I'm cheap.
My current keyboard was $25 brand new.
I think you may have an extra zero there. Following local craigslist, thrift shops and such can pay off. I got my model M for $15.
Once upon a time I took home a retired terminal… think it was an ADM42… and it had the most beautiful mechanical keyboard. Spring-switches fitted with tiny magnets that’d activate individual Hall-effect devices. A keypress would let the cap drop down a well ’til it silently bottomed out, juuuuuuuuust the perfect amount of springiness. Absolutely perfect. All were individual Cherry switches.
Some SOB in my so-called “family” threw it out as “junk”.
Also had a few ADM11s (amber- and green phosphor) “disappear” over time. Those keyboards were a bit more lower-profile, but still had a really nice keyfeel and “clack”.
Still under $500 :nerd_face:
If you are a big collector of IBM clickies, your going to hate me. Before my oldest was born, I sold about a dozen, new in box, IBM M15 ergo clicky keyboards on eBay. I only paid $8 each so I was happy to get $50 - $75 each. I had no clue collectors in Japan were offering $1,000 each. I was inundated with requests for month afterwards.
I have a Ducky One 2 Mini with Cherry Browns. I love it but I might go to a TKL.
I dipped my toe into the artisan key cap waters and bought a Dwarf Factory The 4 Veggies KIN.
They make beautiful caps and lucky for me one was enough to satisfy my curiosity.
Built a TADA68 using Aliaz silents (basically Gateron silent browns that are a bit more tactile due to different stem) and have been loving it. Do kinda miss having dedicated function keys for gaming, but there were basically zero 70/75% boards available when I bought it other than a few prebuilt.
If I did get another board I would definitely look into something with better stabilizers. Even after a bit of lubing the ones on the TADA still have a bit of rattle to them.
That’s really sad to hear, but you never know if you might get lucky and find one in the wild.
(At least that is what I tell my self when I see an average Reddit dumpster find keyboard that I probably couldn’t buy even if I had those couple of thousands it seems to be worth)
Fair enough. 
People in Japan and Korea are crazy. Japanesee have Topre keyboards, on paper very similar to conventional membrane keyboards, but arguably nicer to use than real mechanical ones, very expensive and well built. Koreans have this crazy custom scene. They basically invented custom keyboard with excessive amounts of metal, that can cost even thousands.
Artisans are fortunately out of my price range given there are some really beautiful keycaps out there. Though there are so called Taobao artisans, mass produced injection molded plastic caps. I might get some since they are cheap and interesting novelty items.
How do you feel about Aliaz switches? I want to get them for this Helix project. On paper, they sound perfect; heavier and more tactile than (gateron) browns and as silent as a mechanical switch can get. Both properties are important to me, since blue switch variants I currently have are too light and my sister is not to fond of the sound. And they wouldn’t set me back more than $30, considerably less when compared to other tactile silents such as $1 a piece Zilents.
This seems to be a godsend for fans of both mechanical keyboards and Thinkpad’s nipple: Shinobi | TEX Electronics
Different switches to choose from, optional bluetooth module and also available with ISO layout.
IIRC, it is even sold under official Thinkpad branding in some markets.
I am an OLD (ish) gamer and have used a great arrayof mech/non mech kb’s over the years.
I am massively surprised at the quality of this - EG Carbon
I picked it up a bit cheaper than this £27, and for a mech/rgb kb it is a bargain - hasn’t missed a beat in over a year now with regular use/hammering lol. frame is aluminium.
Best bit is the software is built in, so no extra rubbish running in the tray - sure you can’t make your own patterns, but there are plenty to choose from and they are all adjustable in speed etc.
I think that’s a different one. The Shinobi was just released AFAIK and the Lenovo model is several years old (using membrane / scissors keys like normal ThinkPad keyboard). Just search for “ThinkPad Compact Keyboard”.
PS: The Shinobi seems to be awesome, but too expensive. Even as a professional software developer I can’t write enough to justify it in addition to all my other mechanical keyboards. Also I love my trackballs and don’t need a trackpoint in a desktop keyboard.
I was thinking of Tex Yoda (standard 60% layout), but can’t find anything linking it to Lenovo. I could swear it was released on some official event a few years ago. 
Great topic! I am definitely looking for a new one! Any recommendations are coveted!
How much are you willing to spend?
I had a cherry with click from about 1993-2004, too bad It got someday replaced with a USB one instead converting it
I am sure it would have lasted longer than the 2 USB I had to trash so far
I’ve been happy with them (other than wishing they were still MORE tactile, but that’s the same with almost every switch) however I haven’t used some of the new boutique switches.
The complaints I’ve heard is that they aren’t the best with stem wobble and that some “scratchiness” is noticeable, maybe due to the reduced sound. More sound than feel from what I can understand.
To someone that isn’t completely obsessive like the Mech KB community they are quiet, just heavy enough (70g on mine IIRC) and have the softer bottom out I love about silent switches.
I bought a cheap (~€50) Royal Kludge RK61 to use until I built my Iris.
Iris rev. 2 with Zilent 67g v2 switches (lubed with Krytox 105) and Big Bang MDA keycaps, no LEDs.
I chose the silent switches for office use. For a future, home-use build I’ll go for really clicky switches with a lower actuation force.
Total part cost plus shipping was roughly €170.
It runs the open source QMK firmware
(the picture isn’t of mine, but it looks the same)
Wrist rests aren’t pictured.
For a deep dive into keyboards, including a deep dive into mechanical keyboards, look at “”Xah keyboard Blog”“:Xah Keyboard Guide (and ignore the grammar).
Thanks, that sounds great. I’m no switch snob by any means and it seems like we have similar preferences. Though I would probably go for the 80g variant. And those as you say boutique switches are too expensive, at least a buck a piece.
Currently I’m torn between Helix without bottom row, so 40, and column staggered such as your Iris, but in 40 so Corne (crkbd) is the most likely candidate. How do you like the layout in terms of ergonomics? The main reason I want an ortho split 40% is the idea of moving my fingers outside their home column as little as possible (as anyone else using similar keyboard, I guess). I have ran into that blog before, that guy Xah has bunch of boards originating from in one place.
Forgot to mention that apparently with both them and Zealios the heavier versions are supposed to feel even more tactile so if that’s the feel you want 80g would be a fantastic choice! :+1: