8 ms·

Coolest custom mechanical keyboards

60 points by bmcn2020 6y ago

visarga 6y ago
I'm wondering if sales of mechanical keyboards went up during the pandemic as everyone wfh.
- bmcn2020 6y ago
  Author here - I'm willing to bet online sales in general went up during the pandemic period. I can ask some of the guys I interviewed if they noticed any upticks in requests and can report back
  - bmcn2020 6y ago
    so there has been an uptick in demand from the community. Covid has blown up the hobby in terms of size, as many more people have joined this year. and group buys are sold out in seconds (some to flip it for 300% the price, others who actually love/want the board)
- MrApathy 6y ago
  The custom mechanical keyboard community has been slowly growing for years and at the high end figures probably weren't too impacted by WFH since the supply is as constrained as ever. The "good" stuff is run as group buys and typically sell out within minutes. Satisfaction75 had 1300 units available and sold out in just over 10 minutes, smaller runs like Iron 180 or Bauer 2 sold out in something like two minutes. Those examples are all from the fall. And this is not a hobby for the impatient. Group buys take your money now, but often don't deliver for 6 - 12 months. Some keyboards are unlimited (e.g., Grid 650), but that's typically not the norm.
  - bmcn2020 6y ago
    Very true. One of the creators I interviewed - the Nemui - told me it took him about a year to create just the design. Figure in the prototyping, IC, and group buy stages, and then quality checks after the boards have been sent, then shipping them out, it can take 2-3 years from creation to completion (where the customer has it in their hands), and like you said 6-12+ months from ordering the board to having it as a customer. But that's on the higher end, the "good" stuff. Lots of kits available now that can be assembled at home, or even pre-assembled.
lawn 6y ago
Pretty underwhelming article if I'm honest. It seems to focus more on looks than interesting technical choices. This dactyl-manuform with a built-in trackball is to me cooler than any of the keyboards in the article for instance: https://medium.com/@kincade/track-beast-build-log-a-trackball-dactyl-manuform-19eaa0880222 https://medium.com/@kincade/track-beast-build-log-a-trackbal...
- bmcn2020 6y ago
  Author here - thanks for the feedback. if I'd seen this board then I definitely would have included it in the article! Would you happen to have the contact info for the creator?
  - lawn 6y ago
    I found it on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/gqmyy2/track_beast_build_log_a_trackball_dactylmanuform/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/gqmyy2/t...
    - bmcn2020 6y ago
      great, thanks! i'm on the case
  - rocky1138 6y ago
    I found it frustrating that I couldn't click the images to see higher resolution versions.
- ecf 6y ago
  The full title of the article is “The 17 coolest custom mechanical keyboards we’ve ever seen”, not “The 17 most ergonomic mechanical keyboards we’ve ever seen”. Pretty disingenuous to judge an article’s merit over a subject it was never meant to be about.
- mech422 6y ago
  You really can't talk about 'tracktyl's and not mention qqurn! Not only does he have a really nice tracktyl design(1), but his repo's includ DM's with button, trackball, and trackstick/electric eraser thumb clusters. Really a great place to start if you want to make a Dactyl Manuform (DM) based keyboard. 1: https://imgur.com/a/TDE640k https://imgur.com/a/TDE640k 2: https://gitlab.com/keyboards1 https://gitlab.com/keyboards1
dmitshur 6y ago
Nice list and diverse list, at least in terms of looks. Would’ve liked to see the Keyboardio Atreus (https://keyboard.io/atreus https://keyboard.io/atreus) also included, what makes it stand out is a minimalistic and portable design.
audiometry 6y ago
