
If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead - fogus
https://imgur.com/gallery/fGa13nZ
======
ganonm
Around 2 years ago now, I took the plunge and bought myself an Ergodox EZ
split island keyboard. Quite franky, it is the biggest quantum leap in the
ergonomic experience of interacting with a computer I have seen since learning
Vim. It is comfortable, effortless and fast. If you spend any significant time
interacting with computers it is a complete no brainer to invest in optimising
the IO channel between your brain and the machine.

Here is a link to my keyboard layout which you can freely use. It is optimised
for Vim and Ubuntu use.

[https://github.com/Ganon-M/ergodox-vim-
ubuntu](https://github.com/Ganon-M/ergodox-vim-ubuntu)

~~~
brandonmenc
> it is a complete no brainer to invest in optimising the IO channel between
> your brain and the machine

Why? You'll never even double the "throughput" of that "channel", let alone
improve it by an order of magnitude.

And I say this as someone who wasted lots of time and money attempting exactly
that before I realized that typing is not what I spend most of my time doing
while programming.

~~~
samatman
What an Ergodox lets me do is this: while standing, with good posture, I
extend my arms, level with the ground, to where they comfortably and naturally
want to be.

Then, I put the keyboards there, adjust the desk up to that height, and put
books under the monitor until the center is exactly level with my eyes.
Trackball to the right.

This is dramatically more comfortable than anything else I could be doing.
It's hard to convey how uncomfortable a straight keyboard is to someone who
hasn't tried the alternative.

~~~
Fellshard
For me, I notice the difference in my shoulders. They tuck in with a compact
keyboard, and then my wrists bow inward. It ends in a slouch and increasing
neck pain over time - even my personal laptop makes this noticeable after a
short amount of time.

Ergodox EZ may puzzle people with its layout, but the split island part alone
has made computing comfortable for me, especially when combined with a
sit/stand desk. There's a lot less physical strain to wrestle with, which a
bigger difference as time goes on.

~~~
rickyc091
OH! I just realized this explains why my right shoulder is lower compared to
my left! Every time I take a photo, the photographer always tells me to bring
it higher. My neutral position for my mouse!

------
politelemon
I'm simply a mechanical keyboard user, I have a few trusty Filcos that I use
and I will sometimes buy a keycap set and wait 1 year for it[1]; I don't have
the courage to build custom keyboards.

However I do derive a vicarious pleasure looking at the build logs and end
results shared by others, this post included. The two best places I've found
to follow are the /r/mechanicalkeyboards[2] subreddit and the geekhack.org[3]
forms which goes even more in-depth into specific subtopics.

It's a lovely world of enthusiasts that I am happy to place on a pedestal and
admire.

[1]: [https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-matt3o-mt3-susuwatari-
custom...](https://drop.com/buy/massdrop-x-matt3o-mt3-susuwatari-custom-
keycap-set?mode=guest_open)

[2]:
[https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards](https://www.reddit.com/r/mechanicalkeyboards)

[3]: [https://geekhack.org/](https://geekhack.org/)

~~~
ascar
Maybe that's just me, but I get really annoyed by other people using
(freakishly loud) mechanical keyboards in the office. It disrupts me from
doing my work and some keyboards even penetrante my Bose QC ii with quiet
music on...

~~~
Symbiote
There are three broad types of key switch: clicky (makes a loud click),
tactile (tries to feel like there's a click but be fairly quiet), linear (no
feeling except gradually increasing resistance).

There are also silent versions of tactile and linear switches.

Clicky switches are inappropriate in every office, and silent switches may be
preferred in a particularly quiet office. Typical keyboards (Dell, Apple) fall
somewhere between the tactile/linear and silent switch mechanical keyboards.

------
rwmj
He built his own keyboard and still included a huge CapsLock key in the place
where god intended Ctrl to go?

~~~
quotemstr
No, no, no. It's _written_ "CapsLock" but _pronounced_ "Control".

~~~
lawn
I think you spelled "escape" wrong. Yes, I'm a vim user.

