Wooden wrist rests: do they last?

[ctm]

I am interested in getting a KBParadise wooden wrist rest. I wonder how "water resistant" it are. Will it be destroyed if I accidentally pour coffee or juice on it? Also, over time, will sweat and oil from my hands sink into the wrist rest?

[ander]

I can't say I get why anyone would want to rest their wrists—rather sensitive parts of the body, for most of us—on hardwood, of all things. If I had to do that, I'd be tempted to spill liquids on it regularly to try to soften it up.

But I guess you've thought about that.

[tigersharkdude]

Ive had the one that I made for two years, it still looks as good as day one

[chuckdee]

I can't say I get why anyone would want to rest their wrists—rather sensitive parts of the body, for most of us—on hardwood, of all things. If I had to do that, I'd be tempted to spill liquids on it regularly to try to soften it up.

But I guess you've thought about that.

Different strokes for different folks.  I like the support an firmness.  It works well for me... better than the grifiti that I have at work, and so well, that I ordered another to take to work.

As far as do they last?  My grifiti was showing some wear after a couple of months.  The wood... still doesn't.  But I don't have liquid anywhere near my keyboard, though sweat hasn't been a concern.

[iLLucionist]

I guess it also depends on the kind of wood that's used? No single wood is alike. And the finish of course.

[tp4tissue]

In my experience.. wooden wrist rests have been known to spontaneously combust.. 

From within the ashes arise demon critters which infect the user with a deadly virus.

This virus eventually kills the host, and reanimates the body as a new mobile vector.


Would not recommend...


Also.. they can give you splinters.. 

[spanyam]

I am interested in getting a KBParadise wooden wrist rest. I wonder how "water resistant" it are. Will it be destroyed if I accidentally pour coffee or juice on it? Also, over time, will sweat and oil from my hands sink into the wrist rest?

You have to think of it just like any other regularly used wood furniture or item (think guitars). Those things see constant abuse, spills, sweat, grime, etc. and they last a really really long time if they're well made. It's mainly about the build quality and the finish. If you get a good quality one, it should last you a good while.

[yomammary]

If you spill coffee on your wooden wrist rest you're going to spill coffee on your keyboard. So get rid of your wrist rest AND keyboard.

Problem solved.

[iLLucionist]

If you spill coffee on your wooden wrist rest you're going to spill coffee on your keyboard. So get rid of your wrist rest AND keyboard.

Problem solved.

Indeed. I prefer to use my fist as input device. Much better than a keyboard or mouse. And my fist doesn't need a wrist wrest.

[saxophone]

I can't say I get why anyone would want to rest their wrists—rather sensitive parts of the body, for most of us—on hardwood, of all things.

Are you saying that the table that everyone without wrist rests puts their wrists against or that the often included plastic wrist rests aren't hard?

The point of the wrist rest is to change the angle which your fingers have to push down towards the keys at by elevating the position of your hands Because the keyboard is going to be taller than the table unless if you have a special table with an indentation to put the keyboard into. If your wrists are getting screwed up because of the wrist rest then it's time to reconsider the height of your chair, height of the table and the sitting posture.

[iLLucionist]

I can't say I get why anyone would want to rest their wrists—rather sensitive parts of the body, for most of us—on hardwood, of all things.

Are you saying that the table that everyone without wrist rests puts their wrists against or that the often included plastic wrist rests aren't hard?

The point of the wrist rest is to change the angle which your fingers have to push down towards the keys at by elevating the position of your hands Because the keyboard is going to be taller than the table unless if you have a special table with an indentation to put the keyboard into. If your wrists are getting screwed up because of the wrist rest then it's time to reconsider the height of your chair, height of the table and the sitting posture.

That's what I have done. I don't use a wrist wrest anymore. It felt it made everything even worse by constantly putting pressure on my wrists (I have the filco leather one btw).

[ThoughtArtist]

You're not even supposed to rest your wrist on it. Only lightly rest the bottom of the palm of your hand. Never put weight on the wrist itself while typing. Wooden "palm" rests encourage better ergonomics by directing you to NOT to bury your wrists in them like big foamy things such as "Grifiti".

[ThoughtArtist]

I've also been thinking about making some type of forearm rest.

