Author Topic: Hello from Illinois!  (Read 2379 times)

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Offline drewba

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Hello from Illinois!
« on: Fri, 12 December 2014, 14:33:27 »
I'm brand new to the mechanical keyboard game, in fact I'm still shopping for my first board  :thumb:

I got my hands on a coworkers Model M and loved what I felt/heard. For the past week I've been camped out on mechanicalkeyboards.com waiting for either a Ducky or KUL with browns to come back in stock.

I can't post there yet, but it looks like the classifieds section might get me in trouble...there are so many good looking boards out there.

Offline CPTBadAss

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #1 on: Fri, 12 December 2014, 14:37:25 »
Unless they've changed things, you should be able to buy in the classifieds. You just can't make new threads in the classifieds until you've hit 2 months + 25 posts.

Welcome to Geekhack! We're collectively sorry for what we're about to do to your wallet :P. Ducky and KUL are nice options :D.

Offline drewba

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #2 on: Fri, 12 December 2014, 14:50:25 »
Unless they've changed things, you should be able to buy in the classifieds. You just can't make new threads in the classifieds until you've hit 2 months + 25 posts.

Good to know, thanks for the reply!

Offline Evo_Spec

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #3 on: Fri, 12 December 2014, 19:26:06 »
Welcome to GH!

The classifieds definitely have some good deals to be had but also keep an eye out over at, "great finds" as users here post some crazy deals and such from time to time.
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Offline drewba

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 12 December 2014, 21:46:57 »
Cool, thanks Evo! :thumb:

Offline rowdy

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 13 December 2014, 05:51:15 »
Welcome to Geekhack!

If you liked the feel and sound of the Model M, MX browns might seem a lot softer and a lot quieter.

If you want something closed to buckling spring, you could go for MX greens.  Or just get a Model M of your own :p
"Because keyboards are accessories to PC makers, they focus on minimizing the manufacturing costs. But that’s incorrect. It’s in HHKB’s slogan, but when America’s cowboys were in the middle of a trip and their horse died, they would leave the horse there. But even if they were in the middle of a desert, they would take their saddle with them. The horse was a consumable good, but the saddle was an interface that their bodies had gotten used to. In the same vein, PCs are consumable goods, while keyboards are important interfaces." - Eiiti Wada

NEC APC-H4100E | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED red | Ducky DK9008 Shine MX blue LED green | Link 900243-08 | CM QFR MX black | KeyCool 87 white MX reds | HHKB 2 Pro | Model M 02-Mar-1993 | Model M 29-Nov-1995 | CM Trigger (broken) | CM QFS MX green | Ducky DK9087 Shine 3 TKL Yellow Edition MX black | Lexmark SSK 21-Apr-1994 | IBM SSK 13-Oct-1987 | CODE TKL MX clear | Model M 122 01-Jun-1988

Ị̸͚̯̲́ͤ̃͑̇̑ͯ̊̂͟ͅs̞͚̩͉̝̪̲͗͊ͪ̽̚̚ ̭̦͖͕̑́͌ͬͩ͟t̷̻͔̙̑͟h̹̠̼͋ͤ͋i̤̜̣̦̱̫͈͔̞ͭ͑ͥ̌̔s̬͔͎̍̈ͥͫ̐̾ͣ̔̇͘ͅ ̩̘̼͆̐̕e̞̰͓̲̺̎͐̏ͬ̓̅̾͠͝ͅv̶̰͕̱̞̥̍ͣ̄̕e͕͙͖̬̜͓͎̤̊ͭ͐͝ṇ̰͎̱̤̟̭ͫ͌̌͢͠ͅ ̳̥̦ͮ̐ͤ̎̊ͣ͡͡n̤̜̙̺̪̒͜e̶̻̦̿ͮ̂̀c̝̘̝͖̠̖͐ͨͪ̈̐͌ͩ̀e̷̥͇̋ͦs̢̡̤ͤͤͯ͜s͈̠̉̑͘a̱͕̗͖̳̥̺ͬͦͧ͆̌̑͡r̶̟̖̈͘ỷ̮̦̩͙͔ͫ̾ͬ̔ͬͮ̌?̵̘͇͔͙ͥͪ͞ͅ

Offline Joey Quinn

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 13 December 2014, 19:55:56 »
It's nice to see another person from chicago, welcome to Geekhack!
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Offline sorijealut

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 13 December 2014, 20:37:53 »
Welcome, I'm in Chicago as well  :)

I joined back in October and tried the Filco MJ2 and KUL ES-87. KUL is my current board and it's such a solid keyboard - really great company. Let me know if you have any questions!



