I love my new WASD mechanical keyboard sooo much... what keyboards y'all using?

[atarione]

it has been awhile since my computing experience has been so improved like this

for years i've been using microsoft natural elite 4000 keyboards


as some of y'all may be aware over the last few years mechanical keyboards have been making a huge surge in popularity and i have been seeing people raving about them left and right on forums for awhile.

I asked my wife for and receive a absolutely awesome WASD MX Cherry brown mechanical keyboard for xmas. mine is equipped with the optional .2mm dampers (reducing key bottoming out sound significantly.) From the first time i sat down and tried this thing out i have been absolutely in love with it, my typing is so much faster / better feeling .... now after a few days with this thing i can't imagine how i lived with the mushy membrane keyboards for all these years.

here is mine..





this thing is the best improvement to my computer in awhile...


anyone else rocking mechanical keyboards out there? if so what model / switch type?

 

[x_25]

IBM Model M Space Saver here. Picked it up, as far as I can tell, new, out of box (or with very, very little use) for $3. (I had a regular M before that).

For my laptops I get IBM Thinkpads, so even though they aren't as nice, they are still nice keyboards.

and a closer picture.

 

[Bozzmonster]

Congrats on your purchase - mechanical keyboards are the absolute best! I can type faster, more accurately, and with less fatigue on a 'clicky' keyboard. If I need to do some serious typing, I have a couple of vintage Dell mechanical keyboards packed away and a little converter to allow me to plug it into a USB port.

However, most of my typing is done via my wireless keyboard in my living room with the typical membrane keyboard. PC's hooked to the flatscreen TV. Haven't found a wireless mechanical keyboard... yet! When I do, watch out, and if others in the room go nutz over the clicky keys, so be it!

Edit: I just checked Amazon, and Cherry makes such a thing. He, he, he, he... looks like I'll be saving my money up for a purchase!

 

[gadget73]

...

Is that a Vectrex I see over on the shelf?


Standard boring Dell keyboard here. For years I used an old IBM RapidAccess and then when I wore it out, I got a RapidAccess II. I've largely quit using that machine though, and the keyboard is about done on it anyway. Several of the little domes are cracked so not all of the keys spring back up properly. The laptop is a Lenovo, with that same keyboard that ThinkPads use. Only laptop keyboard worth a damn IMO.

 

[atarione]

those model M keyboards are kinda rad .... I remember them from school, they had some in various classes

loud buggers however.

I would like to grab a nice one ... but most of them are white...which as you see wouldn't go w/ the black them going on here that well. but i think i've seen some black model M (or similar buckling spring keyboards) from time to time.

with the dampers my new WASD keyboard is probably quieter than my old microsoft ergo keyboard.

 

[x_25]

Haven't found a wireless mechanical keyboard... yet! When I do, watch out, and if others in the room go nutz over the clicky keys, so be it!

Hmmmm.... :scratch2:

 

[jhoak]

For many years I used an IBM keyboard that emulated the "key click" of an IBM Selectric typewriter. When it finally died I was crushed. I searched for months for a suitable replacement that I could afford.

I finally just got over it and got used to the mush boards that were available at the time. A few years ago someone resurrected the IBM "tactile" keyboards but they were WAY out of the $$ range that I was willing to pay.

I'm currently using a cheap Microsoft "comfort" keyboard and it just purely sucks. I make a LOT of typos using it. I'd gladly trade my large box of retired, scrapped out keyboards for just one that gave me a little tactile feedback when I typed.

Yes... The keyboard "feel" can and DOES make a world of difference in how we type.

 

[x_25]

Is that a Vectrex I see over on the shelf?

:yes: It certainly is. And yes, it is fully functional (though it could use a shot of deoxit, the volume knob is scratchy and cuts in and out).

 

[x_25]

I'd gladly trade my large box of retired, scrapped out keyboards for just one that gave me a little tactile feedback when I typed.

You need to haunt the local electronics recyclers, garage sale and (where I get mine!) ham fests/amateur radio swap meets. If you can't get a good condition, working, Model M for $15 I would be surprised, we have 5 in the house and I don't think we have payed over $10 for any of them. :yes:

I think they go for $50 or so on the bay even.

 

[Bozzmonster]

For me, I took typing classes back in the 80's as a requirement to take the computer classes I wanted to take. Learning touch typing was a great asset to me, and my learning was done on IBM Selectrics and some other clones. So, my learning and typing habits were done on those buckling style keyboards.

If you comb the second hand stores, the 'good' keyboards are sometimes found, but they are becoming rare. Ten years ago, they were pretty common, and I picked up a few for a couple bucks a piece. Most of the ones I found were labeled Dell, but I think they came from off-lease computers in local offices. The membrane keyboards from Dell today absolutely suck.

 

[atarione]

if you look there are some deals out there on mechanical keyboards

i'm not sure how much you'd be willing to spend to ditch the mush but for example

this 10key less CM storm QF w/ MX blue switches (clickly)

http://www.amazon.com/Storm-QuickFi...356828053&sr=8-2&keywords=mechanical+keyboard

$67~ish


I really wanted this one i got for xmas ... with the dampers and other options i wanted it was not the cheapest option (by a long shot) but man i love mine

but supposedly those CM QF boards are pretty decent... i don't care for all the logos on them ...but some have said they have good new revisions with less branding.

for something i have to use every day ... I'm considering (gift it may have been) this WASD board money well spent.

 

[atarione]

i'm sort of embarrassed about how expensive this WASD keyboard was with shipping..but meh.. it was the one that really did it for me...hopefully it will last for years to come.

it is just a delight to use.

