198X Agidel ПП-215-02 #1513
Status: My Collection
Hunter: Jugo Boy (jugoboy)
Created: 02-24-2023 at 08:26AM
Last Edit: 06-27-2023 at 12:58PM
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Description:
Agidel is one of the rarest Soviet-made typewriters. It was mentioned in the specialized literature of its time, even in the film magazine «Soviet Ural» in 1980 as a new and promising development, but very few of those who read about it ever held it in their hands.
Agidel was produced at the Ufa typewriter Factory and, traditionally for the USSR, was named after the river. «Agithel» is the native name of the Belaya River, the main waterway of Bashkiria.
Structurally, Agidel copies the German «Triumph Gabriele» typewriter, differing from it only in much worse quality and body. Apparently, it became the last and least successful Soviet attempt to reproduce the Gabriele after a structurally similar typewriter «Zea» (or Zeya) was produced at another factory in the mid-70s (search on TWDB as Zeya). Surprisingly, the «Zea» has much more pleasant user qualities than the Agidel, although it differs from the latter only in the design of the lid.
In its original form, my Agidel had an extremely rigid, unyielding keyboard. So much so that it was impossible to type on it without tension. The reason for this problem were too tight springs, and I solved it by replacing some of the springs with new ones taken from the Yugoslavian «UNIS tbm Traveller», and stretched and weakened some of them. It helped me a lot. After that, the typing became much more pleasant and soft. Even the quality of the work and the uniformity of the printhave significantly increased. However, the ignoble noise at work and the «crackle» of ratchets makes you remember what you are working on.
The font differs from the ones from typewriters common in the USSR, like UNIS, Erika and Moskva-8. The letters are narrower and with longer intervals, which gives them better readability. A tabulator and a color selector are available, which is extremely rare for Soviet portable machines.
The body of the Agidel is made of fairly cheap plastic, except for the carriage, which has a completely metal body. This is an understandable design solution, because the Agidel, with its stamped steel frame, has a weight of more than 6 kilograms. The machine has a pretty sturdy case made of orange leatherette. The case is equipped with a shoulder strap, which can be transformed into a regular handle.
Since the frame of the case was made of thick cardboard, over time the case lost its shape due to dampness. It was decided to change the base of the case to a waterproof and lighter material, but this task has not yet been completed.
Typeface Specimen:
Photos:
Hunter: Jugo Boy (jugoboy)
Jugo Boy's Typewriter Galleries [ My Collection ] [ My Sightings ]
Status: Typewriter Hunter
Points: 93
Hello everyone
My name is Lev, now I live in Moscow. I spent my entire childhood with a Lubava typewriter (soviet sister of Erika-105) in my hands, and I still continue this hobby. Now I like to search typewriters and put them in order. I prefer to work with Yugoslavian UNIS, but sometimes I take on other models.
I would rather be called a 'hunter' than a 'collector'. But better I’d call myself a lover of restoration. I like to look for and repair different TWs, but I keep for myself only what I use.
I will start my work at TWDB with the publication of the 'Agidel' typewriter, one of the rarest ones ever made in the USSR. Recently, this rarity came into my hands.
Email for contact is lev.oa@ya.ru
RESEARCH NOTE: When researching the Agidel ПП-215-02 on a computer with lots of screen real estate, you may find that launching the Agidel Serial Number page and the Agidel ПП-215-02 By Model/Year/Serial page in new browser windows can give you interesting perspectives on changes throughout the model series.