On the keyboards that support it I've had it remap to another layer if I hold
it, but I'm thinking of using it for escape/ctrl, as I do use some emacs
commands from time to time (mostly evil mode, but not everything). But I
haven't decided where to put my layer switch key yet.

~~~
StavrosK
Dual esc/ctrl is the way to go. I still get phantom esc presses when I decide
half-way that I don't need to ctrl+anything, but it's worth it.

~~~
vhost-
I do this and it’s my favorite thing to show people to induce a mindfuck. I
hold for control and tap for escape. Then I hold out for a day or two and make
them go crazy before pasting them a link to the qmk docs page for the feature.

Edit: I won't hold out that long here. Here's the link to the feature to make
this possible for anyone interested:
[https://docs.qmk.fm/#/feature_advanced_keycodes?id=mod-
tap](https://docs.qmk.fm/#/feature_advanced_keycodes?id=mod-tap)

------
BiteCode_dev
My problem with such keyboard is that it assumes:

\- you will mostly work on the same place (or you accept the burden of
traveling with your keyboard and be "that guy" when you set it up. Personally
for the same hurdle, I prefer a secondary screen on the go)

\- you will mostly work on the same machine (or you have multiple keyboards,
one for each machine, and if you are in a data center or tech support, you
move with your keyboard).

\- you will not be exposed to many different keyboards, or layouts (e.g: you
don't need to go help users and customers on their machine that don't allow
plugging in, you don't teach, you don't use your phone a lot, etc). Switching
layouts all the time is a nightmare.

\- you can afford the initial lower productivity (e.g: you are not a
freelancer that needs a regular output).

\- cables and taking space are ok. Taste is taste, after all.

\- you have the money, and find it is better invested in this than say, a
better screen, mouse, graphic card, battery, etc. And renewal. Or you have
enough to have it all.

\- you are certain of this model is what you need or you can afford trying
many. There are many ergonomic keyboards. They are all special and expensive
in their own way.

\- your layout is available. I'm french, I use AZERTY. Or you are fine
learning to type with the wrong letters, or using stickers. I often buy/user
computers in/from the US, and just type from memory after setting the QWERTY
to an AZERTY layout. One of my friend like Dvorak (actually Bepo, the fr
version)...

\- nobody else than you will use your computer. Or you have several setup and
are ok to switch every time.

Now I understand that as it's my job, optimizing this key element of it makes
sense.

But hell, that's a lot of per-requisites.

~~~
steve19
> \- you can afford the lower productivity (e.g: you are not a freelancer that
> needs a regular output)

Why lower productivity? The person who created it thinks it will lower RSI
therefor increase productivity.

~~~
username90
Is RSI even that normal? I have never heard anyone talk about it in real life,
only in these threads does it seem like everyone has it.

~~~
aspaceman
It's really common for computer programmers. In every big corp I've been in,
there's usually one of 10 people who has an issue with it and uses some weird
keyboard. I have pretty bad RSI and it comes from just being a computer user
since I was 3 and developing bad habits along the way.

~~~
jandrese
My impression is that it hits data entry clerks a lot harder than programmers.
Programmers end up having to stop and take breaks frequently to think about
what they're doing.

A thought occurs: Are RSI issues worse with enterprise Java programmers and
other people who end up having to write tons of boilerplate around all of
their code?

~~~
adrianN
Java has excellent code completion, so you don't end up typing most of the
characters that end up in the source file.

------
Tharkun
If you're at all into custom keyboard making, and you haven't already, check
out the QMK firmware: [https://qmk.fm/](https://qmk.fm/) It makes it a lot
easier to deal with the non-standard layouts that you'll probably want to use.

------
cellis
10 months in with my Ultimate Hacker Keyboard, and I can confidently say that
it brings me more joy than any other electronic device I have, with maybe the
exception of my MBP. Before I had mild RSI here and there, but with the UHK I
have zero pain, ever. But it did take a lot of learning. I spent about 3
months feeling like an idiot ( hitting keys that weren't there, forgetting
which macro I'd mapped, typing an arrow in vim mode instead of hjkl, etc ), so
maybe it's not for everyone.

