ErgoMechKeyboards
Ergonomic, split and other weird keyboards
Rules
Keep it ergo
Posts must be of/about keyboards that have a clear delineation between the left and right halves of the keyboard, column stagger, or both. This includes one-handed (one half doesn't exist, what clearer delineation is that!?)
i.e. no regular non-split¹ row-stagger and no non-split¹ ortholinear²
¹ split meaning a separation of the halves, whether fixed in place or entirely separate, both are fine.
² ortholinear meaning keys layed out in a grid
No Spam
No excessive posting/"shilling" for commercial purposes. Vendors are permitted to promote their products/services but keep it to a minimum and use the [vendor] flair. Posts that appear to be marketing without being transparent about it will be removed.
No Buy/Sell/Trade
This subreddit is not a marketplace, please post on r/mechmarket or other relevant marketplace.
Some useful links
- EMK wiki
- Split keyboard compare tool
- Compare keycap profiles Looking for another set of keycaps - check this site to compare the different keycap profiles https://www.keycaps.info/
- Keymap database A database with all kinds of keymap layouts - some of them fits ergo keyboards - get inspired https://keymapdb.com/
view the rest of the comments
It looks like you're focusing on prebuilt boards. Most ergo mechs are sold as DIY kits with a fair amount of soldering required, and for keywell boards it's very common for them to be fully handwired.
You can also buy assembled keywell boards, for example from bastardkb and there are a few folks who build dactyls for sale. These options will probably be relatively expensive as they are basically handmade by one person.
Flat ergo boards will be cheaper in general than keywell ones. If they have a tenting option and you use keycaps with a strong sculpt like SA or MT3, that might get you a fair bit of the way towards keywell functionality. But you'll still need to find a good layout for you (which is totally personal).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kukkurovaca/52064906373/in/photolist-2njNfKx-2oBeHCK-2njQEqG
It will be somewhat easier to find fully assembled or easy-to-assemble flat ergo boards, like the Keebio Iris or Boardsource Lulu.
I looked mainly on prebuit since the DIY didn't feel to fit what I was looking for. When I was searching for ones with keywell, no DIY models came up.
What I noticed with the one you suggested and some others I found when looking around is that they don't have many keys.
Is it common to have a separated numpad?
Also, out of curiosity, what are uses for the thumb knob? I saw that in some models and also on yours.
When searching for DIY Keywell models, use "dactyl" in your search terms for most results. Most DIY Dactyl builds are handwired, although there are some models that make use of flexible PCBs such as the ones from BastardKB. (My keywell board is a TBK Mini from them.)
Re: the number of keys, this is pretty personal. Most ergo mech users are using something in the ballpark of a 60%, 40%, or 35%ish layout. (My objection to the Glove80 is that it has way, way too many keys for me)
Most ergo users have numpad on a layer. (Here's how I have my layouts)