My son is interested in mechanical keyboards. Has built maybe six. So consequently I get involved. I’m not very impressed. The prices are extremely rich on everything. There is an extreme social media marketing bs around everything. But the worst part for me is the PCB boards are mostly all coming from kbd fans (apparently one of the better makers) and their technical support is awful. Two different boards have developed problems which I’ve gone to great lengths to debug. The assistance from kbd is awful. Basically their answer was “here is a 12$ coupon, just buy a new $39 pcb”. And before fan boys attack me, both keyboards worked for a while and then developed problems. In the dz60 case somehow the cascading comm channel of the RGB stopped working. In the kbd67, far right column quit responding even though I trace the continuity to the atmel microprocessor. Cannot find a schematic for the kbd67 so I’m reduced to buying another so I can compare the circuits.... Another dislike is that full size keyboards are scorned and generally unavailable. Hey check it out, I’m a full sized adult doing full size job with my pc, so I actually do use the number pad, etc. Overall bad value for money and too much social posing.
- jackewiehose 6y ago
  > Another dislike is that full size keyboards are scorned and generally unavailable. Hey check it out, I’m a full sized adult doing full size job with my pc, so I actually do use the number pad, etc. I don't understand this trend for less and less keys. I get that it can be nice to have more room on the desktop but why would you give up the arrow- and F-keys. They are so useful and the space benefit without them is marginal.
  - scaladev 6y ago
    I can't remember the last time I used the arrow keys. It's either hjkl, or Ctrl-{a,e,f,b,n,p}, depending on the application.
  - thesuitonym 6y ago
    Like all fashion items, usability comes second to looks.
shrimp_emoji 6y ago
>no numpads All unusable
IgorPartola 6y ago
I am kind of interested in a mechanical keyboard but also really don’t want to give up my wireless solar powered capability that my Logitech has. Plus the prices for these things are just outrageous.
csjr 6y ago
Maybe I’m missing something but last time I checked there was no ergonomic keyboard cheaper than 300 USD. Is that really the case? Do they become (super) less expensive when DIY?
- lawn 6y ago
  It depends on what kind of ergonomic keyboard you want I suppose. You could get an assembled 36-key GergoPlex for $160[0]. And I do think it's cheap to build a dactyl-manuform yourself if you have access to a 3D-printer. [0]: https://www.gboards.ca/product/gergoplex https://www.gboards.ca/product/gergoplex
- jhap 6y ago
  Do you mean mechanical ergonomic keyboard? I’ve been enjoying my Microsoft sculpt ergonomic keyboard (~$100)
- signa11 6y ago
  umm, Das Keyboard 4, is pretty decent at approx 170usd...
- michaelbuckbee 6y ago
  You might want to check out the Kinesis Freestyle - https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ With all the options (larger cable in between the halves, risers, etc.) it's closer to $200 than the $99 base price but still a tremendous value. An added benefit over most other super ergonomic keyboards is that the design is close enough to standard QWERTY that it's pretty trivial to get going. I've a few friends who have really struggled with the more aggressively altered layouts of some of the other designs.
- gorbachev 6y ago
  The most expensive single part of the custom mechanical keyboards is the case. If you want a high quality aluminum case, those usually double or triple the price of the keyboard. Off-the-shelf options that use plastic cases are probably your best option to minimize costs. Kinesis makes a few models that are pretty nice. Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is just under $300 (w/out shipping). X-Bows is around $200. DIY boards with sandwich case is the cheapest option, but they don't look or feel anywhere near as robust as boards with full case design. You also need to factor in cost of tools to assemble one, and switches and keycaps, so it actually ends up being pretty close to the examples above. I'm quite fond of the kits sold by https://www.littlekeyboards.com/ https://www.littlekeyboards.com/ They have a good selection of some of the more popular split ergonomic keyboard designs mostly from Japanese keyboard designers with different kits, incl. different case options. I believe they will also assemble the keyboards for you at extra cost.
aasasd 6y ago
As usual, most of them have negative ergonomics compared to a cheap keyboard. Because the wrists will be more crooked due to the keyboard's height. In addition to the other half-dozen problems that keyboards seem to pass down as heirlooms.
- martijn_himself 6y ago
  Exactly this. I bought a mechanical keyboard and the ergonomics are so atrocious I had pain in wrists and shoulders after a single day of use, and had to go back to a cheap Dell keyboard that came with a refurbished PC I bought years ago.
