On Mechanical Keyboards | Hacker News Reader

On Mechanical Keyboards

davesnider.org

19 pointssnide17 comments

Honestly if you're going to buy anything, why not just buy the original, and buy American? I know Unicomp, which has their plant just down the street, doesn't advertise much, but I think you really can't beat the IBM Model M keyboards (especially not at the price point): http://www.pckeyboard.com/

Because the Model M has one feedback type, and one noise level. Between the various Cherry and Topre switches, you get a lot more customization options.

And for an interface device I spend a dozen or so hours a day on, it's worth the effort to make it match your needs.

A lot of the mechanical keyboards on the market have Cherry switches inside. While the IBM Model M is timeless, Cherry has been around forever as well (founded in the 1950s, started making keyboards in 1967) and their MX switches are about the same age as the IBM Model M (early-mid 80s). The age/tried-and-true/original argument has little weight here.

edit: also what falcolas said about being able to choose your switch, Cherry has half a dozen ones with different tactile and sound profiles [1] [2]

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZF_Electronics#Cherry_switches...

[2] https://www.google.com/search?q=cherry+switches&tbm=isch

Agreed with the other two respondents at this time. While I loved the Selectric keyboard, the Model M, while certainly a lot better than many others of that era, wasn't great. I much prefer Cherry Blue switches, to which I add these to soften their bottoming out: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZQ3966/

A Model M was my primary keyboard for years. Now, the ~65g activation force is a bit too heavy for my liking, and I'm using Cherry Brown/Blues.

Good point. Too bad they don't offer a tenkeyless model.

I got really into mechanical keyboards but found that I was pretty quickly sated after getting an ErgoDox (http://ergodox.org/).

Now I subscribe to updates from these two particularly interesting community projects and may consider buying them when they're available:

Axios (improving ergodox): https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=44940.0

Reviving the DataHand: https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=41422.0

Otherwise, after a few months of reading forums, it's hard to get excited about a new color of keycap.

Agreed. My biggest regret is that it is so expensive to build an ergodox, even if you want to do the soldering yourself. Otherwise, I'd build a few for my keyboard-conscious friends.

To put my claim into perspective, the cheapest way to get an Ergodox in the US is at Massdrop for 200$ + shipping + assembly. If you live outside the US and pay import taxes on that, it will cost you around 350$. There are people in EU who try to sell ergodox parts themselves (falbatech.pl) but the price will not get down by much.

The people I've spoken to recommend both cutting the plastic case yourself (or using no case at all, some have done that) and ripping the Cherry MX keys from older, cheaper keyboards, but that is currently beyond my possible time investment.

It is very expensive. I built mine from the ErgoDox kit on massdrop which saves a bit of money, but it's still expensive.

But in comparison to other ergonomically-focused keyboards, it's actually on the cheap side. I justified the purchase as an investment in my long-term health, and I think when looking at ergo keyboards you sort of have to look at it that way - you're paying for comfort, yes, but for comfort that will prevent injury.

I think the hype around high-end keyboard is really justified.

Most typing implements these days are among those despicable types:

1) touchscreen virtual keyboards

2) race-to-the-bottom cheap mass-produced rubber dome cap

3) gaming keyboards, which are less race-to-the-bottom-ish but sin by abuse of bells, whistles and gongs

4) laptop keyboards optimized for looks

Some attention to the proper form of the best computer input peripheral ever invented is definitely welcome.

This article isn't about keyboards. But a helpful guide to the endless niche product communities.

I have an irrational love for my ibm model m's. They are perfect. The phrase, "From my cold, dead hands!" comes to mind. If I had kids, it's what I'd pass down. yeah, I know...

Nice write up duder, interesting to see you investigate the weird pits you fall into.

Falling into weird pits is a pretty damn important part of hackerdom if you ask me.

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