In today’s post, I’m going to be discussing my current keyboard, how I decided which one to get, which features I cared about, and why I felt I needed to change from a standard full sized membrane keyboards I’d had most of my life.

Beginnings

Growing up, I always used low quality keyboards, but when I went to university, I purchased a Logitech MK700, a nice wireless keyboard with a built-in wrist rest. To give it credit, it still actually works to this day, but as I was writing more and more when it came to my Master’s degree, I found myself with ergonomic issues, notably that I was either bringing my right hand in at an angle to type, or that I then centred the letters section of the keyboard correctly to me, but then my mouse was too far away, and when I had to switch to using that, I was again creating aches and pains in my body.

It was annoying, but I initially didn’t know what to do. It was only when I began researching into building a Windows computer for a friend (a good ten years later after purchasing the MK700!) that I looked at accessories and saw a gorgeous looking keyboard on people’s desks. I found out most were variations of a keyboard by Ducky, and although Ducky make keyboards in various sizes, the ones that interested me were much smaller. I learned these had names like TKL (ten keyless, usually meaning it does not have the numpad attached) or 65%. Laughing at myself that I had simply never considered keyboards could be smaller, I then dove into the world I soon realised was called: Mechanical Keyboards.

Mechanical Keyboards

The difference between the keyboards I’d always had and these mechanical ones is how the keyboards are built and function. As described here:

Membrane keyboards are very simple in their design. They can basically be seen as a device composed of several layers. The bottom layer is a circuit board with connectors that trigger each key. Above that is a membrane made of a flexible material like rubber, with contact points for each key elevated by default.

Finally, we have the actual keys sitting on top of the membrane. When a key is pressed, this squishes the membrane downwards, pressing the contact point to the circuit board and closing the circuit for that key. This allows the keyboard to register a keypress.

In comparison, a mechanical keyboard has every key connected to its own switch, which, when the associated key is pressed, physically depresses into the circuit board with its stems triggering activation.

Excited about how mechanical keyboards can be quite modular, as switches and keycaps, in all sorts of shapes, materials and heights, can be replaced if there is a fault later on in life, and how it looked liked the variety in smaller sizes meant I could resolve my ergonomic issues, I decided to compile a wishlist for my ideal mechanical keyboard.

Wishlist

Initially, my list was simple: I wanted it to be used either wired or wirelessly, in a smaller size, so either TKL, 65% or 75%, and obviously a British layout.

Obviously as that is all I had ever known, and why would I, as a British person, use a keyboard that wasn’t? But then I realised how limiting it would be if I did not compromise on this point. Hardly any keyboard used the British ISO layout, and even less made compatible keycaps, or charged more for them as they were considered as an extra.

However, I was already using my British ISO layout MK700, designed for Windows, on my Mac, and I had some minor issues with it already, as described in this Wikipedia article:

• The " and @ keys are swapped.
• The € symbol is assigned to ⌥ Option+2 instead of the expected ⌥ Option+4.
• The # symbol is assigned to ⌥ Option+3 instead of its own dedicated key.

As such, I might actually better benefit from using an ANSI American layout, as the " and @ keys are already swapped. I would have to get used to a differently shaped enter or return key, but I thought it would be worth it considering all the benefits.

With that in mind, I then did some more research and decided I would also want a keyboard which has the ability to hot swap switches, as I do not have access to a soldering kit nor space to use one. I’d also want a keyboard that could work with either 3-pin or 5-pin switches to best future proof. RGB, all those pretty rainbow LED lights, would be nice, but not necessary, and I didn’t mind what the initial keycaps or switches inside the keyboard would be, as I could always change these out at a later date. Lastly, it couldn’t be too expensive.

My Keyboard

In the end, I decided on the ROYAL KLUDGE RK84, a 75% 84-key mechanical keyboard, that could be used wired or wirelessly, hot swappable with 3-pin or 5-pin switches, RGB, and was on sale at the time, so I got it for around £50 - not bad for everything I wanted!

Interestingly, although I had decided on brown switches, or some sort of variety, as they were described to me as a decent safe switch when I was in the planning stage, I could only get this keyboard at the time on sale with blue switches - not a problem, as I knew I could always later buy my perfect switches. However, I’ve become so used to my clicky blue switches that came with the keyboard, I haven’t swapped them out! Same with the keycaps, as I had so many wonderful ones lined up, but I’ve found myself perfectly satisfied with the default set.

The keyboard also has a feature I had not considered, which is the ability of USB passthrough, where two USB ports are available to use on the keyboard itself, and so I have my mouse dongle plugged into one slot and my deskmat (also got on a cheeky sale at the time with an added coupon!) plugged into the other, saving my USB ports connected to my Mac for other purposes.

Conclusion

Overall, I’m really satisfied with my keyboard. It’s been perfect to use with minimal issues (I sometimes get a flashing ‘P’ when switching between devices and it decides to stop working, but this is only occasionally and can be quickly resolved!), and I’ve found I can type more extensively without aches and pain in my arms and back. I became used to the clicky sounds quite quickly and really like the tactile feedback from the switches, now struggling when using someone else’s membrane keyboard as it can feel so squishy and unstable, making me unsure if I have pressed a key down correctly or not.

As I said, although I have kept the default switches and keycaps, I love how I can change my keyboard up and make it look and feel completely different if I wanted to by changing these parts. I would highly recommend looking into a mechanical keyboard with hot swap capabilities if you are in the market for a new keyboard.