mseidl 6y ago
I want one of these! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard
vehemenz 6y ago
Some of these are cool, but I have a few objections to these being the "coolest". These keyboards all appear to have Cherry MX (or clone) switches. So yes, they are custom, but they are somewhat uniform in the switches themselves. 60% keyboards are a gimmick. The addition of arrow keys and a nav cluster adds an inch to the physical footprint and doesn't affect ergonomics or portability enough to matter. Unless you routinely type in Japanese, Japanese legends do not add anything but visual clutter. I don't think any of these are office friendly. Too many bright colors and noisy switches. This comes down to preference I suppose, but from the /r/mkb subreddit it seems that the demographics of mechanical keyboard community is mostly guys in their teens to mid-twenties and mostly gamers, not programmers and power users. I think it's cool that mechanical keyboards are coming back, but it's unfortunate that stock/custom options are so limited. Maybe this will improve as the community grows up.
- MivLives 6y ago
  This seems to be just a recycling list of a lot of the top posts on /r/mkb from the last few months. I'm honestly surprised it's on HN. You'd be surprised how many people are programming on these. The current switches I'm using are about the same volume as rubber domes, and is the keyboard I plan to take back to the office.
  - vehemenz 6y ago
    I know people are programming on them. More people race modified Honda Civics than Ferraris.
    - StavrosK 6y ago
      And we all know that the quality of the code is directly proportional to the quality of the keyboard. That's why nobody ever wrote a good novel with a Bic.
      - vehemenz 6y ago
        Are you saying Honda Civics are poor quality or that they're built for racing? It's analogy. You might need to put on your conceptual analysis hat.
5tefan 6y ago
Sadly these minimal layouts only really work with something resembling ANSI Layout. I would need ISO for German and then it quickly stops making any sense. Also steep learning curves and layering is less efficient for me than a standard keyboard. My job involves text, numbers, some coding. I need all the keys available. I love them but can't really use them. I ended up with a Realforce Topre full size - very nice tbh.
- bweitzman 6y ago
  I like using the layering with my Ergodox keyboard because it helps keep special characters I frequently use (parens, braces, brackets, etc) right under my fingers in a relaxes position. It alleviated a lot of finger strain I was feeling reaching for the keys (and reaching for shift especially) so frequently. Though I do have a standard layout with the number/symbols row available as well.
xudongz 6y ago
This past year I designed the ErgoBlue (https://www.xudongz.com/blog/2020/ergoblue/ https://www.xudongz.com/blog/2020/ergoblue/), a split ErgoDox keyboard that is wireless and solar powered. I'm obviously biased but I think it's a pretty unique build. The interest check ran a few weeks ago and the group buy will run in a few weeks (group buys are essentially preorders where a certain number of quantity is required in order to achieve some economies of scale so it's not prohibitively expensive).
- StavrosK 6y ago
  I got a wireless split keyboard "Centromere v2" and have had lots of issues with the connection. Keys will get stuck, latency will cause keys to be pressed in the wrong order, sometimes one half of the keyboard will stop working... I'm designing my won Centromere-alike right now, but I'll make it wired (and I'll print test layouts to see what fits my fingers better). Have you not had similar experiences with wireless keyboards? I love the layout but am so tired by the constant problems with wireless, especially when the keyboard always sits on the same spot on my desk.
  - xudongz 6y ago
    I've been using my new keyboard for a few months now and haven't had any latency issues. Most of the newer custom wireless keyboards run ZMK (https://zmkfirmware.dev/ https://zmkfirmware.dev/) and latency issues are uncommon. If you are interested in making your design wireless, consider joining the Discord.
    - StavrosK 6y ago
