cleaned-up little Klein-Adler has an extra lever compared to most others. The lever at the left is carriage-release, that lever at the right however is less usual. Couldn't find any other Klein-Adler that's pictured online (and many are!) with a lever there.

The lever actuates a prod at both ends of the carriage. The lever and mechanism is screwed into the ends of the paper-tray. This prod seems clearly designed to hold something, e.g. a ribbon-loop of ~8mm high.

Looking at this, the idea was that this could be a bichrome feature for the Adler. 

Adler thrust typewriters are a bit peculiar in that the ribbon and its 'toggle' is fixed to the base of the machine and not moved with the platen. That means that the platen moves up-down in front of the ribbon, ergo a ribbon needs to be the same width as the height of the type-slugs (i.e. very wide on this 3-bank). It also means that two-color ribbons are 'difficult'.

This lever and rods contraption looked like it could be a two-color typing mechanism, similar to how e.g. the Hammond implemented bichrome typing by simply lifting the red in front of the typing-line.

To test the hypothesis, a red imprint-strip was mocked-up with modern crafting "carbon paper". Had considered a length of 8mm ribbon, but that would soil the main ribbon and vice-versa. Carbon-paper actually is designed for exactly this type of 'manifolding' function.

The fitting was actually very tricky. It took a couple of tries to make a strip of the right length. The mechanism also needed some forming to make it clear all other parts and regain its bi-stable spring function. A long rod at the back functions as a holding-spring against the paper-tray ridge. This gives the whole thing stable down and up positions. In the up-position the strip is exactly on the typing-line - also blocking the view of what is typed: blind-typing. In the down-position it is clear and does not interfere with typing.

It still is a bit temperamental, prone to snagging on the type-guide - but as is clearly seen in below side-view the coloured strip moves with the platen and the wide ribbon is fixed to the machine-base.

It actually does work!

When the color-strip is in the up-position, the typing is of course blind. Am curious what type of strip was originally provided with this contraption. Also unsure if this was a factory-fitted feature or an aftermarket device. It matches the overall design and engineering-style of the machine and intricately fits the mechanism. It's also something Adler could/would have felt it needed to compete - by 1925 the Klein-Adler really was a bit outdated and lacking in features versus the competition. No bichrome for example :)

On the other hand, it's a bit fragile and convoluted. A machine on The Database only 10 removed from this one does not have this two-color function. On The Database is machine 315125 and this is 315115. Both machines actually have a Dutch florin symbol, but the '125 is a QWERTZ machine instead of QWERTY as this '115.

If a factory-option, then would've also expected more specimens to be visible online or some documentation. 

Quite possibly more information will turn up about this Adler two-color feature; something will have been written down somewhere sometime. For now, this Klein-Adler just has a neat trick; it can write in red too :-)

Putting the little 3-bank together again (and a nickname)

After cleaning the bits, put together again quickly. The Klein-Adler with lots of sliding parts in the typing-mechanism is vulnerable to dirt - a thorough cleaning and removal of decades of patina (oxidation) should make it work much better. The keys go in fairly easily, slotted into the comb and with a single spring.

The typebars can be slotted in from above - the whole mechanism looks simple and elegant. This was not the first version of this mechanism they made, for sure.

The cleaning did make it better, it now types very well - 'snappy' even. It unfortunately has a rock-hard platen, but with one or two backing-sheets it types great.

This little 3-bank typewriter is the first machine here that got a nickname. The reason for that was - to start with - that it has a wooden leg (one foot had been replaced with a cork, painted black):

And that it has one shiny nickel and one black spool; the machine does look as if it has an eyepatch:

To add to the story; it has a scar on its visage (broken glass of the 'O' key):

And to round it off; silver buttons on its coat:

Of course this Klein-Adler got nicknamed Short John Silver ;-)