Need help and advice. I'm trying to get back in the Mechanical keyboard game.

[dante]

I took a sabbatical from Geekhack for a few months to think about why Mechanicals didn't work for me and I think I've meditated upon this long enough.

As far as stock keyboards are concerned some come close but most are no cigar.

In a nutshell I need to get off my ass, stop being a whiny turd, pick up a soldering iron and be a man about it.

What I know for sure this board will have:
- Tactile Zealios likely 62g/65g.
- Thick O-Rings (0.4 mm minimum) which will require some experimentation to find the right distance reduction and bottom out feel.
- Ultra low profile keycaps such as G20/DSA/ Delvin (MX 3.0); most likely Devlin ABS because I want them as smooth as possible despite the inevitable shine.

I know I'll get chuckles but I absolutely love how my Dell KB-522 rubberdome feels.  You might ask "well if you like it so much why not stick with it?"  There are times when I want a smaller keyboard but want to retain as much of the KB-522 feel as I can.

Here is where you come in.

I need help figuring out the canvas for this project.  One of the reasons why I like rubber domes so much is they are mostly all very thin and comfortable to type on without a wrist rest.  Everyone has personal preferences and mine is to do without one.

So when I examine all the mass produced compact keyboards on the market only one really speaks to me:

The DAS 4C.  This is very thin at 1.14".  The only other compact keyboard that comes close is the WASD V2 87 at 1.2".  Also the DAS comes with a hardwired cable and Cherry stabilizers which when clipped and lubed is what I prefer.

All the other 60%/75%/80% keyboards are much, much thicker going all the way up to 1.8"(!) for a Deck 82.

So for those who are experts in the world of customs are there any options out there that can break or come close to that 1.14" spec?

Also, with what is known now - what is absolutely the top tier lube to use on Cherry stabilizers?

Any help will be extremely appreciated.

[Olumin]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

[dante]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

I've tried Topre, yes.

The keyboards are too thick (1.5").  Also the key travel distance too far.

[Olumin]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

I've tried Topre, yes.

The keyboards are too thick (1.5").  Also the key travel distance too far.

Well, can't argue with that I guess, that all comes down to personal preference. I personally love my keyboards as ridiculously thick and solid as possible, as you might have already guessed due to the IBM selectric typewriter which is my profile picture.

[Olumin]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

I've tried Topre, yes.

The keyboards are too thick (1.5").  Also the key travel distance too far.

All right then, have you ever looked into cherry ml switches? They are basically very low profile mechanical switches, with, as a result, very low profile keycaps. There are some cherry slim line keyboards which feature these. They are supposed, and who would have thought, to provide a inferior feel to normal cherry MX switches. But lubed they are supposed to be OK, so I have read, or heard. I would suggest giving them a shot if you didn't already, these boards are quite cheap to pick up.

[dante]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

I've tried Topre, yes.

The keyboards are too thick (1.5").  Also the key travel distance too far.

All right then, have you ever looked into cherry ml switches? They are basically very low profile mechanical switches, with, as a result, very low profile keycaps. There are some cherry slim line keyboards which feature these. They are supposed, and who would have thought, to provide a inferior feel to normal cherry MX switches. But lubed they are supposed to be OK, so I have read, or heard. I would suggest giving them a shot if you didn't already, these boards are quite cheap to pick up.

Several issues on the ML: Louder/stiffer than I'd like and the rollover is terrible for games; in fact much worse than the Dell AT101/IBM Model M.

[Olumin]

There is only one question left to ask; have you ever even tried topre?

I've tried Topre, yes.

The keyboards are too thick (1.5").  Also the key travel distance too far.

All right then, have you ever looked into cherry ml switches? They are basically very low profile mechanical switches, with, as a result, very low profile keycaps. There are some cherry slim line keyboards which feature these. They are supposed, and who would have thought, to provide a inferior feel to normal cherry MX switches. But lubed they are supposed to be OK, so I have read, or heard. I would suggest giving them a shot if you didn't already, these boards are quite cheap to pick up.

Several issues on the ML: Louder/stiffer than I'd like and the rollover is terrible for games; in fact much worse than the Dell AT101/IBM Model M.

I would guess that the stiffness that many people complain about could be eliminated with lube and O rings, that would also make then significantly quieter (?). If one could build a custom keyboard with these switches which isn't shít (⬅ see how I did that?) and features N-Key roll-over, wouldn't that a feasible option?

