It is amazing that after all these years, nobody has come up with rival technologies to lower the price of this kind of keyboard.
There are lots of Topre-style boards out there.
Last year I got a
Hansung CHF7 Officemaster (directly from Korea
via Gmarket, as Amazon didn't have them yet), and I just love it.
I have a RealForce (uniform 55g) and a Topre Type Heaven (45g)—and I can honestly say, I get tired of typing on the Topres long before I get tired of the Hansung. (In fact, now that I think of it, aside from my IBM Model F-AT, the Hansung is really the only board in my collection that I can type on indefinitely without craving a different type of keeb.)
It has a slightly shorter key travel than Topre, and is quieter and generally more pleasant to use, IMHO. And every now and then, one of the springs makes the most subtle, charming little
ping that sounds like someone very far away has just rung a dinner chime. It's one of my favorite sounds ever. (And I'm a musician who's heard lots of sounds.) I also think the Korean
Hangul sublegends are pretty.
It doesn't have a metal case, but it's solidly made, and it was less than you'd pay for most non-RGB name-brand Cherry MX boards. And since they're capacitive switches like Topre's, it's sure to last longer than I will!