 

[Jon.]

I'm using an Apple "aluminium-chiclet" model. (No heckling from the peanut gallery!)

I used to have the keyboard fetish, but I discovered the Dvorak keyboard layout in 2007 or so, and I've been touch-typing pain free ever since. Keyboard agnostic, if you will.

 

[Jeffery]

I have a Max Nighthawk 8X with Cherry Browns, been a fine keyboard.

 

[Adda]

I like the keyboard on my ThinkPad T43p quite a lot, ThinkPads had great keyboards, too bad Lenovo ruined it on their latest lineup.

 

[33&athird]

IBM Model M Space Saver here. Picked it up, as far as I can tell, new, out of box (or with very, very little use) for $3. (I had a regular M before that).

Very nice, I use a Full-size Model M, and have another full size in the basement for eventual use. First Model M I hooked up was a space-saver, but it was (originally) for the IBM PTS (personal typing system) which was a weird word-station computer.

It's pretty hard to tell which keyboards are really new or pretty used, since they have abnormally long lifespans, I think the keystrokes are well into the millions on an average model M.

Unicomp is effectively making new model M's, after they bought the molds from Lexmark...Lexmark actually made the very last "offical" ones, after they bought the plant from IBM. Bit of Lexington history (my dad remembers when they brought metal in, and typewriters and keyboards out, it was a full production line)

loud buggers however.

Very loud, all the time

they are actually about the closest thing to an IBM Selectric (another beautiful piece of office tech), but surprisingly, I think the model M makes a little less noise, even ignoring the motor in the Selectric.

Is that a Vectrex I see over on the shelf?

Oh my, it certainly is, what a cool old video game system, shame vector graphics never really caught on...at the time it must have been mind-blowingly in terms of graphics.

i'm sort of embarrassed about how expensive this WASD keyboard was with shipping..but meh.. it was the one that really did it for me...hopefully it will last for years to come.

it is just a delight to use.

Here's how I would look at it: every time you sit at your computer, you use two things, the mouse and the keyboard, this is how you input every piece of information on your computer, so it only makes sense to get a quality user interface there.

I hope your keyboard last a long time, as i've mentioned, i've heard a lot of good things about cherry keyboards. I'll admit, i'm pretty interesting in the damping idea, as the model m's do make a ton of noise.

I started using a mechanical keyboard, and now it's honestly pretty difficult to go back to a rubber-dome and like it at all, they feel so inaccurate and lack the feedback.

 

[RedFuneral]

I've got a mechanical as well, a Ducky Year of the Tiger. I ended up getting one with cherry blues because I'm a bit of an oaf(I can't just rest my fingers on the red boards I've tried without hitting the keys). It's annoyingly loud but it was the only board I could find at the time with PBT keys which are a must in my book.

The keys are also un-filled so you can't see the letters. What better way to learn to touch type than to not give myself an option(also provides incentive for the family to use my dad's PC. They had a bad habit of picking up spyware when using my computer despite having a good AV.)

That's a nice board you've got, and I'm jealous of the dampers. I'd pick up some myself but I'm not sure it would be enough to silence the blues.

 

[atarione]

Here's how I would look at it: every time you sit at your computer, you use two things, the mouse and the keyboard, this is how you input every piece of information on your computer, so it only makes sense to get a quality user interface there.

I hope your keyboard last a long time, as i've mentioned, i've heard a lot of good things about cherry keyboards. I'll admit, i'm pretty interesting in the damping idea, as the model m's do make a ton of noise.

I started using a mechanical keyboard, and now it's honestly pretty difficult to go back to a rubber-dome and like it at all, they feel so inaccurate and lack the feedback.

Yeah... that is basically what i figured when i asked for it as a xmas gift, and using it it seems like it will be well worth the investment. The thing that gave me pause mostly was the WASD was way more expensive than say something like a CM Quick Fire ..but I really didn't like the excessive branding (CM logos) and had heard the keycaps on those where not that great. ... and I really wanted ORANGE ESC and WASD keys

 

[HiFi-ve]

Filco tenkeyless here
I apologize for the awful photo

 

[atarione]

I've got a mechanical as well, a Ducky Year of the Tiger. I ended up getting one with cherry blues because I'm a bit of an oaf(I can't just rest my fingers on the red boards I've tried without hitting the keys). It's annoyingly loud but it was the only board I could find at the time with PBT keys which are a must in my book.

The keys are also un-filled so you can't see the letters. What better way to learn to touch type than to not give myself an option(also provides incentive for the family to use my dad's PC. They had a bad habit of picking up spyware when using my computer despite having a good AV.)

That's a nice board you've got, and I'm jealous of the dampers. I'd pick up some myself but I'm not sure it would be enough to silence the blues.

at some point i need to find a keyboard with those PBT keycaps ...WASD dosn't offer them ...to see what the deal is, however I'm very happy so far with these laser etched ABS keycaps on my WASD.

I did look at those Ducky keyboards quite a bit... I was having trouble finding the model / switch type i was interested in stock... and I really wanted the dampers. I think they would probably do quite a bit to tame the noise on the blues even.

One nice thing about ordering the WASD semi custom board is they have an option to have the dampers pre-installed ... i wouldn't enjoy taking 104 keys off to install them myself i don't thing :scratch2:


I did see some ducky boards in person yesterday...we stopped by micro center in OC on our way back from Los Angles (we went and saw my beloved Celtics.....get their butts handed to them by the clippers .....oh well) the ducky keyboards seem real nice also.

I like my WASD very much but I think I'd also be very happy if it was the Ducky i would have got also...both great keyboards i think.