An old IBM Model M
I don't think this is quite right for me. They are, by all accounts, pretty heavy, and I type with my feet up and my keyboard on my lap, so this may get uncomfortable.
Please bear in mind that the adjective "heavy" is a relative term. Sure, a Model M weighs 5 pounds/2kg or so, (give or take) which
sounds like a lot, but, personally, I find that the weight is more reassuring rather than oppressive.
I'm dating myself tragically here, but back in the days when the Earth was newly cooled, (and keyboards weren't the throwaway items they are today) people
expected their keyboards to have a bit of heft. I've found that, usually, when someone says that a Model M is "too heavy," they're comparing it to today's featherweight $5 Made-in-Futung keyboards that, while offering excellent value, aren't something your hands are likely to thank you for subjecting them to over the long-term.
I, too, like to type with my keyboard on my lap and/or knee. If the Model M were a real lap-crusher, it likely would have been relegated to the closet long ago.
They're also pretty pricey, especially here in the UK.
Speaking for myself, I'm a cheapska^dub^dub^dub price-sensitive sort of chap, so I've always tried to get the most keyboard for the smallest amount of money possible.
Have you looked around ebay.co.uk? There's usually a metric diaperload of Model M keyboards there and the prices, relatively speaking, aren't too bad. If you're willing to exercise a bit of patience (and elbow grease) you can likely find a high-quality keyboard there at a reasonable price.
Alternately, scouring local second-hand shops might be worth a try. Some people seem to change keyboards as often as their socks and you might find something worthwhile there.
The only specific recommendation I would make is that, as a previous poster suggested, you might want to take a look at a "blue logo" Model M:
http://www.3m3718.com/bluelogo.php..seeing as how, from what you've told us, you spill things on your keyboard from time to time. The blue logo Model M is purportedly a bit more spill-resistant than the older, grey logo Model Ms. Also, the blue logo models, being newer, aren't usually as sought-after as the older models by collectors, so they tend to be available for less money.
As a caveat, the newer the Model M, the lower the build quality tends to be, so you are trading off a bit of quality for the spill resistance. However, the lower build quality is in relative terms, so while the blue logo Model Ms aren't
quite as good as the older Model Ms, they are still streaks ahead of anything you're likely to find on a shop shelf today.
Anyway, the reason I make such a fetish of gibbering about the Model M is that, in my own experience, it's a keyboard I can treat any-old-how....and it still comes up smiling.
I'm pretty rough with my stuff and the Model M is my keyboard of choice simply because it's not something I have to constantly fret over being nice to (unlike the other 99% of computer peripherals sold today). Apart from which, the buckling spring keyswitches are rated for ~25 million cycles. Barring anything catastrophic, the Model M is a keyboard that will not only be with you for years, but will also likely feel the same a decade from now as it did when you first started typing on it. Not many keyboard manufacturers can say that about their current offerings.
Finally, a keyboard is something that you are faced with using day-in and day-out. I understand the reluctance to spend a lot of money on one, but it might be worth considering that a higher-priced, higher-quality keyboard is actually cheaper in the long run. What I mean is: your time is irreplaceable, and when you factor in the time it takes to shop for/obtain/break in a new keyboard every few months, it adds up pretty quickly. Frankly, it would drive me (even more) gaga to have to take time out to replace my keyboard twice a year, so the Model M is a good choice if you're the sort of fellow that considers replacing computing gear a huge PITA that you would trade a kidney to avoid.
(Of course, it's only fair to admit that some people derive enjoyment from replacing/tweaking their keyboards. In fact, I've heard there's even an
entire forum dedicated to those sorts of doings, if such a thing can be believed.)
Anyhow, you may want to consider giving a Model M, blue logo or otherwise, a test drive even if it turns out that it
doesn't suit you. The majority of keyboard manufacturers today are, let's face it, primarily concerned with making cheap things even cheaper. Since you only have one pair of hands, it's well worth taking the time, trouble, and expense to give them the best possible typing experience you can with the money you have available to you.
To be clear: I know what it's like to have to shop for stuff when the funds are low and the Fabulous Babes are slow (and I'm not saying that's necessarily the case here). That said, perhaps the question to ask yourself when you're looking at keyboards isn't so much "How much does this particular keyboard cost?" but "How much are my hands worth to me?"
Just a thought. [shrugs]
PS: Two snaps up for working a reference to Pompeii into a discussion on keyboards. Awesome.