~~~
giulianob
I have an UHK now and love it so much that I bring it back and forth to work
everyday. Before the UHK I had a MS Sculpt and was a bit worried I wouldn't be
able to get used to the UHK so I used Karabiner to set up a mod later and
pretrained myself for a couple of weeks before pulling the trigger. Once I got
the UHK the learning curve wasn't bad at all. For people who maybe tried a
split keyboard and couldn't deal with it I would recommend the UHK since it's
mostly the same as a regular keyboard.

~~~
cellis
"That I bring it back and forth to work everyday".

Yeah, I said to hell with that, and just bought another one for work!

------
carapace
Check out the "Dactyl-ManuForm": [https://github.com/tshort/dactyl-
keyboard](https://github.com/tshort/dactyl-keyboard)

> a parameterized, split-hand, concave, columnar, ergonomic keyboard.

~~~
melling
How about a 3D-printed DataHand clone...

[https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard](https://github.com/JesusFreke/lalboard)

~~~
dahx4Eev
I’m building this. Care to share more about it? What key map do you use?

------
lexicality
I don't really understand why people want such tiny keyboards.

The most comfortable (and healthy!) way to type is to have your hands a
shoulderwidth apart so you don't have to compress your arms. I used an ergodox
infinity for a while which was fantastic in terms of back pain but terrible in
terms of everything else.

I currently use a Kinesis Advantage 1 which I'm tempted to dremel in half so I
can get proper separation. It's that or learn how the Dactyl is configured so
I can add enough keys to it to be useful :/

~~~
ZekeSulastin
Aren’t the Ergodoxen already two separate units it is there a cable
limitation? I was looking at buying one or a similar split keyboard for the
reason you stated.

~~~
Normal_gaussian
The Ergodox EZ is connected by a replaceable standard 3.5mm (male to male)
cable; I presume most ergodoxes are the same.

------
friggeri
Building keyboards is such a rewarding activity. Once you go down that rabbit
hole, you can go as deep as you want.

Here's one I did a couple of years ago, including a custom PCB:
[https://medium.com/@friggeri/the-new-blanck-
keyboard-c7563c4...](https://medium.com/@friggeri/the-new-blanck-
keyboard-c7563c4f9fa)

~~~
tracker1
Nice... although I have so much muscle memory now, I don't think I could live
with too much change (the spacebar in particular). Model-M for life! ;-)

~~~
clarry
A few weeks of regular use and practice will overcome muscle memory. You just
have to force yourself to never touch the old layout during that time. I think
that's where most people stumble, because adapting a new layout while trying
to do work is kinda frustrating.

------
mLuby
"New keys. What do you think."
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHt01D6rOLI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHt01D6rOLI)
(If American Psycho were about Programmers)

------
lleolin
I've wanted a left-side number pad for a long time. I've contended that (for
right-handed people) having a number pad on the right is poor ergonomics. If I
centered such a keyboard in front of me, then the number pad would be in the
way of my mouse. So I end up offsetting the keyboard several inches to the
left, which causes me to have to position my arms awkwardly in order to reach
the letters. I ended up using keyboards with no number pads at all (in my case
a Leopold FC660C).

~~~
leipert
I don’t have too much trouble with this just yet. But the next keyboard will
be without a num block, but I will add a
[https://www.ipv6buddy.com/](https://www.ipv6buddy.com/) to the right of my
mouse for all my hex and up address needs. (Not affiliated, just a fan)

------
wishinghand
I’m on the verge of doing this. I have an Ergodox EZ but I want thumb clusters
that are more useful, plus I’d like an encoder knob or two. The Kyria is close
but it doesn’t do RGB per key or have a thumb cluster that exactly matches
what I want. To the drawing board I go!

~~~
andrewflnr
TIL people put knobs on their keyboards. Do you generally have to configure
your own actions for knob events or is there software that supports them out
of the box?

