Mechanical Keyboards

HHKB layout

TIL 'HHKD' isn't just a tongue in cheek lfgss Hip hop keyboard thing for this thread, and actually exists

Ha, actually there is the 'hip hop slave' thing in these keyboards too when the space bar is rotated, add some bling bling artisanal keycaps and here you go!

Lets face it.

OG HHSKB.

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The one true (school) calculator:-

what's a Goosegog?
Surely school calculators only existed to write Boobies upside down

Another name for a gooseberry

Anyone feel like swapping keyboards? I really can't get along with the long stroke of my Keychron K2 even after a while of use. I'm looking down far too much and still making mistakes.

I have the K7 ultra slim. I'm afraid I don't want to swap it, but you might like it.

It's like typing on the best ever laptop keyboard. Plus it's insanely portable.

Proper late, but you selling? I'm liking the look of it. I just want to replicate the feel of my X220 laptop.

If anyone wants the K2, I'm getting rid of. Minimal use. Boxed.

Oh no, I was just recommending it.

I'm definitely not selling mine. I love it.

I also like my K2 😃

Damn you! I really like the K2, but I suppose after so many years using low throw keyboards, but hands are just used to the feel.
THIS took too long to type.

Thanks, already bidding on a couple K7's

How do people go about testing switches? All I know at the moment is I don’t want to enrage my house with clickys but beyond that not sure how to tell

It's much of a muchness really. The main thing is the noise levels and they pretty much fall into three levels: "silent" (which obviously isn't silent silent), "normal" and "clicky". These are usually red (silent), normal (brown) and clicky (blue).

Anything other than the "silent" types would just annoy me and anyone else around me, so I just went for those. They happened to be Cherry MX Red Silent. I didn't care that much about the brand (Cherry / Gateron / etc).

Google has a loads of videos of the different types, watch a few and work it out. Or just buy a keyboard and work out whether you like it or not, they have pretty good resale value if you decide to (no pun intended) switch.

There are also switch sampler kits that have ~16 switches of different types to try. They also go quite well on eBay so find one, work out what to do, and then sell it on.

Little rubber donuts suppress the noise on Browns.
(And others, I am sure)

It's not just about the sound. They also feel different and there are tactile switches, like the browns, which are silent.

Here is what I did:
I went to a big techstore which had some (gaming) mechanical keyboards on display and tried them to see if I want linear, tactile or clicky switches. I found tactile to be the most satisfying. I then ordered a 9 switch sampler from an online store where I was able to freely choose. I picked a mix of the internets favourites and most sold on that particular website.
Used the sampler as a fidget toy for a week or so and then I was settled and ordered the ones I liked best.

Re sound: the case, plate, PCB mounting and different ways of damping will change the sound

Ahh thanks! I was thinking tactile as well but yea makes sense to find a store to try it out. Have to figure out which board and key caps as well that takes ISO next, although just seen the keychron V1 which looks pretty good for the price.
Still getting good use from your old camera as well @Oddo, taking it Morocco next month although sadly not with a bike haha

Ah sweet! Happy to hear it's still going strong. This will be it's second trip to Morocco 🙂

I just switched from ISO to ANSI because there is a lot more choice of keycaps and boards and it looks very tidy. I used UK ISO before and the changes are very little. Now a few weeks in the muscle memory has adjusted.

OK, any suggestions/recommendations for a lightweight mechnaical TKL keyboard? I do one day a week in a co-working space and I'd rather not use this Lenovo X1 keyboard if there's an easy alternative. Needs:

• UK layout
  
• TKL - need dedicated arrow keys and PgUp/PgDown/Home/End/etc. Def don't need numpad.
  
• Silent (Red) switches - can't be noisy - ideally Cherry-MX but not an absolute requirment
  
• Wired ideally but could do BlueTooth
  
• Lightish (under 900g)
  
• Not silly £££ (~£120 would be upper limit probably)
  
  

I have a wired Filco Majestouch Ninja 2 with Cherry-MX Red (Silent) at home and, at 900g, it's probably at the upper limit for lugging around. Plus that one is wired in to my desk and I don't want to have to faff with plugging/unplugging twice a week.

Keychron K8 looks good, but stock problems plus another £41 to get Cherry-MX Red (I could probably get some cash back by selling the Gateron Red's if I swapped them out). Also paying for changeable switches which I just don't need.

Bonus points if there's also a good carry case (such as the one for the Keychron).

The Keychrons come up used quite a lot so maybe set an ebay alert?
At some point, I looked into buying the Logitech MX Mechanical as a cheapish of the shelf keyboard. It looks like they only sell it with (quiet?) tactile keys in UK layout though.

Have you tried the MX Mechanical before? I was looking at potentially getting one for use at home and leaving the MX Mini (non mechanical) in the office so I don't have to carry them back and forth. But then £150 is a bit steep without knowing much.

Aren't all mechanical keyboards heavy af?

For one day I'm not sure I'd bother.

My Keychron K3 Ultra-slim isn't too heavy and fairly slim.

There is a k2 that's not too expensive https://www.keychron.com/collections/keychron-iso-jis-keyboard-collection/products/keychron-k2-wireless-mechanical-keyboard-uk-iso-layout

Or a K3 Slim with DE keys which are pretty similar to UK ones and could be sorted with a key swap. https://www.keychron.com/collections/keychron-iso-jis-keyboard-collection/products/keychron-k3-ultra-slim-wireless-mechanical-keyboard-german-iso-de-layout-version-2

No, I didn't actually try it. I got too deep into the rabbit hole and built a full custom one...

Need TKL.

60% would just drive me nuts with lack of arrow keys and Ins/Del/Home/End/PgUp/PgDn. They're pretty fundamental to how I use a keyboard all day.

Anyone on here who has had experience with a Nuphy Air 75?