advise please - wanted MS "NKP like" mechanical keyboard

[raizur]

I have loved my MS NKP for a long while.
Currently its on the worktable getting a facelift.

I decided I would like to move into a mechanical kb but its gotta be as close to the same shape as the MS NKP.

So does anyone have advise on any mechanicals that have a similar shape / key layout to the microsoft natural keyboard pro. Key layout isnt as critical to me as shape but important none the less.

[hoggy]

Sadly, you're not going to find one.  Lanx here built one (and a nice job on it too!). 

http://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=10510.0

Can't really advise you on a suitable replacement without knowing more about your needs.  Take a look at the Ergonomics subforum to see if anything takes your fancy.  Talk to us, we can help you spend your money.  There are some really nice pieces out there that I offer some benefits above the nkp. 

BTW, have you noticed the keys on your keyboard getting quite stiff?  Just getting a 'new' one might be the thing you're looking for...

[raizur]

actually i find the stiffness leveled out on this one (3rd) about 6 mounths in and its been a gem ever since

that was about 2 years ago.

[daerid]

At the risk of sounding like TP, I will humbly suggest the ErgoDox. It's a bit expensive, but I was a huge Natural Keyboard Pro fan for years (over a decade now), and it's the closest I've come to the awesomeness of the NKP.  In some ways, it's even better: it's more compact, completely programmable, and has a smaller more modular footprint.

[raizur]

i really like the ergodox design however, having partial paralysis of on hand and a machette wound on the other i find those risen wave boards the only ones that dont hurt after a while.

[raizur]

Honestly I'm crafty enough to do the work but not the design(circuit wise) to make a KB myself and I am tempted. However I dont know where to start as I just started to consider it this evening while posting this thread initialy

[ijprest]

I'm in the same boat as you (minus the machette wounds).  I just really want a MS-4K equivilent, but with mechanical switches.  (But to silence the critics... yes, I'm going to try the ErgoDox... got one on order...)

Since it doesn't look like anyone is inclined to make one commercially, I'm starting to figure out how to do it myself.  I just got a big box from Mouser this morning with a couple hundred switches, and thousands of diodes and such.

I figure this will take me a few months to figure out, but I'll certainly be sharing anything I come up with here on GH, including PCB/plate layouts, firmware, case-designs, etc.

[CPTBadAss]

What about the Nexus/Ergo-GP coming out from Acidfire?

[daerid]

What about the Nexus/Ergo-GP coming out from Acidfire?

Probably a good bet.

[SonOfSonOfSpock]

You mentioned the "wave" keyboards. As far as mechanical keyboards go, the Kinesis Advantage has curved keywells. http://www.kinesis-ergo.com/advantage.htm

It isn't a mechanical keyboard, but the Logitech Wave is available in a lot of brick and mortar stores. It has a much more subtle wave shape than the MS keyboard. Personally, I think the keys have a better feel than the MS Natural.

[raizur]

I'm in the same boat as you (minus the machette wounds).

Technically its one machetter wound and central nerver system damage for the other but ya ...... hand probs suck the big one.