Hello from Toronto

[blueangel2323]

Hi everyone, I'm 28 and from Toronto, Ontario. I'm not a gamer but I have an office job that involves a lot of typing, so I just started seriously getting into keyboards recently, and discovered this forum even more recently. I love quick, snappy keys with lots of tactile feedback, so I'm a fan of the IBM ThinkPad keyboard and (gasp) the old Dell OptiPlex "podule" keyboards - yep, the ones with the infamous rattle

I also really like the ergonomic layout of Microsoft Natural keyboards, but I'm sick of the membranes wearing out, and the pad printing wearing off the keys, so I'm planning to build my own keyboard with mechanical keys and quality keycaps. The challenge is picking the right switches though, as I haven't found any that I really like yet. To summarize my experiences so far, here's what I posted in another thread:

Hi everyone, I'm new! I'm not a gamer and only use keyboards for typing... hope I'm still welcome here lol.

I just discovered this site, which unfortunately means I missed the meetup. Does anyone know where I can try out various switches in/near Toronto? Specifically I would like to try Topre, Matias, and Cherry MX Clear (and variants like Ergo Clear).

I have already tried the following Cherry switches:
Blue - These probably had the best feel of the ones I've tried, but I'd prefer a little more resistance at the tactile point, without increasing the spring stiffness. Also a little too loud for the office.
Green - OK tactility (could still be better), but spring a little too stiff for prolonged typing. Ditto for noise.
Brown - Can barely feel the tactile point at all. It just feels like a less smooth linear switch to me.
Black/Red - I need tactility, so I hate linear switches.

Honestly, still I prefer the best rubber dome keyboards (Thermaltake esports Commander, Cooler Master Storm Devastator, Logitech PerfectStroke) to any of the above mechanical switches I've tried, durability issues notwithstanding. I'm thinking I would like Matias though - I just need my fingers to verify before I buy. I'm assuming I can't just show up at the Matias warehouse lol. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Anyways, hoping to learn a lot from the community here, and I'm sure I will need all of your support when I start to build my custom keyboard!

[pesky brat]

Go Toronto!

If you like rubber domes, I'm 90% sure you'll love Topre. Prices are definitely steep, but pretty worth it imo.

[Snowdog993]

Hi everyone, I'm 28 and from Toronto, Ontario. I'm not a gamer but I have an office job that involves a lot of typing, so I just started seriously getting into keyboards recently, and discovered this forum even more recently. I love quick, snappy keys with lots of tactile feedback, so I'm a fan of the IBM ThinkPad keyboard and (gasp) the old Dell OptiPlex "podule" keyboards - yep, the ones with the infamous rattle

I also really like the ergonomic layout of Microsoft Natural keyboards, but I'm sick of the membranes wearing out, and the pad printing wearing off the keys, so I'm planning to build my own keyboard with mechanical keys and quality keycaps. The challenge is picking the right switches though, as I haven't found any that I really like yet. To summarize my experiences so far, here's what I posted in another thread:

Hi everyone, I'm new! I'm not a gamer and only use keyboards for typing...

Anyways, hoping to learn a lot from the community here, and I'm sure I will need all of your support when I start to build my custom keyboard!

Have you ever tried buckling spring?  I have the feeling that will be your endgame keyboard.

[Sifo]

Hey from Toronto

[blueangel2323]

Go Toronto!

If you like rubber domes, I'm 90% sure you'll love Topre. Prices are definitely steep, but pretty worth it imo.

Any suggestions as to where I can try one out before I buy? NCIX sells them but they didn't have any Topre keyboards on display at the Yonge and Eglinton store. Couldn't find any at Canada Computers either. As you said, prices are steep, which makes it even more important to try and make sure it's what I want before spending the money.

Have you ever tried buckling spring?  I have the feeling that will be your endgame keyboard.

Possibly! But I haven't used one since I was a kid (Model M and its contemporaries at school) so I don't remember much about them, other than that they were loud. Is Unicomp the only company still making them? I'm assuming it's much harder to build your own buckling spring keyboard compared to one with normal Cherry-compatible switches.

Hey from Toronto

Hi!

[Snowdog993]

Possibly! But I haven't used one since I was a kid (Model M and its contemporaries at school) so I don't remember much about them, other than that they were loud. Is Unicomp the only company still making them? I'm assuming it's much harder to build your own buckling spring keyboard compared to one with normal Cherry-compatible switches.

Unicomp is still making the Model M keyboard.  I have a Uncomp Classic 103 myself.  It's a solid keyboard, and I have the feeling you will appreciate it very much.

As far as building your own buckling spring keyboard, I won't say it's impossible.  There are some projects going on that are very interesting, and you might have to dig in and do some research if you are planning on doing something like that.  There are several amazing transformations here too.
You might want to get in touch with fohat.digs, njbair, or Rowdy.  They can point you in the right direction!

Oh!  Welcome to Geekhack!

[rowdy]

Welcome to Geekhack!

Topre keyboards are great, but I haven't heard of anyone making a custom keyboard using Topre switches (all that mucking about with capacitance).

Buckling spring keyboards are just as great, but very noisy.

Have you tried MX clears?  Like browns, but witha stiffer spring and much more tactile feedback.

Or there's Project Zealio with custom purple MX clear-like switches.