The first one that was sent to me must have been tossed around on the truck or somewhere along the route to my home. I sent it back in exchange for another one. The 2nd one arrived quicker than I thought it would. I was happy about that. This one, #2, I took it out of the box, like I did the first one, and, low and behold, it was very very good. I own an old 1938 Royal model O, the thing is like a tank, solid and can be pounded on for hours when writing. This new one, is solid, and I can hammer on it without much concern. The words on the page are clear and dark, both red and black. I got it because my two granddaughters typed on the antique one, they respected it, but I thought next time they are over they can type on the new one, and God forbid if they break it at least it's not an antique. I like it. The Classic gives me the same satisfaction of manual typing I got before I switched to computers. It's worth it. Be critical when yours arrives, put it through its paces immediately and type away for hours. If you get a lemon, send it back, it was no hassle. And in a couple of weeks after hammering away at this one if it breaks down, I'll exchange it until I get one that is built the way manual typewriters are supposed to be built, for use, a lot of use. It's worth Enjoy.

THIS IS A GREAT TYPEWRITER IF YOU are used to what a true old style type writer is like. I have read some reviews on here with people complaining about the keys being hard to press.
THIS IS MADE FOR PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT OLDER CLASSICS NEED TO BE TREATED LIKE YOUR HEALTH. YOU HAVE TO TAKE CARE OF IT. IT IS NOT AN IPAD OR LAPTOP. IT'S NOT EVEN THE 90S ELECTRIC VERSION OF A TYPE WRITER. DUH!!!! It's because it is the classic old school type writers. YOU ARE SUPPOSE TO HAVE TO PRESS HARD. DURABILITY: it is great BUT you have to keep in mind you are buying the first classic developed typewriter, so it's not an IPad or laptop. It's heavy, and it's authentic. You HAVE TO be gentle because that is what makes this a classic. YOU CANT DROP IT THERE IS NOT A SPECIAL HARD CASE FOR IT. SO IF YOU DROP IT HA GUESS WHAT IT BREAKS.

You have to press really hard to get the ink to be fairly dark on the paper. I will say that the actual quality of the material is very good and high. It is heavy and appears to be well crafted. The only issue is one of our keys were duplicated (i.e. we had two of the same keys). Luckily it was not a key that is often used. We did contact support who advised us to return it to amazon and order another one. We did not do this as the key does not bother us too much.

Please see photograph for typed review.

This typewriter was a gift to my husband as he loves to write short stories, poems and letters, and he does not like to use the computer. This is a very well made typewriter. However, there is a lot of spring in the keys and you have to use a lot of finger strength to push them down to hit the paper. Fortunately my husband is only using a two-finger method, so it is doable for him. For someone who likes to type at a higher speed, it may be a problem.