By Calvin Liu, ’24
Writing about keyboards is hard, not only because of the multiple directions that any article can go in and the huge amount of ground which must be covered. but also because of the huge warning sign that should open every keyboard article: BEWARE: IT CAN ONLY GET WORSE.
And it will.
While the customizable mechanical keyboard scene dates back to 2016, the rise in interest for getting keyboard cases, installing switches (the things underneath the buttons you press) onto a PCB (printed circuit board, the board you stick switches into), placing the PCB in the box and getting a set of nicely coloured keycaps is fairly new. Emerging during the pandemic and driven by the stimulus checks they should be spending on food, people decided to occupy themselves with oiling clicky things and soldering the clicky things onto boards. The things we do when we are bored.
Since the pandemic, the keyboard scene has largely settled, and a few keyboard designs have risen to the top. While keyboards do still come in all shapes and sizes, the primary sizes are 40%, 60%, 65%, 75%, 80% or TKL (ten-key-less), 100%, and the Alice layout. The “%” is based on the percent of a “normal” keyboard, featuring all the buttons you would normally see, with the inclusion of a number pad on the side. Each one provides its own advantages, aesthetic value for the 40% and 60%, functionality combined with desktop neatness for the 75% and TKL, and the ability to do accounting and use Excel for the 100%. The 60%, 65%, and TKL are widely regarded as some of the most popular keyboard layouts. Honourable mentions go to the HHKB (called Happy Hacking Keyboard) layout for being unusable except for those who can use it.
40% Monokei x SingaKBD (Monokei and Friends Lineup) Neko, in Polycarbonate. It posses “alphas” (letters) and excludes the Window key, numbers, function row, and other buttons to the right
60% SingaKBD x TGR Unikorn (R2.2), in Blue (left) and Grey (right). It possesses alphas and the number row, with the notable exclusion of the arrow keys to the bottom right. This is usually the biggest criticism against the 60%, although many keyboard programming softwares allow for the programming of a “diamond cluster” which allows other keys to be used as the arrow keys.
65% TGR x GAF in Black. It possesses everything a 60% has, with the inclusion of extra keys on the right and arrow keys.
Zoom 75 by Meletrix in E-White with Mirror Backplate. Function row (F-row), and everything a 65% has.
80%/TKL Keycult No. 2 Rev.1 in Grey. A 75% with the inclusion of a sidebar on the right, with separated arrow keys. This model also has “blockers” covering where Window keys would be. The “ten-key-less” is the number pad which the 100% possess.
100% Apple Magic Keyboard with Numeric Keypad. The keypad is the only addition from a TKL.
As you may have noticed, a few names have shown up more than once. While these are by no means the largest producers of customizable mechanical keyboards, they are some of the most well-known, and hard-to-obtain models, as well as serving as the gold standard for what mechanical keyboards are. A few are included below:
The Great Rectangle (TGR). The creator of TGR is one of the most prominent designers in the community, contributing to some of the most notable keyboards, from the Jane (TKL) to the 910 (65%, as seen above), to the Unikorn (60%). His Alice keyboard also helped this now popularized layout rise to prominence.
Alice TGR Alice in Polycarbonate (Known as the Poly-Alice, or simply “Police”).
SingaKBD is perhaps most known for its Unikorn keyboard, known for its distinct, customizable sound signature. It popularized the “O-ring” format (basically a rubber band wrapped around the edge of the PCB, which helps suspend flexibility in the case). Since then, it has produced other notable keyboards and is often sold by raffle, making it one of the most exclusive boards (aftermarket prices are often 3-4x raffle price).
Keycult has also historically been a notable name, but has declined in relevance after failing to meet a groupbuy (pre-order) for over a year, and thus not being able to produce any more new boards. There has also been criticism for a decline in quality, moving from a machined aluminum case to plastic. However, they remain widely sought after.
It’s hard to talk about Monokei without the context of keyboard collaborations, which it is most known for. Some of the most popular keyboard designs, from the Unikorn (SingaKBD x TGR) to the Tomo (75%, TGR x Monokei) have been collaborations, which often allow better or more inspired designs, as well as better fulfillment. Monokei often serves as a partner in projects to allow for projects to be better fulfilled and on time. However, they have also developed their own designs outside of their collaboration series, such as the Kei and Kei V2, Hiro, and most recently, Systems.
This list is by no means exhaustive, instead serving more to highlight certain companies which have captured my attention the most; hundreds of other equally good or better designers exist.
I’ve tried to stray away from the glorification of keyboards, not only because there is little to truly glorify, but the costs heavily outweigh the benefits. In that way, the “keyboard hobby” is primarily not a hobby at all, but simply a pursuit of an unachievable ideal: people with a Bakeneko 60 want a Unikorn because it sounds better, people with a Unikorn want a Kohaku because it has arrow keys and a funny koi fish on the bottom, and people with a Kohaku still join raffles and scour aftermarket sites because they see the colours and want to “collect them all.” All this for the pursuit of a “better” sound when pressing down buttons on a box.
To drive that point further, let me conclude with the Surtr of the keyboard community, the scourge of the internet: the hell known as Groupbuys.
Oftentimes, projects which are launched by an individual creator instead of a company or with funds provided by a venture capitalist have to raise money to realize the project: this is why platforms like GoFundMe, Patreon, and others exist. Backers, or people who like the concept of a product “invest” into a pool, and if a project meets or exceeds the goal, the creator can bring their project to life (if they don’t cut communication with backers, delete their account, and run with the money, which is surprisingly common). Usually, these backers are normal people who feel a personal connection or a purpose for contributing to the project and just want to see it realized. The projects usually have extremely long runtimes, with the singular creator needing to wait on the fundraiser before going off to develop the product. They also make up a negligible percentage of products in the economy.
So imagine if 90% of quality customizable keyboards were sold with this model. Because of the financial risk that comes with producing hundreds of coloured boxes, designers often post a draft of their design onto a personal website or GeekHack (a really old-looking online board in permanent dark mode where designers can create posts and others can comment). These projects often take years to complete, with frequent delays, which even the best keyboard manufacturers are not immune to. Keycult’s latest large project nears a year delayed: Monokei’s Kei V2 has been delayed a month after its 3-month pre-order, and multiple vendors have had their reputations tarnished by not delivering on time. There are still projects by reputable vendors undelivered from 2020.
Even worse than the long Groupbuy wait period for undelayed projects, a person may need to enter a raffle to even have a chance to wait these 9 months for a keyboard to arrive (in the case of the second run of SingaKBD’s Kohaku).
In this way, time, alongside money, serves as a deterrence to even attempting to purchase a customizable mechanical keyboard, leading to a rise in manufacturers with “in-stock” options. Many “in-stock” keyboards also come with the option of getting stabilizers, switches, and keycaps included in the box, or even pre-built to make the process incredibly easy.
And yes, switches, stabilizers, and keycaps are most often sold separately.