Keebin’ With Kristina: The One With The Holey And Wholly Expensive Keyboard

The Ultimate Hacking Keyboard (UHK) line is, as the name suggests, a great choice for a lot of people. They’re each a toe-dip into the ergonomic waters with their split-ability and those beginner thumb clusters.

However, [jwr] was not completely satisfied and decided to make a custom set of keycaps. The idea was to create ‘caps without the “annoyingly abrasive texture of PBT”, that are larger than average for larger-than-average fingers. Finally, [jwr] wanted the Function row to tower over the number row a little, so these have a taller profile.

So, what are they made of? The look kind rubbery, don’t they? They are cast of pigmented polyurethane resin. First, [jwr] designed five molds in Fusion360, one for each row. Then it was time to machine master molds via CNC in foam tooling board. These were filled with silicone along with 3D-printed inserts, which produced silicone molds for casting keycaps four at a time in resin.

Keyboard’s Cost Matches Skyscraper Looks

Looks like the perfect accessory for a Deplorean Cybertruck owner, doesn’t it? At $2,100, the Icebreaker keyboard, which incidentally is just a kit (!), seems to occupy the same headspace. Oh, and you don’t even get keycaps for that price — those are another $415. More on that later.

Inspired by New York City’s Flatiron building, this functional wedge is priced more for looks than capability. The chassis is CNC’d from a solid block of 6061 aluminium alloy and purportedly appears completely flat from the right angle. (Is that a feature? I don’t know.)

Back to those keycaps. They are also completely aluminium, and — get this — feature around 800 micro-perforations that make up the legends. But hey, this is a mechanical keyboard. You gotta let the light through one way or another.

I seriously hope that there is some sheer layer of something beneath those holes that will keep finger oils and other assorted nastiness out of the switches. Because eww.

So here’s how the pricing breaks down. There’s a bare-bones version for a cool $1,500. If you want black, that’s another $500. But then you have to make a choice between Bluetooth connectivity and Hall-effect switches, because you can’t have both for some reason. And yeah, that’s a rotary encoder, which is programmable along with the keys. At least there’s that?

The Centerfold: Windbreaker Caps Make For a Nice ‘Fit

Remember those swishy-sounding two-piece trash-bag outfits people wore at the end of the 80s and into the early 90s? While many opted for the windbreaker by itself, the truly fashionable donned the entire track suit. This keycap set, DCS Windbreaker, hearkens back to a brighter time.

As with many of my centerfolds, I don’t know a whole lot about this other than a few of the surface details. All else I can tell you is that the keyboard is a Sho SRX, and that the classic children’s city map rug is a great substrate for any keyboard.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Lambert

This totally looks like another index typewriter, doesn’t it? But it isn’t like that at all. One uses both hands on the circular keyboard just like a regular typewriter. But instead of typebars, the Lambert used a type stamp.

Although it wasn’t put into production until 1900, the Lambert typewriter was patented in 1883 and awarded in 1884. You see, prolific French-American inventor Francoise (Frank) Lambert was just busy with other things and spent that time developing a successful water meter manufacturing concern with his business partner, John Thomson.

Right before the turn of the century, Lambert threw himself into the typewriter and the machine went into production right there at the water meter factory. Unfortunately, by this time, most typewriters had taken on the front-striking, four-row, single-shift model. Still, the Lambert, with its low part count and affordable price tag, did well in Western Europe due to aggressive marketing.

Lambert produced three models total, and there weren’t many differences between them. Most notable for No. 1 is that it could produce a crude version of an italic typeface by slightly rotating the keyboard. The No. 1 also came with an attractive domed wooden case emblazoned with a Saturn logo. Don’t you love how prominently the name is featured?

Introducing the MantaRay

What do you do when you see a keyboard that you love, but it’s just not right for you for one reason or another? If you’re [hawkwoodwork] and that keyboard is the ZSA Voyager, then you build a non-split version with the same features and call it MantaRay.

Now don’t go running off just yet — this is not quite open-source, but will be once [hawkwoodwork] validates that everything works and has the time to put together a build guide for YouTube.

Here’s what we know so far: this will be a column-staggered ortholinear board with hot-swap support for Kailh chocs, an OLED display. The idea is to make something ultra low-profile.

The top requests for V2 include wireless support and a split version that can join together with magnets, and the plans already include expansion accessories like a magnetic encoder, thumb sticks, and a multi-axis encoder for CAD work. What would you add to the mix?

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.