      I've been thinking about that, I've heard from a friend that has had zero issues with ZMK too, but I just don't need wireless. However, I might make my design wireless-friendly, so down the line I can unplug the Arduino and drop in a ZMK-compatible controller. I'll join the Discord, thanks!
bloopernova 6y ago
While not exactly a custom build, this Roccat keyboard uses optical switches: https://en.roccat.org/Keyboards/Vulcan-TKL-Pro https://en.roccat.org/Keyboards/Vulcan-TKL-Pro Similarly, there's several Razer mice that use optical switches for their main 2 buttons. ("Optical" here being a switch that is tripped when an object breaks the beam of light)
hackersword 6y ago
As someone who uses a computer professionally and for fun, upwards of 12+ hrs a day for 20+ years, investing in good quality tools of your trade are worth it. Mechanical Keyboards are nice obviously for the tactile difference and impact on typing speed and sensitivity, but for me the game changer was switching to a split keyboard for the ergonomics. I have always had shoulder pain, and tightness in my triceps. No matter how much I worked on ergonomics .. mouse position, height, etc. I have very broad shoulders/chest, so putting my hands on the keyboard always bowed my chest in and rotated both shoulders slightly forward. I use the UltimateHackingKeyboard (UHK) now for over a year, and my shoulder and arm pain have all but disappeared. The UHK comes with a relatively short 3-4 inch cable to connect the two halves, and I found that was even to close together. I've since replace with a 12 inch cable and each half of the keyboard sits directly in front of the corresponding shoulder. This lets my arms, pecs,triceps, and back muscles all be in a relaxed position.
- mech422 6y ago
  Split keyboards are awesome! I'm trying to work up a custom DM 'tracktyl' set with a right hand trackball for the thumb cluster.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
dfxm12 6y ago
The Creative but bizarre (and impractical) section is amazing. I need a hoagie space bar now!
wrsh07 6y ago
I'm very much mechanical keyboard enthusiast-adjacent. I've used a kinesis advantage for years (highly recommend; get your employer to pay for it), and have pretty much never dabbled in other keyboards My wife has a mechanical keyboard (with arrows/nav, no numpad) but generally prefers the Microsoft ergo offering (non mechanical) for its... ergonomics I recently bought a friend's group buy [1], and I'm excited! But while it looks great and will probably feel good, I imagine it will primarily be for playing games [2] or decoration. And at the price point of high end mechanical keyboards, it's not cheap decoration. Of course, it won't look or feel cheap either. The subculture is cool, though. A lot of people here write it off as an expensive hobby, but successful keyboard designers can quit their day jobs. Group buys are the norm because these keyboards are being made professionally in factories where they need to know how many to make. You can't go back and make one more after the run. They are so limited in stock because the designers can't afford to buy more than a few extras (sometimes dozens of extras) to sell after the group buy is over. Yes, all of that leads to the "hype culture" if you're on the outside, there's a real cred to getting in on a limited run. But like anything, it makes more sense the more you know about it. (Of course, you might still end up leaving the hobby feeling like it was a waste of money!) [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/k6sv12/gb_nk65_olivia_edition_is_live/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/k6sv12... [2] a lot of hot keys in games don't make sense for the kinesis advantage if your right hand is on a mouse
jaclaz 6y ago
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if I had to spend an awful amount of money on a keyboard, it would be on one of these: https://datamancer.com/product-category/?catid=/keyboards/ https://datamancer.com/product-category/?catid=/keyboards/ otherwise my good, ol' IBM M keyboard remains hard to beat ...
xellisx 6y ago
I've been working on my own. Due to current world situation, work has been stalled on the build. https://gitlab.com/EllisGL/glt-esokb1/-/tree/development https://gitlab.com/EllisGL/glt-esokb1/-/tree/development
- xellisx 6y ago
  Also another related project that needs some help: https://github.com/ellisgl/keyboard-schema https://github.com/ellisgl/keyboard-schema

