Best looking set I've seen in quite some time. Can't wait to put in my order.

Any chance you're working on matching deskmats?

Sorry for the delay, i just realized I hadn't replied here. I'm glad you like it; as for the deskmat, there aren't any plans unfortunately, but there will be collaborations with artisan makers—I've just sent the samples to Brocaps

bump. now looking for black filco too ^_^

Major update: new project web site

This new site has launched today; please bear with me as bugs are resolved.

Please email me with any issues, errors, requests, and suggestions/improvements. I am looking to make the site and the ordering process as helpful as possible for all Model F and Beam Spring fans.

The site content and manuals have been largely rewritten and each one is now on its own page (Model F, R1 Beam, R2 beam spring).

There is now a one-page keyboard configurator where you can click each product section to see information and photos without leaving that page. While you can still order everything all at once or separately, you can now edit or remove quantity in the cart separately for these add-on items ordered on the keyboard pages. The 1000+ questions and answers page is still available but the link has moved to the bottom of the page. Update posts are now one post per page with an index on the side panel, and a short recent update has been posted.

All historical content and blogs remain available.

The keycap ordering process has been updated; now you can click on an image of the keycap to order it, and you can click multiple keycaps on the page in succession without having to click add to cart to order each one.

One big update is that you can see your prior orders under the same email address, even if you were not registered when ordering (for security you have to verify through a code emailed to you at that address). Note that stock reporting and pricing may not be correct for all items.

Update: I've been using an Apple Japanese laptop keyboard for 7 years now, and it continues to be great. I never quite got around to more ambitious layout ideas, but something like this is still a dramatic improvement over the ordinary US-ANSI layout for me:

(Attachment Link)

I could probably figure out something better to do with the number row than duplicating two of the numbers, but this works for me.

The delete key using the right thumb continues to be excellent, and spacing the hands 2 keys further apart is a huge ergonomic advantage, with significantly less wrist strain.

One silly thing is that Apple decided to move the whole number row .25u to the left on their recent Japanese laptop keyboards, I guess to make the 1u delete key 1.25u instead. So now the number row doesn't quite line up with other keyboards, which is slightly annoying if you need to switch back and forth to a standard keyboard. They also, for better or worse, bailed on the touch bar, so now there is a full row of F keys for people who want extra keys up top.

One final silly thing: Mac OS now uses the name "U.S." to mean "the Latin letters printed on the physical Japanese keyboard", whereas it used to mean "more or less approximate US-ANSI layout". So now if you want US-ANSI layout you need to pick "Australian" as the input source. The standard Japanese Latin layout is in my opinion quite horrible for anyone used to a US-ANSI keyboard (e.g. the apostrophe on shifted 7 is ridiculous), so this naming scheme is mystifying.

For reference, the standard "U.S." (i.e. Japanese Latin) layout is like this: The Freak Circus

(Attachment Link)

The "Australian" layout (on Japanese physical keyboard) is like this:

(Attachment Link)

And the physical US-ANSI Apple laptop keyboard is like this:

(Attachment Link)

The main draw for me has always been the split spacebar region. Getting extra thumb keys (Eisu/Kana or adjacent modifiers) on a stock laptop layout without having to carry a split custom board around is a huge win for ergonomics. Mapping Backspace or Delete to a thumb key, as you mentioned, drastically reduces the micro-strains on the right pinky over a long typing session.

One minor compromise I’ve noticed when daily driving a remapped JIS board is muscle memory bleed when switching back to a standard 6.25u ANSI board at my desktop setup. The staggered bottom row and slightly shifted cluster on the right side take a bit of readjustment each time, especially for symbols like backtick and quotes.