I ordered a segment pick from Bremerton Typewriter Company several weeks ago.
The segment is the arched piece near the center of a typewriter where every typebar passes through on its way to the platen. Decades of ink and paper dust can pack into the grooves there. That’s why an old machine can feel gummed up even after a good cleaning everywhere else. The segment pick is built to dig that debris out, one groove at a time.
The tool itself is well made, laser-cut hardened steel with a quarter-inch steel tube for a handle. It does exactly what it’s supposed to do. Nothing about it feels like an afterthought.
Bremerton Typewriter Company has been open since 1947. For most of that history, the shop had exactly one segment pick: a No. 93 Royal pick from the 1940 Ames catalog, sold new for twenty cents. Owner Paul Lundy kept it in his apron pocket. If another tech needed that specific tool, they had to borrow his.
Paul sent that original to a maker called Metal Creature to measure and reproduce for the typewriter community. Same shape, same purpose, new steel. He made enough to sell a small batch at $20 each.
It’s a steal at that price.
My original order was lost to the abyss that is the United States Post Office. When I contacted Paul, he didn’t ask any questions, he just sent out another one right away. It’s hard to find customer service like that anymore.
A special thanks to Chris Aldrich at BoffoSocko for posting about this awesome segment pick on his blog.
One Response
Anthony,
I’m glad you finally managed to get your own segment pick from Paul at Bremerton Typewriter. They’re really quite lovely and clever. I will say that oddly, since I bought it, none of the typewriters I’ve gotten since are terribly gummed up as badly as a stretch of them I had gotten before and which were the reason I bought the pick in the first place! The luck of the repairman I suppose…
I must also admit that you seem to be another new member of the typosphere I’ve noticed who has Webmentions on your site! Kudos on that.
Best regards,
Chris
1971h3k77/CJA
cc: Tom Fasano, Ted Munk