[thatsmrdoctortoyou]

Do yourself a flavor and learn to hover your hands while typing. Yes you will feel more fatigue at first as you need to develop your muscles to elevate your wrists and forearms. However, you have a better chance of not developing wrist issues down the road from improper wrist angle while typing. As others have already mentioned, make sure your chair and desk are at the proper height so that your wrists are flat and not angled.






...or just learn to type like the creature in the center picture above, your choice.

[ThoughtArtist]

Do yourself a flavor and learn to hover your hands while typing. Yes you will feel more fatigue at first as you need to develop your muscles to elevate your wrists and forearms. However, you have a better chance of not developing wrist issues down the road from improper wrist angle while typing. As others have already mentioned, make sure your chair and desk are at the proper height so that your wrists are flat and not angled.
(Attachment Link)

...or just learn to type like the creature in the center picture above, your choice.

That's a good way to cause shoulder strain by just holding your arms up with no support though. It's best to somehow keep arms close to the body, which is why I suggested the custom forearm rest, because chair arm rests are often too far away from the sides of the body. If you want to build strength then actual exercises are what you need to do, like pull-ups. Dull, repetitive tasks are not what build fitness.

[jacobolus]

You only get shoulder strain if your keyboard is too far away from your body. Your shoulders should be relaxed, with your upper arms hanging loosely down at your sides. Your back should be straight, not hunched over or slouching (in general, you shouldn’t be leaning back against a backrest in a static position for extended periods of time), and your head should be upright, with your chin down and your neck straight.

You wrists should be straight, with your hands in a relaxed neutral position, fingers lightly resting on the home row. Adjust the tilt of your keyboard (and/or the height of your desk) until the top of the keyboard is parallel to your forearms, with your wrists straight. Those Grifiti palmrests are terrible for their intended purpose, but they work great for propping up the near or far side of a laptop base or keyboard, to help fix the keyboard angle when flipping feet in or out doesn’t result in the proper angle.

If you feel like you need a palmrest or a chair armrest, there’s a pretty good chance the rest of your posture is screwed up, probably from decades of poor habits encouraged by poorly designed furniture. The vast majority of office chairs and desks are horribly designed, putting the body in an awkward, uncomfortable position. They’re one-size-fits-all furniture, designed to help an average-height person write with pen and paper. Luckily they aren’t quite as terrible as car or airplane seats which have a shape completely unrelated to the human body.

[ThoughtArtist]

If you feel like you need a palmrest or a chair armrest, there’s a pretty good chance the rest of your posture is screwed up, probably from decades of poor habits encouraged by poorly designed furniture.

 Holding your arms up all day isn't ergonomic. But right, if we all had idealistically custom-designed furniture, then maybe it wouldn't be an issue as your keyboard and mouse would practically be in your lap to work the way you indicate. Even then I don't like to hold my arms in the air with no support whatsoever, as they tend to be supported a bit by my thighs if I'm using a keyboard that low. It's kind of a wild supposition to say because one wants arm support then they have screwed up posture.

[iLLucionist]

You're not even supposed to rest your wrist on it. Only lightly rest the bottom of the palm of your hand. Never put weight on the wrist itself while typing. Wooden "palm" rests encourage better ergonomics by directing you to NOT to bury your wrists in them like big foamy things such as "Grifiti".

Good point!

[jacobolus]

Holding your arms up all day isn't ergonomic.

For an idea, look to pianists, professional transcriptionists, or 1960s secretaries. These trained professionals have no problem using their hands in front of their bodies for hours every day, with no palmrests in sight.

You don’t need custom designed furniture. You just need to sit up straight, bring the keyboard close in to your body, adjust the keyboard tilt until it aligns with your forearms, and let your upper arms stay loose at your sides. The key is that your shoulders should be relaxed: the same position they would be if you were just standing somewhere.

Note that we’re just talking about posture while actively typing. If you’re just sitting in front of your computer reading a blog post on the screen, by all means, set your arms and hands down somewhere.

It would be closer to ideal to have a taller chair and/or lower desk than most people currently have, with the elbows at a >90° angle, but even with a low chair and high desk, by tilting the keyboard up at the far side, it’s possible to type just fine. The elbows will have more bend in them, is all.

If we really wanted to get closer to ideal, everyone would have a split and substantially tented keyboard, with some space between the halves. Again though, while that would be better, it’s entirely possible to type on a standard one-piece keyboard, just with a bit more wrist pronation.

