Week in keyboards #18
20 Oct 2015Ultimate Hacking Keyboard Campaign on CrowdSupply
This is an eagerly anticipated keyboard with a unique offering. The UHK is a split 60% with an emphasis on not having to leave the homerow. It is both a split keyboard, but also joins together whenever you need it to be whole.
The current early bird price is $200 with free shipping (in the US) this is the cheapest option with 197 units left as I’m writing this.
The goal is $200,000 and they are currently at $82,000. This is a great keyboard and I really hope this is successful and I see more of these in the wild.
WASD Introduces Wrist Rest
This is not a revolutionary development as many people now seem to be producing wrist rests. The current options are for tenkeyless and a full sized wooden wrist rest. Priced at $58 and $60.
Massdrop
Massdrop has done a couple of surprising things in the past week.
Realforce Hi-Pro and Fountain Pen Bundle
For all the people who were thinking about buying a Hi-Pro and were also in the market for a fountain pen. Massdrop now has you covered with this bundle. It seems like a strange choice for a bundle and I really can’t see the reason behind it.
Barebones Novatouch
For those who missed out on the first drop you now have a second chance. This of course is the Novatouch without the fairly useless stock keycaps. The lowest has yet to be achieved which is in fact the only option. Check your local sources to ensure that this is worth buying, as this does not always equate to being cheaper.
HHKB Aluminium Case
This has been an extremely long awaited product ever since the small glimpse at the official aluminium version. The bad news is that they went with the extremely boxy look. This is a shame as it is so close to the thing that was wanted. Already this has spurred another effort to community design and produce one through geekhack.
QMX Clips
These are GMK’s own sound dampening contraptions. They work by sitting on top of the switch and minimising the downstroke sound. The main downside is the fact they can only be used on PCB mounted switches. This rules out a huge amount of keyboards. I have a review of these coming soon.
Twinned with this buy is the GMK switch tester featuring the QMX clips. This is a nice novelty item by itself as you do get 5 nice GMK Q’s.
blahlicus Arbites Software
Blahlicus continues to be a constant driving force in the custom keyboard scene. This release of the Arbites software allows you to reprogram the Diverge, the Diverge II and the Terminus Mini, all through a graphical interface.
AMA With Haata the Founder of Input Club
This happened on Monday but for those who missed it there is interesitng information on the K-type and of course Haata himself.
Typed on The Tiny Hacking Keyboard
From the new renders I think I am slightly more interested in this keyboard. The new design is much simpler and does inspire hope for this keybords future. As yet this keyboards key feature has not been revealed, but it is certainly worth watching. 
ne0phyte is back working on the THKB which is a 40% (39 key) HHKB esque keyboard. Another prototype has been assembled and things are looking good. For those interested you may still be able to get a prototype PCB. But it seems this has been quite popular. But I wouldn’t worry if you really want one. This is great groupbuy material and I imagine it could be quite successful. This is a custom keyboard with Atmega32u4 so it will have no problem running TMK giving you a completely customisable keyboard.
I thought this was interesting and something I have not seen a lot of. If you are looking for a 60% case that is slightly different, then I think this is a good option. But they are currently available at 
This is not only a GB for a new alps keyboard, but it also features a semi unusual layout. It is a 60% with the addition of the numpad on the left side as opposed to its usual position on the right. The idea behind this is that you are able to have your mouse slightly closer on the right without sacrificing the functionality of the numpad.
Continuing with the Alps theme this keyset is worth a mention. I believe this is the first custom Alps keyset that is community designed and It has been in planning for a long time. Whether we see more alps sets like this in the future, is also unknown. So if you are a fan of alps and you like a nice keyset this is a good opportunity.
The K-Type is the new tenkeyless made by the Input Club who previously made the Infinity ErgoDox as well as the Infinity. I did an announcement post for it 
This sale is only featuring MX keycaps in a small variety of colours. My current favourite is the Halloween edition Raven. All the orange caps look incredibly vibrant and I will certainly consider either a Trooper or a Raven
I haven’t seen too much interest in this yet, which I though strange because of how popular the previous set seems to be in the aftermarket. Green Tea Lite is the new iteration. I am guessing that although it is named lite it is in fact lighter. I really like this set but much prefer the previous look. It is currently in the interest check stage so a little open to suggestion. I believe the render above is SA profile whilst the previous iteration was DCS.