Offline drewba

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 13:55:08 »
Hiya chicago people!

I joined back in October and tried the Filco MJ2 and KUL ES-87. KUL is my current board and it's such a solid keyboard - really great company. Let me know if you have any questions!

I appreciate it! I'm just waiting for a KUL board to get back in stock anywhere...

Offline jackalope

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #9 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 14:54:58 »
Welcome to GeekHack. Have you considered Filco.
eh o well

Offline drewba

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #10 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 16:15:24 »
Welcome to GeekHack. Have you considered Filco.

I just recently heard of Filco, sell me on them?

Offline jackalope

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #11 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 16:33:43 »
Welcome to GeekHack. Have you considered Filco.

I just recently heard of Filco, sell me on them?

Ducky shine 3 with browns was my first board and it felt great, then i picked up a filco mj2 with browns that had been broken in and the difference was amazing, the filco has a very solid feel in comparison, but thats just my opinion.
eh o well

Offline sorijealut

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #12 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 17:08:28 »
I appreciate it! I'm just waiting for a KUL board to get back in stock anywhere...

Ah I see. I bought the MX red from EliteKeyboards so I was able to find mine. It says ETA Dec 20th so hopefully you can find it then.
Takes about 5 day's shipping, and they do an excellent job on the packaging with plenty of bubble wraps.

I'd also agree that Filcos are a great board. In comparison to the KUL, the board has a bit more incline to it (keycaps themselves are a bit higher profile too), whereas the KUL is flatter and feels more grounded.
Filco makes a hollow "thunk" sound when the keys bottom out and hit the plate, which is a great feeling (especially the space bar). The downside of this was more finger fatigue when I was using linear type switches from grounding out. The plate on KUL is a lot quieter in comparison, and the key travel felt shorter because of it (whether it is an illusion from keycap height or material, I'm not sure). Personally, I would note the difference in stabilizer types, as it was a huge surprise to me. Going from the Filco's Costar wire stabilizers to Cherry style stabilizers made all the difference in feel. Wire stabilizers initially felt MUCH smoother and intuitive as there is no restriction when it is pressed, but after some testing I happened to like that there is less pinging and noise on the Cherrys and that you don't have to bottom out as much (with the added benefit of easier keycap fitting). In the case of the Filco, backspace, enter, and left shift keys all had a bit of rattle even after lubing.
It's really hard to say which one is better, and while I do admit Filco was a great keyboard, my fingers were happier and less fatigued by KUL's approach. In the end I felt like the KUL would suit me better for my use in gaming and typing, especially when I swap out the keycaps to something better.
« Last Edit: Sun, 14 December 2014, 17:10:16 by sorijealut »

Offline drewba

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #13 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 19:31:00 »
I'd also agree that Filcos are a great board. In comparison to the KUL, the board has a bit more incline to it (keycaps themselves are a bit higher profile too), whereas the KUL is flatter and feels more grounded.
Filco makes a hollow "thunk" sound when the keys bottom out and hit the plate, which is a great feeling (especially the space bar). The downside of this was more finger fatigue when I was using linear type switches from grounding out. The plate on KUL is a lot quieter in comparison, and the key travel felt shorter because of it (whether it is an illusion from keycap height or material, I'm not sure). Personally, I would note the difference in stabilizer types, as it was a huge surprise to me. Going from the Filco's Costar wire stabilizers to Cherry style stabilizers made all the difference in feel. Wire stabilizers initially felt MUCH smoother and intuitive as there is no restriction when it is pressed, but after some testing I happened to like that there is less pinging and noise on the Cherrys and that you don't have to bottom out as much (with the added benefit of easier keycap fitting). In the case of the Filco, backspace, enter, and left shift keys all had a bit of rattle even after lubing.
It's really hard to say which one is better, and while I do admit Filco was a great keyboard, my fingers were happier and less fatigued by KUL's approach. In the end I felt like the KUL would suit me better for my use in gaming and typing, especially when I swap out the keycaps to something better.

Thanks for the detail, I'll definitely keep this in mind! It looks like Amazon is the official vendor for the states so I'll keep an eye out.

Offline Sygaldry

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Re: Hello from Illinois!
« Reply #14 on: Sun, 14 December 2014, 20:11:29 »
Why do I get the feeling that half of GH lives in Chicago (or in Washington)... :eek:
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