The Journal•Model guide
The Olympia SM series
The heavy portables from Wilhelmshaven. Precision engineering, a flawless strike: for many typists, the benchmark of their class.
The SM series
Built in Wilhelmshaven from the 1950s into the 1960s, the Olympia SM machines are full-size portables, markedly heavier than the compacts that replaced them. That mass is part of the recipe: it steadies the machine and absorbs the strike.
The series runs from the SM3 to the SM9, with gradual changes — finish, adjustments, a tabulator, and touch-pressure adjustment on the later ones.
Why they have that reputation
The mechanical fit is remarkable. The strike is even from key to key, character alignment holds over time, and the carriage returns without play. These are machines built to write for hours.
The trade-off: they do not travel. Expect the weight of a desk machine. This is a work-table choice.
What we check in the workshop
- Full cleaning of the segment and typebars, pivots degreased.
- Typing action, line spacing, margins and tabulator adjusted.
- Carriage, return and escapement checked.
- Condition of the platen and feed rollers.
- New ribbon, then a full test page.
The right ribbon
Every machine leaves with a new ribbon fitted. When the time comes to change it, we stock ribbons that fit this model — ordinary spools will not always do.
Olympia SM typewriters available now
2 examples currently restored and ready to type. Each one is unique.
