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Comment by politelemon | Hacker News Reader

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...

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

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

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There's also a fairly new subreddit, /r/ErgoMechKeyboards/, which only has ergonomic keyboards (simply split ones, or more usually with staggered columns rather than rows, and often a 3D shape).

Fewer fancy, expensive keycap sets, and more works-in-progress with wires sticking out.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ErgoMechKeyboards/

Thanks! That's neat.

Can any of these be bought? I love mechanical keyboards, but I can only use an ergonomical keyboard

I use a kinesis advantage2 with brown cherry keyswitches. (I think it's available with others) - my only complaint is that it's kinda giant.

Overall, it's pretty great; if you don't want to build your own, and if you don't want to change your keyboard, it's the best choice because it has been in production since the early '90s with few changes to layout; for me? this is big- changing layout is a big deal. The kinesis has been in production long enough that I am pretty confident I won't have to learn a new layout until keyboards go by the wayside

It's probably the least portable keyboard I've owned, though.

Oh yeah, link to buy:

https://kinesis-ergo.com/keyboards/advantage2-keyboard/

You can get them next-day from amazon, too, which is nice for essential parts such as these.

Seconded. I have two of these, one for work and one for home.

Regular keyboards start giving me fatigue after 20–30 minutes, but I type on these all day, all week without issue.

Some cool features:

- you can use arrow keys without moving your hands from the home row!

- with correct posture, it’s possible to hit every key on the keyboard without moving my wrists (though I have long hands)

- fully remappable keys, built-in

- includes some extra key caps so you can customize the layout in the thumb area

- it has a “numpad mode” that can turn the right-hand side of the keyboard into an ergonomic numpad

I use the Advantage2 as well, and now have two so I don't have to lug one around to my second location. But when I got my first one, it sat for almost a year because I couldn't be bothered to learn how to type on it. I'm glad I finally took the plunge though because it has relieved my hand/wrist problems and I love typing on it.

Link dump ahead...

https://falba.tech/ and https://keycapsss.com/ are two suppliers in Europe, both sell kits and the first sells premade keyboards.

There are small companies selling prebuilt keyboards and kits elsewhere, but I don't know them offhand, except for https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33006060286.html from China (as I have one). There's also https://www.reddit.com/r/mechmarket where there are people that will build the keyboard for a fee, or sell keyboards second hand.

Then there's the larger operations like https://ergodox-ez.com/ and https://ultimatehackingkeyboard.com/ only selling built keyboards.

The Reddit wiki is a reasonable reference, and the Xah Lee site it links to: https://www.reddit.com/r/MechanicalKeyboards/wiki/buying_gui...

Thanks!

Most recent models can only be found in kits or even parts you need to source. Some people sell assembled keyboards so you can limit yourself to those, but at this point your best bet is to buy a kit or the parts and find someone to assemble it. It's really not difficult to do if you can solder and have a bit of patience, if that's a design with a PCB. Handwiring is more challenging.

One model that's easy to find assembled is the Ergodox. But it's been improved by new models like the Iris, Corne, Gergo, Kyria, Lily58…

Note that you can get an assembled Gergo. I did, knowing me a kit would still be inside a box waiting for some “time”.

I've been using a Kinesis Freestyle Pro for over a year. The wristpad they sell is pretty bad, so I attached the wristpad from my Matias Ergo Pro (the keyboard kept breaking).

It's fantastic and highly recommend it.

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...

I agree especially because I use a mechanical keyboard as well, and it makes convincing someone to bring it more difficult. Some folks are really unreasonable with the sounds that they expect others to not be able to hear, and I think it ruins it for the rest of us.

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.

You haven't heard a VT100 with the keyclick on then or a IBM Selctrix :-)

A machinal bucking spring keyboard is not that loud compared to the average open plan office.

I've banned such keyboards in my office (open space) and I've heard about some coworking places that banned them as well.

I work in a lab where most people have mechanical keyboards (including myself). Yeah, it's a little noisy, but that's nothing compared to the volume at which people talk, and how they frequently have simultaneous unrelated loud conversations within the same small space.

The last time I dropped by /r/mechanicalkeyboards it was full of people that thought Cherry MX was the be-all end-all rather than just a brand name and a poor substitute for something like a proper buckling spring switch. Is that still the case?

Have you been following the 'new Model F' keyboards? https://www.modelfkeyboards.com/ - it's cool to see how much interest there is in them.

Got to play with one of these (pre-production sample as I recall) at a meetup. Wonderful key feel, put in my order a few days later and have been patiently waiting since.

Ha, I ordered mine more than two years ago. However, it looks like the first orders have just started shipping!

If there's something that exemplifies the thread title, it's this project.

I would recommend Deskthority[0] for a much more diverse and vintage keyboard focused audience.

They also have a very in depth wiki on just about any known key switch and keyboard.

[0]: https://deskthority.net/

People gravitate toward MX equivalent switches because you can customize them. You can mimic or surpass the topre experience which has been the gold standard. There’s also a thriving niche market for keycaps which is very much focused on MX compatibility.

I'm curious what you think is superior to Topre.

I've tried most of the MX style switches, and none come close.

Maybe it's just a matter of taste, or maybe you have some original old keyboard like the Model M in mind. I've good a Unicomp Spacesaver and a keyboard with Cherry MX Red switches and I've got to confess that I prefer the latter. Both are good but the Cherry switches feel "snappier" in a very pleasant way.

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