Mechanical keyboards - Extras

This is the last article covering the basics of mechanical keyboards. In this article, I’m going to be covering some remaining topics such as form factors and keycaps. Just because these topics are all lumped together, doesn’t mean they’re less important. Form factors in particular is significant, since it determines the physical size of the keyboard.

Form Factors

Form factor determines the physical size of the keyboard, so you can’t neglect it. They come in a wide variety; from typical fullsize keyboards to 60% to memes. There is no objective best form factor, it all depends on your use case and preferences.

This list of layouts isn’t exhaustive, it only commmons the most commonly found ones. There are a plethora of exotic layouts that you never see in mass-produced keyboards.

Fullsize

This is the most common layout; mechanical or not, you’ve seen this one everywhere. It contains the alphanumeric block, function row, navigation keys, and number pad (numpad).

In general, I don’t recommend the fullsize layout to most people. The effective length of a fullsize and mouse is wider than your shoulders, meaning you have to stretch your arms to use both. This is surprisingly more uncomfortable than expected and should be tested in a store to understand it the best.

The only reasons you would want a fullsize is if you actually use the numpad often, but even then there are compact layouts that still include a numpad. I would never use a fullsize personally and only get one as a gift to someone that has never seen a TKL or smaller.

TKL (tenkeyless)

The numpad is often referred as a ’tenkey’, so the name tenkey-less is self-explanatory. The TKL layout removes the tenkey to save space. Your mouse and keyboard now lie within your shoulder width, so you don’t have to bend your arms to use the mouse.

Many people discourage themselves from using the TKL because they believe they use the numpad often, but most people hardly ever touch it. The majority of people will have no problem adjusting to TKL, just think of how small laptop keyboards are.

TKL is somewhat portable, about as common in mainstream boards as the fullsize, and is also typically a little cheaper. Overall, I think it’s a better form factor than fullsize. If you’re debating of what form factor to choose, TKL should be one of the top candidates.

98 key

If you actually use the numpad often, the 98 key layout is the one for you. It’s basically as wide as a TKL, but you get the numpad instead of a nav cluster. The nav cluster is accessed by a modifier + some other key, like how you can access ! with Shift + 1.

The 98 key layout is about the most compact form without eliminating a signficant number of keys. It’s a good compromise between size and functionality. The downside is that it is considerably less common than TKL and fullsize. I personally prefer it over a TKL for maintaining the same size but having more functionality.

75%

75% is a stepping stone for those who are intimidated by compact layouts but think TKL is too big. Here, the numpad is gone and the nav cluster has been condensed into a small block. I have never used one before so I cannot make much comments, but it seems easy to adjust to. 75% is the least common of the layouts covered so far, you’ll rarely find it in mainstream products. I think it looks rather ugly, but that’s just a subjective nitpick.

65%

Here’s where the size starts shrinking dramatically and you enter enthusiast territory. You’re probably confused how a keyboard without function keys exists, but ask yourself: how often have you ever used f-keys? If you can’t think of much, you’ll likely have no problem adjusting.

From 65% and downwards, more and more keys are accessed by function layers. For example, F1 - 12 are typically accessed by pressing Fn + 1 - = Some people really like layers since their fingers have to travel less to press keys. For example, instead of reaching your right pinky out to hit Del you can press Fn + Bksp to activate it.

I have a 65% keyboard and got used to the layer mechanism very quickly. I prefer it to extending my fingers to hit a physical f-key. 65% is also where keyboards become very portable, you can easily use them in public if you despise laptop keyboards like me.

60%

On 60%, the arrow keys are gone. You might think this is insane, and that’s how everyone reacts initially. The arrow keys here are typically accessed by Fn + i j k l. Think of the WASD cluster but shifted to your right hand. If you enjoy the reduced hand movement of small form factors, you’ll probably like this one too. I had no problem adjusting to 60%; all the keys are there, you just need to find them.

Most 60% keyboards are programmable. The larger layouts also have programmable keyboards, but are often only found in enthusiast boards. With programmability, you can remap all the keys however you want; something that becomes increasingly important as the number of keys shrinks. For instance, you can switch Caps Lock with Fn to make accessing layers easier.

60% is a fairly common format for some keyboards to base their layout off, and I might guess is more popular in mainstream keyboards than 75%. The most common examples are the HHKB and WKL (winkeyless) layouts.

Ortholinear (40%)

If 60% didn’t make you confused, behold this one. These chocolate bar-like keyboards are called ortholinear keyboards, because the keys are aligned in a grid. Typical keyboards are referred as staggered keyboards because each row is slightly off from the ones above and below it. The staggered layout descends from the typewriter days, when it was neccessary to prevent physical key jamming.