~~~
wishinghand
If I get one, it'll be for volume. If I get two, the second will control
scrolling up and down.

~~~
samatman
I solve the latter with a Kensington trackball with a nice, generous scroll
wheel.

Pity it lacks a third mouse button. I've considered glomming a button to the
front (cable) side with some Sugru...

------
Yabood
I switched to Kinesis Advantage[1] ten years ago and never looked back. The
price tag is high, but worth it.

[1] [https://kinesis-ergo.com/products/#keyboards](https://kinesis-
ergo.com/products/#keyboards)

------
mastazi
I just realised that having the keypad on the left is actually a great idea,
solves the problem of wanting to keep the mouse closer to the main section of
the keyboard, while keeping the keypad. Also, the keypad placed on the left
can double as a cheaper alternative to those expensive gaming keypads. Anyone
who is not into DIY could achieve the same by combining a TKL (tenkeyless)
keyboard and a stand-alone USB numeric keypad.

------
raydev
Title should be modified to "build it instead (as long as you want a
mechanical keyboard).

I love Apple's Magic Keyboard 2 very much. I've looked around a lot, but
there's nothing out there with its super low profile that's also customizable.

My ideal keyboard would be a Magic Keyboard with a variety of key colors, RGB
lights, and the ability to split it in half so I can put my arms in a better
position.

------
m0zg
IMO the most reasonable upgrade for 99.999% of "normal" people is just a plain
$90 mechanical keyboard with Cherry switches. Any advantages of all this other
stuff are pretty incremental unless you are really spending your days typing
non-stop, which I'd wager is rare among software engineers.

------
hinkley
The keyboard I want is one where the surfaces can be separated from the
electronics so I can wash the damn thing.

I believe there was one gaming keyboard that worked this way (custom overlays)
and Logitech has one keyboard they claim is washable, but IIRC the keys are
mushy. No thanks.

------
esotericsean
I love the idea of a mechanical keyboard (and I would love to build one), but
I hate the thick keys and travel distance of each key press (I'm used to the
thing keys on my MacBook Pro). Are there any mechanical switches that are low-
travel?

~~~
Tokiin
If you want to test the waters instead of going with a full build at the
start, pre-built ones are starting to pop up from popular brands, ex.
[https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/peripheral/keyboards/sk...](https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/peripheral/keyboards/sk630/)

------
egypturnash
_This unusual layout arrived from a convoluted train of thought - switching
from a full-size to help with mouse-related RSI issues; missing the keypad;
and being left-handed._

Honestly as a righty putting the numpad on the left makes much more sense to
me now that everyone expects to have a mouse in easy reach of their dominant
hand.

Not that I've put this in practice myself; the only time I ever really need a
numpad in my life is on the very rare occasions I'm playing a roguelike.

------
qes
One day I'll likely be faced with making my own keyboard layout or losing the
wonderful Home/End/PgUp/PgDn/Delete layout I've been used to for years now on
a long discontinued keyboard model (I seriously have a box of spares under the
bed that I bought when they stopped being made).

I've found myself adaptable to the action of many keyboards, but there's some
layout features I'm very particular about.

~~~
aidenn0
Logitech still makes some keyboards with that distinctive large delete key,
but I'm in the US, so I don't know if they have an ISO layout version of it.

Example: [https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-
keyboard-k35...](https://www.logitech.com/en-us/product/wireless-
keyboard-k350#specification-tabular)

~~~
qes
Oh yeah, the Wave. Forgot about that one because I really don't care much for
curved layouts. Too many years typing on straight rows for this old man.

------
qwerty456127
I want a keyboard with an extra row of keys (I could use for additional
characters in a custom layout) between the letters and the numbers. Is this
possible?

~~~
Symbiote
Do you still want the F1-F12 keys?

If you don't, choose a keyboard with an appropriate physical arrangement (I
happen to have [1], which would work for this), and program it accordingly --
any mechanical keyboard lets you move the key mapping around. Optionally swap
the plastic key caps around. (You could also achieve this OS-side on any cheap
keyboard.)

If you want an additional row, you'll probably need to make the keyboard
yourself. The fashion seems to be to reduce the number of available keys
rather than increase it.

Depending what you want it for, an alternative is to add an extra modifier key
and use that modifier to get your extra characters, "FN+1" etc.

Programming the keyboard to send arbitrary characters depends on the OS and
the keyboard firmware. See [2].

[1]
[https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33006060286.html](https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33006060286.html)

[2]
[https://beta.docs.qmk.fm/features/feature_unicode](https://beta.docs.qmk.fm/features/feature_unicode)

~~~
oAlbe
Is it generally reliable to buy such an item from aliexpress? Don't you end up
with cheap version of more expensive keyboards?