60 points by bmcn2020 6y ago

visarga 6y ago

I'm wondering if sales of mechanical keyboards went up during the pandemic as everyone wfh.

bmcn2020 6y ago
Author here - I'm willing to bet online sales in general went up during the pandemic period. I can ask some of the guys I interviewed if they noticed any upticks in requests and can report back
- bmcn2020 6y ago
  so there has been an uptick in demand from the community. Covid has blown up the hobby in terms of size, as many more people have joined this year. and group buys are sold out in seconds (some to flip it for 300% the price, others who actually love/want the board)
MrApathy 6y ago
The custom mechanical keyboard community has been slowly growing for years and at the high end figures probably weren't too impacted by WFH since the supply is as constrained as ever. The "good" stuff is run as group buys and typically sell out within minutes. Satisfaction75 had 1300 units available and sold out in just over 10 minutes, smaller runs like Iron 180 or Bauer 2 sold out in something like two minutes. Those examples are all from the fall. And this is not a hobby for the impatient. Group buys take your money now, but often don't deliver for 6 - 12 months. Some keyboards are unlimited (e.g., Grid 650), but that's typically not the norm.
- bmcn2020 6y ago
  Very true. One of the creators I interviewed - the Nemui - told me it took him about a year to create just the design. Figure in the prototyping, IC, and group buy stages, and then quality checks after the boards have been sent, then shipping them out, it can take 2-3 years from creation to completion (where the customer has it in their hands), and like you said 6-12+ months from ordering the board to having it as a customer. But that's on the higher end, the "good" stuff. Lots of kits available now that can be assembled at home, or even pre-assembled.

lawn 6y ago

Pretty underwhelming article if I'm honest. It seems to focus more on looks than interesting technical choices. This dactyl-manuform with a built-in trackball is to me cooler than any of the keyboards in the article for instance: https://medium.com/@kincade/track-beast-build-log-a-trackball-dactyl-manuform-19eaa0880222 https://medium.com/@kincade/track-beast-build-log-a-trackbal...

bmcn2020 6y ago
Author here - thanks for the feedback. if I'd seen this board then I definitely would have included it in the article! Would you happen to have the contact info for the creator?
- lawn 6y ago
  I found it on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/gqmyy2/track_beast_build_log_a_trackball_dactylmanuform/ https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/comments/gqmyy2/t...
  - bmcn2020 6y ago
    great, thanks! i'm on the case
- rocky1138 6y ago
  I found it frustrating that I couldn't click the images to see higher resolution versions.
ecf 6y ago
The full title of the article is “The 17 coolest custom mechanical keyboards we’ve ever seen”, not “The 17 most ergonomic mechanical keyboards we’ve ever seen”. Pretty disingenuous to judge an article’s merit over a subject it was never meant to be about.
mech422 6y ago
You really can't talk about 'tracktyl's and not mention qqurn! Not only does he have a really nice tracktyl design(1), but his repo's includ DM's with button, trackball, and trackstick/electric eraser thumb clusters. Really a great place to start if you want to make a Dactyl Manuform (DM) based keyboard. 1: https://imgur.com/a/TDE640k https://imgur.com/a/TDE640k 2: https://gitlab.com/keyboards1 https://gitlab.com/keyboards1

dmitshur 6y ago

Nice list and diverse list, at least in terms of looks. Would’ve liked to see the Keyboardio Atreus (https://keyboard.io/atreus https://keyboard.io/atreus) also included, what makes it stand out is a minimalistic and portable design.

