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Comment by ch_123 | Hacker News Reader

Unicomp (the company that took over IBM/Lexmark's buckling spring tooling) makes a Sun layout keyboard which is also worth mentioning for those who like a larger keyboard: https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/40PSA

(Not affiliated with Unicomp, I'm just a fan of the Sun keyboard layout)

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Is it the same 1980's quality, as in you can defend yourself with one if necessary? I have a 1986 M that's still going strong with USB adapter.

I have two of them and while I like them, they are not the same build quality. In fact, there is a perceptible difference between an older and new one in terms of the weight including thickness of the plastic casing. Functionally however, I have had no problems and would definitely recommend.

I would say there is a reasonable dip in quality. It's lighter than my old Model M's and the plastic is not as nice, but all in all its still a very high quality keyboard compared against others today.

My biggest knock against it is that my keycaps are... strangely printed. The letters are not perfectly aligned with each other vertically, so that have kind of a jagged look. That could just be a problem with mine however, it's been a couple years since I bought it. Other than that however I love it.

Here's a review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-A-vRZth7SI . The Unicomps also feature in this overview of the Model Ms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5H58uudo1Y .

No, it is no longer a combination self-defense weapon and keyboard. The buckling spring action itself is still decent but the build quality is much worse, and the melted plastic rivets that hold the membrane have a bad habit of breaking or flexing and rendering keys unusable over time. You can address the rivet issue by drilling with a pin vise and using screws but be prepared to spend a day doing it since there are something like 50-60 rivets.

There is someone that was doing a reproduction of the Model F (the earlier and more robust XT keyboard prior to the M) but they're quite a bit more pricey.

And best of all: if you don't mind a blank keycap, you can get a non-stepped keycap for the Ctrl key.[1]

[1]: https://deskthority.net/viewtopic.php?t=16693

If I wasn't working solely from laptops these days, I'd be all over that. Finally, a proper USB keyboard:

https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/product/UB40B5A

But the real gold is on this page:

https://www.pckeyboard.com/page/category/Buttons

Meta-Super-Hyper FTW!

Me too. I also like its label slapped at the bottom of the keyboard, which reads "Made in U.S.A.". Kind of makes me a proud owner even though I'm not American.

Good to see that there are still really good keyboards being manufactured new. Thanks for the link, I think I will order one :-).

Can't comment on the quality, but audible click like the original -M is a no-no and who needs the number block on the right? Waste of valuable desk real-estate.

  Still looking for a quality *quiet* keyboard like the Cherry I had in the early nineties.

Says who? I very much prefer the audible feedback as long as I'm not in a shared space; many people do. And not everyone on the planet is a programmer; people who deal with lots of numbers (e.g. accountants) need the 10-key pad. In fact, my wife carries a USB 10-key for when she needs to work on a laptop lacking one.

If you're looking for a quiet keyboard, look for one with Cherry Brown keys (if you like tactile feedback) or Cherry Silent Black or Silent Red keys if you want the quietest. There are lots of folks making good quality, choose your key, keyboards.

Holy crap, they make springy Model M style keyboards optimized for Mac. Likely my next keyboard and possibly a gift to others...

If you live in Australia, I could sell you my macOS unicomp model M.

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