My most used keyboard during this hobby.

[henz]

Hi all, just thought id write a piece about my experience here at Geekhack.

Starting off by saying ive been around for about 2 years, and this is by far the greatest hobby  have had so far and it feels im in for the long run. After some time here at gh i somewhat stopped making topics, didnt feel like i had anything to say, but looking back at when i was a newb, i read alot of long threads wrote some topics on my own findings etc and would like to continue doing that, maybe make a video or something in the future, who knows 

Now to the topic, during my stay here i have owned and tried alot of keyboards, the long list includes different varaieties of korean keyboards, some ive had in my possession longer than others, i have owned most types of what topre have to offer(not all), i have tried alot of different mx compatible switches(not all, sell me some hiroses and nixies ).

But early april this year i bought something that i could not keep my hands off. A TEX phantom for those who don't know what i mean i basically bought https://mechanicalkeyboards.com/shop/index.php?l=product_detail&p=1626 with an black aluminum case.

Got some vintage blacks of some old keyboard off of ebay. And started putting it together, If you cant put the board together yourself i think MK offers assembly services as well.i wanted a complete keyboard which was able to run tmk firmware, previously i had only ran tmks on 60% boards like the HHKB and the KMAC happy. And decided to go with it.

Now tbh i use it everyday, if its not at work its used at home, and vice versa. the lubed linears with the aluminum plate and case work wonders. I cant put my finger on it, but what i think it is, is a perfect balance of sound and comfort, the black PBT caps are just clacking it for me Hopefully someone knows what i mean.

under the pcb sits an old steelseries mouse mat that i had to cut to make the board useable(Maybe its the mousemat )

And to the conclusion: Sick looking Korean keyboards wont get you to clack heaven, im not saying that a expensive korean keyboard will be an most used keyboard for others im just saying you need to start testing  alot of keyboards to find your own preferences? Will this stop me from buying more keyboards? HELL NO, i will not to look for something better, and i think i have gotten to know myself a liitle better.

Im still a bit lazy as im still a bit gimped at writing due to a dvorak switch ages ago(slow learner ) and i think this is enough info for now .Thanks for your time

Here are the complete specs of the board, all in all i think ive spent 300$ on this board:

Black tex aluminum case
Phantom PCB
Lubed vintage blacks with 65g gold springs
Blue phantom aluminum plate, allows switch top removal
Cyan gon feet(the included ones were not giving a steep enough slope)
IMSTO black PBT caps
Some artisans
A custom cyan cable

And some pictures:

[Jesse36m3]

Funnily enough, my most used board is also my cheapest one. The trusty old K70 with MX reds. Lubed, damped, pbt caps and it's a dream to game on. Had it for nearly 4 years and it's still going strong.

[Spopepro]

... and i think i have gotten to know myself a liitle better.

This is really the key. One reality of hobbies like this is that they are aspirational in a materialistic way. Like many aspirational activities, it's easy to become overwhelmed with some pretty negative thoughts as you might not be able to afford or acquire things. Frankly it's all a little bit toxic, and Tyler Durden should really pay many of us a visit.

You buy furniture. You tell yourself, this is the last sofa I will ever need in my life. Buy the sofa, then for a couple years you're satisfied that no matter what goes wrong, at least you've got your sofa issue handled. Then the right set of dishes. Then the perfect bed. The drapes. The rug. Then you're trapped in your lovely nest, and the things you used to own, now they own you.

But it doesn't have to be bad or frustrating or ruinous. There are cool people, and some fun things. And if you can be honest with yourself you can learn some things about what you personally value and derive satisfaction from. I think there's a lot of us who have some fancy boards we enjoy having, but prefer to type daily on something other than our finest or rarest. And that's awesome.

[oneproduct]

The keyboard that's stuck to me the most is a Filco TKL that I had modded to have variable weight springs like a variable Topre has. Also replaced the controller with a reprogrammable one. All the other keyboards I buy get switched in and out, but that Filco is my workhorse at work. It's not as fun to use as some others, particularly since I have several unusual ergonomic keyboards and a beamspring, but TKL is just a good format that I can use efficiently.

[E3E]

I think I pretty much own the keyboards I'd be set with for life now. It's true that this hobby is a bit toxic and materialistic; the only thing stopping me from, well... just stopping this hobby is seeing sparkly new things coming out. That, and the fact I have so many extra Alps switches and key cap sets that I probably could make another 6 or 7 Alps builds with them, and that's not even considering the low quality caps I have.

It's hard to put this hobby down. I am mostly content with where I am, especially with some of the personalized work I've put into my keyboards, but it's hard to just stop. With Alps, it's doubly hard to want to sell, because many of these things are hard to find. I feel that, if I let them go, I might never have them again. I hate that feeling too.

[fublamchu]

really interesting post! I've been looking into Korean customs for a while now and this puts things into perspective...