60% Keyboards were my gateway drug into custom keyboards. I loved the small form-factor. I loved the simplicity. I loved how easy it was to throw in into a bag and take it with me. The main problem I had when first switching to a 60% keyboard was getting used to using function layers. My first 60% keyboard was the POK3R by Vortex. This was around 2013 or 2014 so that was pretty much the only option at the time. ...
I have so many draft blog posts. Seriously, my ADHD is so bad that I’ll start a post with great intentions and plans for the whole thing. But then my brain will just shut off. I’m starting this post off like this because the last real blog post I wrote was a year ago about last years meetup. Anyway, today was the second Motor City Mech Meetup. This time in a new location, actually in Detroit! It seemed like there were less people in attendance this year and I’m sure that had to do with the max capacity of the venue. ...
So over the weekend was the Motor City Mech Meetup, a keyboard meetup graciously hosted by The Key Company. It was a pretty small meetup and (possibly) the first one to be hosted in Michigan but boy was it a blast. It was hosted in the TKC warehouse in Troy, Michigan which is only about 30 minutes from where I live so it was a no brainer to go. We were lucky enough to get a few “celebrities” of the keyboard world to come out for the meetup. Dutch, Captain Sterling, and Mochi Crafts were all in attendance which was a huge treat for me personally because Marie of Mochi Crafts has been a friend of mine for a decade or so from an even more niche community, the now defunct MacThemes. ...
It took me way longer than I care to admit to discover these Gummy O-Ring mounted keyboards. I’m not proud of it, but it is what it is. When I finally discovered them I thought they were an interesting mounting style and I wanted to try it out. It’s pretty easy to get a Bakeneko60 from Cannon Keys, but I’m not a huge fan of the painted finish and lack of a weight. I mean, obviously I’d love to get my hands on a UNIKORN, but the group buy ended before I knew about it and the aftermarket prices are outrageous! Enter the Ciel, by ChickenMan. The Ciel is a premium 60% Cnc Bakeneko with an internal brass weight. That caught my attention. So I joined the group buy (Sadge) and waited. 5 months later, it’s here!! ...
When I started my keyboard journey I bought a Razer Blackwidow Chroma Tournament Edition. This keyboard was marketed towards gamers and had all the bells and whistles of a “gaming” keyboard. Poorly designed software. Loud, clicky keys. And of course, The RGBs! I soon found that I didn’t like it much as I had originally expected (even though I’ve owned Razer products in the past and was never really happy with them). I wasn’t a fan of how the board felt. The keycaps felt cheap. The matte finish on the case felt weird. The non-standard bottom row was hard to find after market keycaps for, something I had just then found out existed. It just wasn’t for me. I had also recently started browsing r/mk and was seeing all of the cool keyboards people were posting. I kept seeing Pok3rs all over the place and I thought that the (even) smaller layout was really interesting. I had no idea that 60% keyboards were even a thing. I mean, I had just found out that some keyboards didn’t have number pads! Well, it didn’t take me long to purchase a Pok3r for myself. I fell in love with it, even if it did have Cherry MX Blue switches. Fast forward maybe 6 or 7 months and I’m really interested in 60% keyboards. I started getting deeper and deeper into the hobby and the scene surrounding it. I made a few friends in the hobby. I discovered geekhack and group buys. I spent too much money on keycaps in a profile I thought I liked but turned out to hate. But I hadn’t built my own keyboard and I decided that it was time. I was so proud of the final build. I still have some photos of it on Instagram. This was probably six or so years ago and a lot has changed. I no longer have that fist build, and to be honest, I’m no sure I would even want it. I really had no idea what I was doing. I’ve built a lot of keyboards since then, and I mean, a lot. Many different sizes and styles. Different switches and stabilizers. I started to actually take the time to lube each switch instead of just trusting the factory lube. I decided I wanted to take all of this knowledge and build myself another 60% keyboard. ...