[dante]

I would guess that the stiffness that many people complain about could be eliminated with lube and O rings, that would also make then significantly quieter (?). If one could build a custom keyboard with these switches which isn't shít (see how I did that?) and features N-Key roll-over, wouldn't that a feasible option?

Well first I don't even think O-Rings can be added to ML switches.  Beyond that if the end game is to make a custom keyboard I'm not going to use ML switches.

I was hoping someone could chime in if they knew of some custom Korean/Chinese board that nobody talks about that is very thin.

[klennkellon]

Perhaps you could dental band your topre? It can reduce the travel distance.

[dante]

Perhaps you could dental band your topre? It can reduce the travel distance.

LOL you Topre guys are in denial.  Even if it reduced the travel distance the keyboard size is still too thick!!

[Olumin]

Perhaps you could dental band your topre? It can reduce the travel distance.

LOL you Topre guys are in denial.  Even if it reduced the travel distance the keyboard size is still too thick!!

You cannot escape Topre forever, everybody ends up there sooner or later! Just accept it and regret your life decisions! Bah!

[dante]

I got feedback from a couple folks.

ABS DSA is out.  It has more texture than the MX 3.0/Devlin's.
G20 is out. Also has more texture and can have issues with Cherry stabilizers.

So Devlin it is.

I'll check back later if anyone has an idea on cases/pcb.

[klennkellon]

Perhaps you could dental band your topre? It can reduce the travel distance.

LOL you Topre guys are in denial.  Even if it reduced the travel distance the keyboard size is still too thick!!

I never have even tried a Topre board, but I know about dental banding from research.

[Olumin]

I fear that you are overcomplicating this whole scenario, and taking it way to seriously. If you love the way your Dell KB-522  feels, switching to a mechanical keyboard won't do you much good. Mechanical Keyboards CAN only be so thin, and if they are, you usually have to make a compromise, like with the Cherry ML ones. Just stick to rubber domes, there are some very high quality ones with a small form factor out there, literally thousands of options to choose from. I would usually go for the older models, but that's personal preference. Get opinions on small form factor rubber domes and select a few models. You can also look around amazon and order a few, they tend to not cost a fortune, send the ones back you don't like, and stick with one or two. I begin to understand why you have given up on mechanical keyboards, and perhaps that was a wise decision.

[dante]

I'm not taking it too seriously - you're the one trying to sell me on a $200 Topre

Some folks here will only touch stickered and lubed switches with GMK's on top.  I on the other hand would be perfectly fine with pad printed ABS keys as long as they feel right to me - with the only "mod" being o-rings.

It's true that MK's can be only so thin - but I don't believe this potential has been explored in compact boards.  The thinnest I've found is the KBT Next 108 which is at .75" thick.  Next up is the fullsize DAS 4 at .80" thick; if I am correct with keycaps these will be as thin as my KB-522.

[Darkshado]

OP, how do you feel about laptop style scissor switches? Keyboards don't get much thinner than that, and some do have interesting tactility. There's a good number of wired or Bluetooth options for desktop computers.

There's also so-called "short throw" Topre switches out there. Never tried them. (Or "regular" Topre beyond sneaking a quick tap or two on a RealForce this one time.)

[cryptokey]

Rubber domes, thin, low profile keys.  AND you don't need rubber o-rings when it's made of rubber!  I think we have a winner.

[dante]

Well if we reduce this down to wired which is all that I'm interested in...

I love certain scissor switches - and chiclets; unfortunately OEM's do some really stupid things with the layouts.  You've seen them before: big ass enter, tiny backspace, function key where the control key should be, etc.. etc..

Short throw Topre boards are all Japanese layouts and as far as I know out of production.

If someone - anyone could deliver a scissor switch/chiclet without a ****** up layout I'd take a look at it for sure.

[Olumin]

Well if we reduce this down to wired which is all that I'm interested in...

I love certain scissor switches - and chiclets; unfortunately OEM's do some really stupid things with the layouts.  You've seen them before: big ass enter, tiny backspace, function key where the control key should be, etc.. etc..

Short throw Topre boards are all Japanese layouts and as far as I know out of production.

If someone - anyone could deliver a scissor switch/chiclet without a ****** up layout I'd take a look at it for sure.

Some Logitech "perfect stroke" keyboards but they are all wireless: K811, TK820, dinovo edge