Asking because I've been looking for a 75% (non-split) keyboard for a long
time, and it seems like aliexpress might have what I'm looking for. I'm just
worried about ending up with a knock off.

~~~
Symbiote
I found many people on Reddit had bought the YMDK "Split 75%" keyboard [1], so
I was confident that it was fine. YMDK has several designs on AliExpress. I've
also purchased from [https://kbdfans.com/](https://kbdfans.com/).

Yes, it's a cheaper version, but most of the additional cost was for things I
don't care about (aluminium case, geek cred) and the small disadvantage
(different default firmware that's less programmable) can be fixed by
reflashing, if I feel I need it.

Depending where you live, you might be hit with import taxes when buying
something direct from China.

From a blogger in China [2]:

> USA is thriving with crowd funded fancy keyboards that will become available
> in year 3000, or DIY keyboards that take a life-time to build.

> Meanwhile in China, sound ergonomic keyboards, are a dime a dozen, and 5
> times cheaper, and you can buy it NOW. Here's one of them.

[1]
[https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/search/?q=VE.A%...](https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/search/?q=VE.A%20clone&restrict_sr=1)

[2]
[http://xahlee.info/kbd/ly092_mini_keyboard.html](http://xahlee.info/kbd/ly092_mini_keyboard.html)

------
earenndil
Ehh

I have a kinesis advantage. There are some things I don't like about it, but I
doubt it would be practical for me to make my own keyboard with a bowl shape
like kinesis or maltron keyboards. And even if I could figure it out, they've
probably done research into exactly what kind of curvature works well for the
average hand, so whatever I made would be marginally less ergonomic.

~~~
weinzierl
First of all, if you are happy with the curvature of the Kinesis, the rest of
it is pretty hackable. There are various projects around it, one of the more
well known is a custom controller and custom software from Michael Stapelberg
(of i3 window manager fame)[1]. He gave a Google Tech Talk about the project
about a year ago[2].

Now, if you are not happy with the curvature things get more complicated and
I'm not aware of any projects that did a custom housing. That being said I
think it is not unrealistic. The biggest problem is to create a curved cover
with holes for the key switches. All the switches are mounted on flexible PCBs
which should adapt to your new case as long as the curvature is not too crazy.
So basically all you need to customize is the top part of the housing, the
rest can stay the same.

[1]
[https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2013-03-21-kinesis_custo...](https://michael.stapelberg.ch/posts/2013-03-21-kinesis_custom_controller/)

[2]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bX6iqqR3XY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bX6iqqR3XY)

------
frostburg
I find building keyboards very relaxing (here is my work so far:
[https://ereign.is/objects/](https://ereign.is/objects/)).

The split orthos are very usable and comfortable after a few hours of
acclimatization (I mostly use a commercial Topre board for now, I should
finish designing QMK layouts that better serve my needs).

~~~
LeftHandPath
Those look badass! Reminds me of some of the ergo keyboards that I looked at
in the past... only a lot more stylish.

The first one [0] reminds me of an old Learjet or Falcon 10 cockpit with the
lights lit up (see [1]). I really love the look of the wires you chose, as
well, with the knurled connector housing and heavy-duty threading for the
cords. The Nyquist Rev. 2.1 [2] looks like its fresh off the Nostromo.

Do you do your own CNC/laser engraving or are the keys OTS?

[0]: [https://ereign.is/objects/1.jpg](https://ereign.is/objects/1.jpg)

[1]:
[http://d16bsf97ryvc45.cloudfront.net/Media/2012/07/F10-sn176...](http://d16bsf97ryvc45.cloudfront.net/Media/2012/07/F10-sn176-Cockpit-268.jpg)

[2]: [https://ereign.is/objects/3.jpg](https://ereign.is/objects/3.jpg)

~~~
frostburg
The keycaps are all from group buys, nothing custom; unfortunately I don't
have the equipment to make them (there is no practical way to do double-shot
injection molding on a small scale, but dye sublimation on blanks could be
possible).