audiometry 6y ago

My son is interested in mechanical keyboards. Has built maybe six. So consequently I get involved. I’m not very impressed. The prices are extremely rich on everything. There is an extreme social media marketing bs around everything. But the worst part for me is the PCB boards are mostly all coming from kbd fans (apparently one of the better makers) and their technical support is awful. Two different boards have developed problems which I’ve gone to great lengths to debug. The assistance from kbd is awful. Basically their answer was “here is a 12$ coupon, just buy a new $39 pcb”. And before fan boys attack me, both keyboards worked for a while and then developed problems. In the dz60 case somehow the cascading comm channel of the RGB stopped working. In the kbd67, far right column quit responding even though I trace the continuity to the atmel microprocessor. Cannot find a schematic for the kbd67 so I’m reduced to buying another so I can compare the circuits.... Another dislike is that full size keyboards are scorned and generally unavailable. Hey check it out, I’m a full sized adult doing full size job with my pc, so I actually do use the number pad, etc. Overall bad value for money and too much social posing.

jackewiehose 6y ago
> Another dislike is that full size keyboards are scorned and generally unavailable. Hey check it out, I’m a full sized adult doing full size job with my pc, so I actually do use the number pad, etc. I don't understand this trend for less and less keys. I get that it can be nice to have more room on the desktop but why would you give up the arrow- and F-keys. They are so useful and the space benefit without them is marginal.
- scaladev 6y ago
  I can't remember the last time I used the arrow keys. It's either hjkl, or Ctrl-{a,e,f,b,n,p}, depending on the application.
- thesuitonym 6y ago
  Like all fashion items, usability comes second to looks.

shrimp_emoji 6y ago

>no numpads All unusable

IgorPartola 6y ago

I am kind of interested in a mechanical keyboard but also really don’t want to give up my wireless solar powered capability that my Logitech has. Plus the prices for these things are just outrageous.

csjr 6y ago

Maybe I’m missing something but last time I checked there was no ergonomic keyboard cheaper than 300 USD. Is that really the case? Do they become (super) less expensive when DIY?

lawn 6y ago
It depends on what kind of ergonomic keyboard you want I suppose. You could get an assembled 36-key GergoPlex for $160[0]. And I do think it's cheap to build a dactyl-manuform yourself if you have access to a 3D-printer. [0]: https://www.gboards.ca/product/gergoplex https://www.gboards.ca/product/gergoplex
jhap 6y ago
Do you mean mechanical ergonomic keyboard? I’ve been enjoying my Microsoft sculpt ergonomic keyboard (~$100)
signa11 6y ago
umm, Das Keyboard 4, is pretty decent at approx 170usd...
michaelbuckbee 6y ago
You might want to check out the Kinesis Freestyle - https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ https://kinesis-ergo.com/shop/freestyle2-for-pc-us/ With all the options (larger cable in between the halves, risers, etc.) it's closer to $200 than the $99 base price but still a tremendous value. An added benefit over most other super ergonomic keyboards is that the design is close enough to standard QWERTY that it's pretty trivial to get going. I've a few friends who have really struggled with the more aggressively altered layouts of some of the other designs.
gorbachev 6y ago
The most expensive single part of the custom mechanical keyboards is the case. If you want a high quality aluminum case, those usually double or triple the price of the keyboard. Off-the-shelf options that use plastic cases are probably your best option to minimize costs. Kinesis makes a few models that are pretty nice. Ultimate Hacking Keyboard is just under $300 (w/out shipping). X-Bows is around $200. DIY boards with sandwich case is the cheapest option, but they don't look or feel anywhere near as robust as boards with full case design. You also need to factor in cost of tools to assemble one, and switches and keycaps, so it actually ends up being pretty close to the examples above. I'm quite fond of the kits sold by https://www.littlekeyboards.com/ https://www.littlekeyboards.com/ They have a good selection of some of the more popular split ergonomic keyboard designs mostly from Japanese keyboard designers with different kits, incl. different case options. I believe they will also assemble the keyboards for you at extra cost.

aasasd 6y ago

As usual, most of them have negative ergonomics compared to a cheap keyboard. Because the wrists will be more crooked due to the keyboard's height. In addition to the other half-dozen problems that keyboards seem to pass down as heirlooms.