Besides the layout, modifier keys have been truncated to single unit keys. Enter Shift Tab and the others are now much shorter and in unfamiliar places. Some ortholinear keyboards allow you to split the little space bar further into… space keys I guess?

The idea of ortholinear is that it’s the correct and efficient way to organize keys rather than staggered. This seems as logical as the reasoning for the Dvorak layout. Some people greatly prefer ortholinear to staggered, so it is partially effective. I have one myself and will admit that the layout is very comfy once configured to your liking. You will take some time getting used to the grid layout however, you’ll be mistyping lots of characters initially.

The two most popular ortholinear layouts are the Planck and Preonic. The Planck (pictured above) is so small that there isn’t a number row. I assume the size is a reference to the Planck length, which is a nice touch. It uses two function keys to access ‘upper’ and ’lower’ layers, which hold all the missing keys. You might hold lower + 1 to input ! and upper + 1 to get F1.

The Preonic contains the number row. It also uses two function layers but is more forgiving than the Planck.

Even if you find a 60% keyboard comfortable, this level of layer complexity may overwhelm you. The only way you can try these keyboards is to get one or go to a mechanical keyboard meetup (yes, these exist) and try it there. There are meme versions of these tiny keyboards, such as a 30% or 20% form factor which are practically unusable.

Split keyboards

We’re done with shrinking form factors and will look at split keyboards instead. These are self explanatory, the keyboard have been split into halves. Anyone familiar with ergonomic keyboards will get the reasoning.

Split keyboards can come in a variety of sizes: split TKL, split 65/60%, split ortholinear, and Ergodox-like. This list isn’t exhaustive, split keyboards can split any form factor that exists or create a new one.

Ergodox-like refers to keyboards that resemble the one above. The Ergodox is a split keyboard that became popular several years ago. It has ’thumb clusters’ where your thumbs are and modifiers on the outer edges.

The greatest advantage of split layouts is the adjustability of each half. Every monolithic keyboard has its keys clustered and fixed, which may be tiring for long sessions. Split keyboards allow you to adjust the halves and fix this problem.

Keycaps

The form factors section was long because it is the most important topic in this article. Now we’ll cover keycaps and why something as miniscule as these can matter to a certain extent.

Keycaps impact how a keyboard feels and sounds in more nuanced ways than you might first expect. They also dictate aesthetics, and this is why keycaps become important as you move into hobbyist territory.

Units

Before explaining technical details, it’s good to cover the definition of keycap units. You’ll often find terms like ‘1u’ or ‘6.25u’ being used in discussion threads. This refers to the longest length of a keycap.

Keycap sizes are standardized, with units of just ‘u’ for unit. Square keys like alphanumerics are 1u. A 2u keycap is twice as long, such as Bksp The spacebar is typically 6.25u and bottom row modifiers are 1.25u.

Keycap sizing is important because the sizes determine which keycaps will fit the board. You’ll sometimes hear about Razer or Corsair keyboards that can’t use aftermarket keycap sets. This happens because the keycaps on those boards are non-standard, often using non-6.25u spacebars. The keycap set must support the board’s sizes in order to fit.

Polymer type

98% of keycaps are made from one of two polymers: ABS and PBT. There are other polymers such as POM, but these are much rarer.

ABS

Much more common due to being cheaper and easier to mould. Can also produce more vibrant colours and is less durable. By ’less durable’, ABS gradually yellows when exposed to sunlight. Also becomes shiny and slick by reacting with skin oils, which is why cheap keyboards in public buildings look and feel gross.

PBT

Harder to use due to its higher melting point and tendency to warp when cooling. More difficult to get colours as vibrant as ABS and sounds more dampened than ABS. Doesn’t yellow and is very resistant to shining. PBT can become shiny but this takes years or even decades of abusive typing, while ABS can start shining in a few months with moderate to light use. Also feels drier and slightly rougher than ABS, which many people like.

Newcomers tend to say ‘ABS bad’ because PBT is more durable and because of gaming company marketing, but this is wrong. Yes, PBT outdoes ABS in resisting shininess. However, ABS’s low ‘durability’ doesn’t make it an inferior material. When moulded properly, both polymers have their unique strengths and not one is better than the other. High end custom keycap sets (yes, these also exist) mostly use ABS because of easier moulding and colour matching.

Printing technique

This refers to the method used to print legends on the keycap. It seems negligible but significantly impacts looks and durability.

Pad printing

Uses lasers to etch engravings into keycaps. The engravings are then filled with material to give them colour. Horrible durability, legends will fade from typing.