I went for a PCB with underglow leds for the "space cadet" replica keycaps
because unlike the others shining a in-switch led thru them wouldn't have
looked interesting.

------
zenexer
A number of commenters seem to be confused. This link is about computer
keyboards, not musical keyboards, as is immediately evident when viewing the
link. Please at least click the link before you comment on a Hacker News post.

------
agumonkey
As usual, madereth comes to mind:

[http://adereth.github.io/blog/2014/04/09/3d-printing-with-
cl...](http://adereth.github.io/blog/2014/04/09/3d-printing-with-clojure/)

[http://adereth.github.io/blog/2015/11/19/clojure-slash-
conj-...](http://adereth.github.io/blog/2015/11/19/clojure-slash-conj-talk-
on-3d-printing-keyboards/)

clojure wrapped openscad to live design your keyboard from emacs/cider.

'(have fun)

------
dblooman
I've always wanted a mechanical keyboard with the layout of the Apple magic
keyboard, couldn't get use to the windows key position and missed the fn key.
Always thought about building my own

~~~
joeblubaugh
I solve this by remapping keys in software and then swapping the key caps -
building your own is really fun but it isn’t required!

~~~
misterbuzzkill
That's not the problem (at least for me).

On an Apple keyboard the right edge of the X key aligns with the right edge of
the command key, which makes it easily accessible by your left thumb from a
resting position.

Most non-Apple keyboards use a layout where the command/alt key is half a key
width to the left. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it makes those keyboards
really uncomfortable for me to use.

------
memn0nis
Are mechanical keyboards that much "better" (I know this is subjective) than
normal laptop keyboards (I have a macbook pro). I'm considering buying one but
they are quite expensive...

~~~
npo9
It depends.

Mechanical keyboards last for about a decade, probably more. During which time
I’ll be at my main computer and typing about 20,000hours. So using a
mechanical keyboard less than a penny an hour.

So yeah, if something makes my time a little more comfortable I’d consider it
worth that cost.

~~~
2rsf
that doesn't answer the original question of

> Are mechanical keyboards that much "better"

~~~
npo9
It tries to quantify how much better a mechanical keyboard needs to be before
it is worth it, which is not much.

------
9HZZRfNlpR
What is the driver / chip to send the data over USB?

~~~
denimnerd42
teensy or similar.

he's using a
[https://candykeys.com/product/elite-c](https://candykeys.com/product/elite-c)
for this one.

~~~
sgroppino
That one only has 24 I/O ports... how is he multiplexing all the keys?

~~~
userbinator
The keys are arranged in a matrix. 24 I/Os would be enough for 12 * 12 = 144
keys.

------
zeroego
I just bought a Leopold FC980M mechanical keyboard with brown switches. I was
hesitant to buy into the hype for a long time. The keyboard cost $130 after
shipping, which is expensive for a keyboard in my opinion. But, I can
confidently say it was well worth the money. If you do a lot of typing I would
seriously recommend giving a mechanical keyboard, specifically a Leopold, a
shot.

------
amerine
I love custom keyboards. Sharing work like this is pretty inspiring. All I’ve
done is solder two ergodox’s from massdrop, but it was a blast.

~~~
souterrain
I find custom keyboards to be beautiful, but I have a very hard time using a
proper mechanical keyboard. I am not a proper touch-typist, and lack the
patience or free time to re-learn.

I tried with an Ergodox for some time, but it became so frustrating that it
interfered with my appreciation for the engineering and artistry of the thing.

Any suggestions relating to low-profile, short-travel switches/keycaps that
will work in kits found from massdrop, et al?