martijn_himself 6y ago
Exactly this. I bought a mechanical keyboard and the ergonomics are so atrocious I had pain in wrists and shoulders after a single day of use, and had to go back to a cheap Dell keyboard that came with a refurbished PC I bought years ago.

mseidl 6y ago

I want one of these! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space-cadet_keyboard

vehemenz 6y ago

Some of these are cool, but I have a few objections to these being the "coolest". These keyboards all appear to have Cherry MX (or clone) switches. So yes, they are custom, but they are somewhat uniform in the switches themselves. 60% keyboards are a gimmick. The addition of arrow keys and a nav cluster adds an inch to the physical footprint and doesn't affect ergonomics or portability enough to matter. Unless you routinely type in Japanese, Japanese legends do not add anything but visual clutter. I don't think any of these are office friendly. Too many bright colors and noisy switches. This comes down to preference I suppose, but from the /r/mkb subreddit it seems that the demographics of mechanical keyboard community is mostly guys in their teens to mid-twenties and mostly gamers, not programmers and power users. I think it's cool that mechanical keyboards are coming back, but it's unfortunate that stock/custom options are so limited. Maybe this will improve as the community grows up.

MivLives 6y ago
This seems to be just a recycling list of a lot of the top posts on /r/mkb from the last few months. I'm honestly surprised it's on HN. You'd be surprised how many people are programming on these. The current switches I'm using are about the same volume as rubber domes, and is the keyboard I plan to take back to the office.
- vehemenz 6y ago
  I know people are programming on them. More people race modified Honda Civics than Ferraris.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    And we all know that the quality of the code is directly proportional to the quality of the keyboard. That's why nobody ever wrote a good novel with a Bic.
    - vehemenz 6y ago
      Are you saying Honda Civics are poor quality or that they're built for racing? It's analogy. You might need to put on your conceptual analysis hat.

5tefan 6y ago

Sadly these minimal layouts only really work with something resembling ANSI Layout. I would need ISO for German and then it quickly stops making any sense. Also steep learning curves and layering is less efficient for me than a standard keyboard. My job involves text, numbers, some coding. I need all the keys available. I love them but can't really use them. I ended up with a Realforce Topre full size - very nice tbh.

bweitzman 6y ago
I like using the layering with my Ergodox keyboard because it helps keep special characters I frequently use (parens, braces, brackets, etc) right under my fingers in a relaxes position. It alleviated a lot of finger strain I was feeling reaching for the keys (and reaching for shift especially) so frequently. Though I do have a standard layout with the number/symbols row available as well.

xudongz 6y ago

This past year I designed the ErgoBlue (https://www.xudongz.com/blog/2020/ergoblue/ https://www.xudongz.com/blog/2020/ergoblue/), a split ErgoDox keyboard that is wireless and solar powered. I'm obviously biased but I think it's a pretty unique build. The interest check ran a few weeks ago and the group buy will run in a few weeks (group buys are essentially preorders where a certain number of quantity is required in order to achieve some economies of scale so it's not prohibitively expensive).

StavrosK 6y ago
I got a wireless split keyboard "Centromere v2" and have had lots of issues with the connection. Keys will get stuck, latency will cause keys to be pressed in the wrong order, sometimes one half of the keyboard will stop working... I'm designing my won Centromere-alike right now, but I'll make it wired (and I'll print test layouts to see what fits my fingers better). Have you not had similar experiences with wireless keyboards? I love the layout but am so tired by the constant problems with wireless, especially when the keyboard always sits on the same spot on my desk.
- xudongz 6y ago
  I've been using my new keyboard for a few months now and haven't had any latency issues. Most of the newer custom wireless keyboards run ZMK (https://zmkfirmware.dev/ https://zmkfirmware.dev/) and latency issues are uncommon. If you are interested in making your design wireless, consider joining the Discord.
  - StavrosK 6y ago
    I've been thinking about that, I've heard from a friend that has had zero issues with ZMK too, but I just don't need wireless. However, I might make my design wireless-friendly, so down the line I can unplug the Arduino and drop in a ZMK-compatible controller. I'll join the Discord, thanks!

