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Executable File
| title | tags | draft | date | lastmod | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Mechanical Keyboard Journey |
|
true | 2024-07-25 | 2024-07-25 |
The Problem
I have two areas where I use keyboards. My home desk, and my work.
At home, I had a "gaming keyboard", which was starting to become unbearable. It had generation 1 "silent" switches, which were both loud and uncomfortable to type on. Not to mention the awful software (Corsair iCue, my beloathed). I did enjoy its ergonomics outside of the way the switches felt, but that wasn't enough to justify attempting to retrofit the nearly 10-year-old soldered keyboard.
And at work, I had a generic membrane keyboard that always felt off no matter how I positioned it. Obviously, a change was needed.
As such, I did what I do best, and I hyperfixated. I have now built two mechanical keyboards in the past month, and I'm very happy with them! Here's what I learned. There are three basic components to a keyboard build:
Switches
I've previously tested all different kinds of switches. A switch's sound and feel falls into three different categories:
- Linear: Most people will have experienced this with a cheap HP membrane keyboard at their work or school. For those that haven't, it's a much longer travel compared to the flat, short press of a laptop keyboard or similar "scissor switch" keyboards. The amount of force needed to press it down is the same throughout the keypress.
- Tactile: Unlike a linear switch, somewhere in the keystroke, a tactile switch will feature a 'bump' where the force required increases and decreases. A D-shape bump will be in the middle of the stroke, a P-shape bump will be at the end of the stroke.
- I think a D-shape should be called a thorn bump, but I'm weird.
- Clicky: instead of the tactile bump, where the change is mostly in feel (and the added force of the bump makes you cause the noise), clicky switches have a separate metal tang that gets compressed and snapped against another piece of metal during the stroke. This produces a sharp metallic sound and unique feel that some people enjoy.
Personally, I like
Tech Detour
The way a mechanical keyboard switch works is pretty mundane. The plastic stem