~~~
Normal_gaussian
I finally bought an Ergodox EZ just over a month ago, after suspecting a split
keyboard could solve some postural issues for a while (its practically
impossible to use a split keyboard whilst sitting lopsided).

I was a touch typist (two hands, and completely left handed), but I was "wasd"
centred.

Learning to home row type was by far the hardest thing about the keyboard. It
took me a week of 8/hr a day coding/writing to get back up to speed.
Thankfully I didn't have work commitments so could go all in - but on day 3 I
was so very close to quitting.

AFAICT it has completely sorted my tendency to move into a bad posture - and
for that I _know_ it is worth it.

But to spend 40hrs getting frustrated and working slowly? I couldn't justify
it without the posture problem.

------
drdeadringer
For many years, bordering on a decade, I have entertained the idea of
purchasing a keyboard from a particular Maker who partakes [now partook?] in
creating gothic, retro, and similar-style keyboards to the tune of several
thousand USD.

I have since not dipped in, but the marbles roll around in my mind.

To me, such purchase opportunities inspire both money-spending as well as
creative inspirations.

------
krm01
I've been fascinated with mechanical keyboards for a while. Have been thinking
of setting up a Slack channel to build a little community of enthusiast to
share their builds / questions / stuff that's for sale etc. Anyone interested
in joining such channel? Would love to set it up and connect with MK builders.
Send me an email if interested.

~~~
jakereps
If you're interested in joining one, there are Discord communities with
thousands of active users discussing those very things. One of the more
generic ones being MechKeys [1], but once you find some designers you like or
more niche communities there are dedicated servers most likely for those as
well.

[1] [https://discord.gg/mechkeys](https://discord.gg/mechkeys)

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robto
I'm currently held back from going into the mechanical keyboard world because
I'm hooked on the thinkpad trackpoint stick and mouse buttons below the
spacebar - I've got a thinkpad and two usb keyboards with the dot and mouse
buttons, and I use them on every computer I touch. Are there mechanical
keyboards with built in mouse functionality?

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ranger207
The Unicomp EnduraPro is a Model M with a trackpoint. Unicomp bought the
design, and IIRC the molds, for the Model M from IBM and/or Lenovo when they
got rid of them.

[https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro](https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/EnduraPro)

~~~
projektfu
A word of warning - I haven't found the trackpoint on it to be useful like it
was on a thinkpad. It's too jumpy at short distances and too slow at long
distances. I've since started using a Logitech M570 instead, as it reminds me
of the trackball I used to like before I had a Thinkpad.

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co_dh
[https://m.intl.taobao.com/detail/detail.html?id=535590071686...](https://m.intl.taobao.com/detail/detail.html?id=535590071686&spm=a2141.7631565.1.2_1)

This(pro) is what I am using now. Cheaper than ergodox ez but more beautiful.

You may need compile QMK yourself because it is flipped as compare to EZ

~~~
Symbiote
I'm not sure why this is downvoted, except perhaps because you linked to the
mobile site. Here's the normal site:
[https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=535590071686](https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=535590071686)
(site is in Chinese. This is an open-source design, so there's no problem that
a Chinese manufacturer is producing it.)

~~~
co_dh
Thank you.

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excalibur
Needs more Function keys

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HeWhoLurksLate
So build it.

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doublement
I don't have room in my apartment to even learn about building physical
objects! I'd love to turn my various Arduino doodads into coherent forms but
my workspace is a desktop.

~~~
HeWhoLurksLate
You don't need much to start out with. Check and see if there's a makerspace
nearby- they generally have A) space and B) people willing to teach and
demonstrate how things are done.

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overcast
What amazes me is the amount of money dumped into standard rectangular
keyboards, with zero ergonomics.

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spectramax
Am I the only one who doesn't quite fancy mechanical keys?

For me, Mechanical keyboards cause fatigue as the key travel, regardless of
which flavor of the key type, is too much. I prefer using Apple's new magic
keyboar with numpad. It has a 1mm or so travel and feels fantastic.