Anyway, if you find that armrests, palmrests, etc. etc. help you, don’t let me stop you from buying and using them. Do whatever you like.

It's kind of a wild supposition to say because one wants arm support then they have screwed up posture.

The vast majority of westerners, I’d say at least 90%, have screwed up posture, from a lifetime of sitting on poorly designed furniture all day long. This includes me a good proportion of the time. It’s possible to sit better on standard simple furniture, but it takes a lot of practice, and it’s pretty easy to fall back to slouching. Better furniture helps a lot.

[iLLucionist]

Holding your arms up all day isn't ergonomic.

For an idea, look to pianists, professional transcriptionists, or 1960s secretaries. These trained professionals have no problem using their hands in front of their bodies for hours every day, with no palmrests in sight.

Imagine a palm wrest for a piano... that would look plain silly.

[TopreFan333]

My grifiti was showing some wear after a couple of months.  The wood... still doesn't.

Had one of those Grifiti rests at work for a while -- it starting looking terrible really quickly. It was just horrible to look at after a couple months and I threw it away.

[iLLucionist]

My grifiti was showing some wear after a couple of months.  The wood... still doesn't.

Had one of those Grifiti rests at work for a while -- it starting looking terrible really quickly. It was just horrible to look at after a couple months and I threw it away.

I had one once. Started disintegrating after two months already. Threw it away. Also, it felt really not hygienic. I don't now.. it looked very "used" after a couple of weeks.

[rowdy]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

[iLLucionist]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

[rowdy]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

[iLLucionist]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

I will make the realforce 87 look like cheap dirt, in comparison. Haha.

[rowdy]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

I will make the realforce 87 look like cheap dirt, in comparison. Haha.

It would contrast nicely with a black one though.

[iLLucionist]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

I will make the realforce 87 look like cheap dirt, in comparison. Haha.

It would contrast nicely with a black one though.

Now 'fcourse I would need a 18K white gold case for the realforce as well. With the realforce logo in diamond inlay.

[rowdy]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

I will make the realforce 87 look like cheap dirt, in comparison. Haha.

It would contrast nicely with a black one though.

Now 'fcourse I would need a 18K white gold case for the realforce as well. With the realforce logo in diamond inlay.

Tacky.

[iLLucionist]

You can get marble wrist rests.

And glass.

They would last longer than wood.

How about 18 white gold with diamond inlay?

I'm sure someone would make such a wrist rest should you commission them to do so.

And pay for it, of course.

Heavily.

I will make the realforce 87 look like cheap dirt, in comparison. Haha.

It would contrast nicely with a black one though.

Now 'fcourse I would need a 18K white gold case for the realforce as well. With the realforce logo in diamond inlay.

Tacky.

Haha. Either way you go all the way in deep or you don't. That's my opinion. You do it good or why else do it in the first place?

[robbles]

I've been using the ash KB Paradise wrist rest for a few months now and love it. Pairs nicely with the HHKB. The finish is as smooth as a desktop and I would get another in a heartbeat. Hope this helps.

[iLLucionist]

I've been using the ash KB Paradise wrist rest for a few months now and love it. Pairs nicely with the HHKB. The finish is as smooth as a desktop and I would get another in a heartbeat. Hope this helps.

Pics or it didn't happen!

[ctm]

I get my KBP wrist rest today. I am a little disappointed that it does not sit perfectly flat on my desk. It's just a little bit of uneven, but still I hope it's complete flat.

EDIT: after applying the four rubber feet at the bottom, it now sits perfectly stable on my desk. 

[iLLucionist]

I get my KBP wrist rest today. I am a little disappointed that it does not sit perfectly flat on my desk. It's just a little bit of uneven, but still I hope it's complete flat.

EDIT: after applying the four rubber feet at the bottom, it now sits perfectly stable on my desk. 

Could you post a pic? I'm curious how it looks..

[robbles]

I've been using the ash KB Paradise wrist rest for a few months now and love it. Pairs nicely with the HHKB. The finish is as smooth as a desktop and I would get another in a heartbeat. Hope this helps.

Pics or it didn't happen!

[chuckdee]

[iLLucionist]

I've been using the ash KB Paradise wrist rest for a few months now and love it. Pairs nicely with the HHKB. The finish is as smooth as a desktop and I would get another in a heartbeat. Hope this helps.

Pics or it didn't happen!

(Attachment Link)

REALLY nice!!