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| This image from ebay auction 271090064838 looks ominous. I've seen worse. The often seen polished keys perched merrily on top of a beautiful machine on etsy are a bit much. |
In all honesty, this is not a fabulous or particularly rare machine. However, I've seen plenty of uncommon machines meet the same fate.
The photo below is from another ebay auction that I didn't bother to credit. This pretty well sums up the supply and demand aspect of key chopping.
Keychopping is terrible. I cannot abide it. Great post!
ReplyDeleteHORRIBLE in every sense of the word.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. ;-)
Ugh! You're right, straight out of a horror film. When will this stupid fad end?
ReplyDeleteI cannot post my exact words for key choppers. Those words are very very not nice.
ReplyDeleteThose are terrifying photos! Like those animal slaughter videos from PETA, but by the seller himself - shame on coolbreeze924 from Peck Corner, RI!
ReplyDeleteIf only people wouldn't buy the junk "jewelry" that is made from them, there would be no demand.
ReplyDeleteI've seen chopped keys but never a chopped typewriter. I seriously kind of hate that person. I shouldn't, it's wrong, but I do.
ReplyDeleteI see my bloodied pages are inspired some ink smeared art! Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI find this whole thing barbaric. Such absurd vandalism for 'art' It is enough to make you cry just watching it.
stupidest. fad. ever.
ReplyDeleteThis is worse than Saw! I am just waiting for that Royal to pick up those shears and go after that damn keychopper! Why would you photograph this process? Ugh... Really, I don't understand this whole fad. I have never even seen someone wearing something made out of keys. Where are all of these going?
ReplyDeleteWe can only hope this will stop sometime soon. Someone could have written a life altering novel with that machine...
Now keychoppers are documenting the process? That is sick.
ReplyDeleteThanks all for the responses. I felt vaguely bad about propagating these images on the web. On the other hand, it doesn't hurt for people to know what this process looks like.
ReplyDeleteIn looking at ebay or etsy, one might assume that glass key typewriters are common. The occupants of the Typosphere know better. At some point the basements, garages and attics of the generations that used typewriters will be emptied. Over the last few months, I've noticed an increasing proportion of late 60s and 70s machines. That tells me the Boomers are starting to clean out their stuff.
Unfortunately, I've had to adopt the "can't save them all" philosophy. There are machines I've saved just to keep the keys from being cut off. There are also some heart breakers that I had to let go including Erikas, Triumphs and Royals. It's painful to look at the buyer's history at the end of an auction and see the dreaded key chopper acquisition list including typewriters, cash registers and craft supplies.
As I recall, someone in the Typosphere has started a repatriation program where they try to reunite machines with their key stubs. I hope that project goes well.
Have any of you bought a machine just to save it from choppers?
Going to the dentist, 1100 A.D.
ReplyDeleteYeah.... I have bought one to save it from the choppers. I blogged about it a little while ago.
ReplyDeleteActually, I've often bid aiming at that magical $60 mark, where it puts a machine out of reach of the typically $50 maximum these clowns want to pay. From there, I just hope serious buyers out-bid me.