~~~
cjbprime
It's not just you. The main benefits are around aesthetics and reliability,
and sometimes comfort/feel. I'm a faster typer on chiclet keys than mechanical
(after years of practice on both), although I'm not sure I'd agree that the
chiclets are better for my hands -- presumably less key travel means more
force traveling into your fingertips.

But! There are low-profile switch mechanical keyboards now, and they're very
similar to your keyboard. They're still a little hard to find if you want
customization (like a preferred switch type).

~~~
spectramax
Could you please recommend if you know of any low profile mechanical
keyboards? Are they made by Cherry MX guys?

~~~
cjbprime
Sure, I'm using this one, it's great: [https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-
Keyboard-Extra-Thin-Switch...](https://www.amazon.com/Mechanical-Keyboard-
Extra-Thin-Switches-Rollover/dp/B0722GG88M)

Mostly they use Kailh switches, not Cherry MX but you probably can't tell the
difference.

~~~
ianhowson
+1 for the Havit. It's cheap and feels great.

It's noisy, though.

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ansible
Having the mouse in the right side of the keyboard puts it too far away.

My solution is to just mouse left-handed. As a right handed person, this does
take some training, but it had been worth it in the long run.

That, plus an ergonomic keyboard solved most of my problems.

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numlock86
> If You Can't Buy the Keyboard You Want, Build It Instead

Lucky me. I can just go into most stores and pick up a Cherry Board MX 3.0
with MX Black. :)

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13415
Interesting. I'd like to build my own keyboard, but my crafting skills are not
good enough for it. It's a pity how few tenkeyless mechanical keyboards with a
ctrl<->capslock dip switch there are, and most of them don't allow you to
install matching custom key caps. I'm currently using a Pok3r, which is okay,
but I really wish there were more custom keyboard options on the market.

~~~
cjbprime
> It's a pity how few tenkeyless mechanical keyboards with a ctrl<->capslock
> dip switch there are

I suppose it's because everyone knows how to do that mapping in their OS these
days. Many mechs even have reflashable firmware, if it came to that.

~~~
13415
If you boot several OSes, use ssh connections, and remote desktop connections,
this really becomes a hassle. It always breaks at the wrong moment with some
kind of OS update. Especially key remapping on Linux is a horrible experience
in the long run.

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k__
Is this like the audiophile movement?

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GhettoMaestro
Yes.

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leome
Or hire someone do it for you :)

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sedatk
Yeah you lost me at "Plate CNC cut from 1.5mm aluminum".

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Wistar
I did just that. I hired Darrell Fandrich to build it. He started with a 5'10"
case and soundboard built in Guangzhou, China but discarded the soundboard. We
chose a scale design by Lothar Schell and a Holy Grail stringing scale by
Fandrich with strings custom wound for the scale by Mapes in Kentucky. The
stringing scale included special Mapes aluminum strings that cover the first
six notes above the point where the overstring section begins—these are
designed to better blend the the overstring transition which can otherwise be
notchy. A custom soundboard was crafted in Boston from hand-picked straight-
grain Siberian spruce and milled to a diaphragmatic shape that mimics Steinway
soundboards where the center is about half an inch thick but, to enhance
liveness and sustain power, tapers down to about 1/4 inch at the edges where
it meets the case. A custom Renner action was added and outfitted with Abel
Royal Blue grand hammers. Key weighting and fine voicing conducted in stages
over the course of several months finished it off. That was in 1998-99 and it
is still the best keyboard I have ever used.

~~~
zenexer
This article is about computer keyboards, not musical keyboards. What you’ve
posted doesn’t make sense in the context of this topic.

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Wistar
Oh. It just said "keyboard you want." My mistake.

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zenexer
Did you click it? You’re supposed to click the link to view the article before
commenting. There’s a very clear picture of the keyboard above-the-fold.

~~~
Wistar
I was championing keyboard diversity.

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shmerl
I'd swaps Caps Lock and Ctrl.

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EDLEoGBo
Thanks for sharing the link. This is an awesome DIY.

