My Mechanical Keyboard History

I grew up in the era of the mechanical keyboard. Our first family computer was an Apple IIe with the built-in keyboard (ours was made before the “enhanced” model, and I believe used SMK switches), and I dabbled with an original Macintosh with the M0110 keyboard (Alps switches). The first computer I ever bought for myself was an Apple IIgs that came with the Apple Desktop Bus Keyboard with Alps switches. After that came the Apple Extended Keyboard II, also with Alps. Eventually, I got into Linux and started using a surplus Model M with buckling springs. For Macs I was using MacAlly IceKey keyboards with scissor switches.

About 10 years ago I started hearing about the return of the mech, in particular, the modernized Model M. Right about 2008/2009, discussion seemed to amp up everywhere, even on NPR!

November 2010: Got a Scorpius M10 with Cherry Blues, it was “okay” but mostly sucked and eventually stopped working entirely.

Sometime in 2010-2011: I got a Matias Tactile Pro 2.0 but it was prone to giving me the wrong characters, somehow (ghosting etc) - and I apparently wasn’t alone in this. Eventually I settled on the Unicomp Ultra Classic; mine’s dated 2011, and has a “Wintel” key layout and I had to order special “Mac” keycaps for command and option. No media keys. Had to remap “OS Key” and “Alt” in the OS X control panel. But I was hooked.

2011-2018: Unicomp SpaceSaver M keyboards, the Ultra Classic in a Macintosh configuration which has Command and Option keys where you expect them, and Mac-compatible media keys and things like an Eject key. I love typing on these, when they work. But they have quality control issues, and of my 5 Unicomp keyboards, 4 have been back to the factory for repair, some multiple times. Also, things like the legends on the keys, and even the height of the R1 keycaps, are just too variable for a $100+ keyboard.

(All that said, apparently in spring of 2020 Unicomp launched a “New Model M” built with new tooling: “Injection molding tooling for the covers and the feet is all new. Also, the baseplate fabrication process is new. ... Also, the cover design is much more robust than previous designs.” So they may be worth revisiting at some point. (There’s no Mac version available yet, although apparently they’ll customize one for you if you ask and pay another $20.))

2015: Temporarily dealing with an open office, I picked up a Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Stealth keyboard, with non-clicky Razer Orange switches. I never really liked typing on it, to be honest, and when I moved on from that position the Razer got shelved. (I lost the F8 keycap somewhere, too.)

Summer of 2020: I picked up a used Das Keyboard Professional S for Mac keyboard, with Cherry MX Blue switches. It was only $49 and it was “okay,” but not great. It was replacing a Unicomp that had started misbehaving, and became my “balcony Mac” keyboard.

Fall of 2020: Discovered the Keychron K2 hot-swappable keyboard. By this time I’d been lurking in r/MK long enough to know I wanted to try the Kailh Box Navy switches, so I ordered them at the same time (along with a set of Jade switches, just in case). I hadn’t found NovelKeys yet, so I ordered both sets from KBDfans (the high shipping cost also influenced my decision to get Jade and Navy sets at the same time). My mini-review at the time. This is my “travel” keyboard.

Winter of 2021: The K2 was mostly great, but the 75% layout and my muscle memory aren’t awesome together, so in late January I picked up a Keychron K8 TKL with hot-swap sockets, and immediately installed the Kailh Box Jade switches I got back in November, for my second “build.” Love this combo, but, now I was hooked... This setup is my “living room workstation” keyboard.

So I found a GMMK full-sized keyboard on sale (“Used - Like New”) for like $70, and pulled the trigger. It came with Gateron Browne switches, which I immediately swapped for Pale Blues. (Eventually, I swapped  in Navy switches, and that combo is now my office “daily driver.”

Meanwhile, I’d been curious to see what a cheap hot-swap board would be like, and got the HexGears GK705 (my mini-review), which ships with Kailh Box White switches. I currently have it setup with Kailh Box Pale Blue switches, and it’s plugged into the “laptop workstation” in my bedroom. Since that keyboard will also be used (via a Wombat) with an old Apple IIgs, though, and since the IIgs can’t soft-remap keys the way the Mac can, I’m going to redo the Das Keyboard for the bedroom (see below).

Finally, I randomly came across a HexGears SuperNova on sale (“Used - Very Good”) for $51, grey with Kailh Box White switches. I wanted backlighting for the “balcony Mac,” as that workspace is often very dim (I’ve been known to get work done out there on cool evenings), and the price point was perfect for a “DGAF” keyboard. So that’s that setup. I don’t usually run it in rainbow gaudiness - though I have been playing around with different color schemes; I kinda like yellow keys and a blue side light - but it seemed appropriate for an Apple, for at least a little while:

HexGears SuperNova in rainbow RGB color mode

Spring 2021: I start soldering. Picked up a decent set of equipment based on r/MK recommendations, watched some YouTube videos, and got to it. Started with a cheap numeric keypad I got to complement the TKL Keychron I use on my (tiny) living room desk, I removed the cheap feeling Outemu Blue switches and swapped in the Kailh Box Whites I had left over from the GK705 (and a couple of left over other switches).

Next, I modified that old Razer keyboard, swapping almost all of the Razer Orange switches with the rest of the Kailh Box Whites from the GK705. Also learned how to fix the two switch locations I screwed up (the F2 key and the space bar) with bridge wires. Okay, my confidence is growing, my technique is pretty good. No idea where this one will live, maybe the mancave? That missing F8 keycap is getting replaced with a nuclear option, and just for the hell of it (because the shipping cost is the same), I’m swapping the Escape key for a red one.

I desoldered all of the Cherry MX Blue switches from the Das Keyboard, and I’m waiting on the Box Navy switches I ordered to arrive (they were shipped this morning).

I’m toying with the idea of getting a GMMK Pro and equipping it with Navy switches and a GMK keycap set (Metropolis, maybe, or Serenity), and I’d love to do something with the /dev/tty keycaps. But I can’t justify either right now.

Next Leap: Now I kinda want to handwire a board and implement my own controller, and then implement it in a custom PCB and have that made - always wanted to do this kind of stuff, and now I have a “practical” reason to do so (well, more practical than some Arduino or RPi wheeled drone or other toy that would be purely a “for fun” project)...

The MX progression:

  • Razer BlackWidow Tournament Edition Stealth (soldered)
    • Came with: Razer Orange
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Whites (mostly; some orange switches retained) (left over from the GK705)
  • Numeric Keypad (soldered)
    • Came with: Outemu Blue
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Whites (mostly) (left over from the GK705)
  • GMMK full sized (hot swappable) (sourced a “used - like new” board for like $40 off)
    • Came with: Gateron Brown
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Pale Blue
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Navy
  • HexGears GK705 (hot swap) (sourced from AliExpress, cheap)
    • Came with: Kailh Box White
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Pale Blue (remove from GMMK)
  • Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac (soldered) (used, eBay)
    • Came with: Cherry MX Blue
    • Swapped to: Kailh Box Navy
  • HexGears SuperNova (soldered) (found half-off as a “used - very good” listing)
    • Came with: Kailh Box White
  • Royal Kludge RK71 (soldered) (“used - acceptable” for about 30% off)
    • Came with: RK Brown
    • Swapping to: Kailh Hako Royal Clear

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