bloopernova 6y ago

While not exactly a custom build, this Roccat keyboard uses optical switches: https://en.roccat.org/Keyboards/Vulcan-TKL-Pro https://en.roccat.org/Keyboards/Vulcan-TKL-Pro Similarly, there's several Razer mice that use optical switches for their main 2 buttons. ("Optical" here being a switch that is tripped when an object breaks the beam of light)

hackersword 6y ago

As someone who uses a computer professionally and for fun, upwards of 12+ hrs a day for 20+ years, investing in good quality tools of your trade are worth it. Mechanical Keyboards are nice obviously for the tactile difference and impact on typing speed and sensitivity, but for me the game changer was switching to a split keyboard for the ergonomics. I have always had shoulder pain, and tightness in my triceps. No matter how much I worked on ergonomics .. mouse position, height, etc. I have very broad shoulders/chest, so putting my hands on the keyboard always bowed my chest in and rotated both shoulders slightly forward. I use the UltimateHackingKeyboard (UHK) now for over a year, and my shoulder and arm pain have all but disappeared. The UHK comes with a relatively short 3-4 inch cable to connect the two halves, and I found that was even to close together. I've since replace with a 12 inch cable and each half of the keyboard sits directly in front of the corresponding shoulder. This lets my arms, pecs,triceps, and back muscles all be in a relaxed position.

mech422 6y ago
Split keyboards are awesome! I'm trying to work up a custom DM 'tracktyl' set with a right hand trackball for the thumb cluster.

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dfxm12 6y ago

The Creative but bizarre (and impractical) section is amazing. I need a hoagie space bar now!

wrsh07 6y ago

I'm very much mechanical keyboard enthusiast-adjacent. I've used a kinesis advantage for years (highly recommend; get your employer to pay for it), and have pretty much never dabbled in other keyboards My wife has a mechanical keyboard (with arrows/nav, no numpad) but generally prefers the Microsoft ergo offering (non mechanical) for its... ergonomics I recently bought a friend's group buy [1], and I'm excited! But while it looks great and will probably feel good, I imagine it will primarily be for playing games [2] or decoration. And at the price point of high end mechanical keyboards, it's not cheap decoration. Of course, it won't look or feel cheap either. The subculture is cool, though. A lot of people here write it off as an expensive hobby, but successful keyboard designers can quit their day jobs. Group buys are the norm because these keyboards are being made professionally in factories where they need to know how many to make. You can't go back and make one more after the run. They are so limited in stock because the designers can't afford to buy more than a few extras (sometimes dozens of extras) to sell after the group buy is over. Yes, all of that leads to the "hype culture" if you're on the outside, there's a real cred to getting in on a limited run. But like anything, it makes more sense the more you know about it. (Of course, you might still end up leaving the hobby feeling like it was a waste of money!) [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/k6sv12/gb_nk65_olivia_edition_is_live/ https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/comments/k6sv12... [2] a lot of hot keys in games don't make sense for the kinesis advantage if your right hand is on a mouse

jaclaz 6y ago

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but if I had to spend an awful amount of money on a keyboard, it would be on one of these: https://datamancer.com/product-category/?catid=/keyboards/ https://datamancer.com/product-category/?catid=/keyboards/ otherwise my good, ol' IBM M keyboard remains hard to beat ...

xellisx 6y ago

I've been working on my own. Due to current world situation, work has been stalled on the build. https://gitlab.com/EllisGL/glt-esokb1/-/tree/development https://gitlab.com/EllisGL/glt-esokb1/-/tree/development

xellisx 6y ago
Also another related project that needs some help: https://github.com/ellisgl/keyboard-schema https://github.com/ellisgl/keyboard-schema