Laser printing

Commonly found on keycaps that require backlight to transmit, such as laptops or ‘gaming’ keyboards. Made of a translucent plastic and often painted black. Lasers burn off some paint, revealing the translucent plastic as legends. More durabile than pad printing but still weak, paint can dissolve and leave ugly blobs of translucent plastic.

Dye sublimation (dyesub)

Only used with PBT because ABS becomes plastic at the necessary temperatures. Infuses dyes into the keycap, like printing ink. Can only dye colours darker than the keycap, but rare reverse dye-subbing exists. Very durable since the legend is part of the keycap itself. However, the dye can bleed and create blurry legends or smudge over many years.

Double/triple shot

Fuses two or three separate pieces of plastic into one. The most durable method, since there is no ink or substrate to wear. Can support backlit keycaps. Gives the sharpest legends and complete colour control. Difficult to pull off with PBT due to warping and is the most expensive printing technique. Triple-shotting is extremely rare due to costs.

The last two methods are the ones you want. Double-shotting is the superior technology but is more expensive and is mainly found with ABS keycaps. PBT double-shotting has become viable lately but the legend quality and colouring is slightly worse.

Dye sublimation is cheaper and simpler at the cost of some durability and colour range. Even if less durable, dye-sub is still more than enough to last decades. The dye-subbed keycaps on my 1986 Model F still compete with the best double-shot legends of today.

Profiles

This refers to the overall sculpture and shape of keycaps. Most keyboards use varying profiles all grouped together as ‘OEM profile’. Profiles commonly found in third party keycap sets include SA, DSA, Cherry, XDA, and several others.

The profile heavily affects typing comfort and sound. SA keycaps are large, round blocks that resemble vintage style keycaps from the late 70s with centered legends. They allow echoing, resulting in a deep, bassy and satisfying typing sound. SA keycaps are also incredibly tall, which makes typing on them somewhat awkward and can be uncomfortable for some.

Thickness

The thickness of keycaps subtly impacts the sound profile of the keyboard but are seen more as better quality if thicker.

The thickest MX keycaps are 1.5 mm thick, while the thinnest are less than 1 mm. Thicker keycaps sound more bassy and muted while thin ones make the keyboard sound more tinny and hollow. A similar effect is present for PBT keycaps, except PBT sounds more muted than ABS.

Programmable keyboards

These are keyboards that you can fully program. Many community-produced keyboards can run open source firmware called QMK, and this allows for some crazy customizations. You can program complex macros, apply own custom layers, or completely remap the layout from QWERTY to something else if you wish.

One neat feature I use is double tapping. By hitting Ctrl once, the keyboards inputs Control But if I tap it twice rapidly, the input becomes Super (Windows key). Or if I tapped a certain key, it would act differently from when I held it down.

QMK offers really cool features that is years ahead of software like Razer Synapse, but it comes at the cost of poor user-friendliness. You’ll have to learn to read documentation, possibly mess with configuration files, and be unafraid of the command line for minimal headaches. QMK was made by people that forgot 98% of the population isn’t willing to learn how to use the terminal.

Additionally, not all keyboards support QMK. If you want to reprogram a keyboard, you need to check that QMK supports it officially. Otherwise, you’ll have to use development branches or small forks that may be outdated and so on. QMK is a way off from becoming a newbie-friendly tool anyone can use to make cool macros, but the potential to mature is there.

It’s not all bad though. There is user-friendly software such as VIA that make configuring very easy in exchange for a lower skill ceiling.

Customs

Custom keyboards are literally custom. Someone will come up with a keyboard design; they’ll design a PCB, case, any extra parts or kits, and propose it to the community. If sufficient interest is present, the person can collect money from willing people and make a deal with a factory to produce the keyboards. This process is called a group buy.

Once the money has been pre-paid, the keyboard parts are made then shipped to everyone who bought it. Customs can get very wild in design and price, sometimes over $1000. They can come with funny features like brass weights, carbon fibre switch plates, a CNC’d aluminum chassis, and bizarre layouts. Quite literally, everything is custom.

If you want to learn about custom keyboards, it’s better to find people that are more involved in that area than I am. I dropped out of customs years ago and it isn’t interesting to me anymore.

Final summary

With that, this concludes this series covering mechanical keyboards. From the fundamentals to covering custom keyboards, you should have a fairly solid understanding about mechanical keyboards now. Not just at a surface level, but some of the more hobbyist parts too.

The most important reason to get a mechanical keyboard is to improve your typing experience, just like how good headphones improve your listening experience. I hope you can use the information here to make a good investment or help spread the word to others stuck suffering with Dell keyboards.