How I Lost Interest Towards Mechanical Keyboards

This is how I lost interest towards mechanical keyboards through my keyboard adventures from 2013 to 2020.

MUSIC:
Gran Turismo 4 OST - Race Menu 2
The Sims OST - Neighborhood 2
Monodrone - High Income Slums
Practice English! OST - Betty Botter Syndrome
Jody Summer - Zero GX
Duncan Lamont - Lucky One

CHAPTERS:
00:00 My first mechanical keyboard (Razer Blackwidow 2013, MX Blues)
00:40 My second keyboard (CoolerMaster Quickfire XT, MX Browns)
1:10 Issues with most gaming keyboards at the time
2:35 Starting to get really into mechanical keyboards
3:05 Discovering buckling spring keyboards
3:35 My third keyboard (IBM Model M2, Buckling Springs)
6:05 Discovering Topre keyboards
7:00 Fourth keyboard (HHKB Pro 1, 2004, Topre)
9:00 New switch maker enters the market (Gateron)
10:15 Fifth keyboard (Pok3r, MX Blues)
11:05 Swapping the switches to Gatreon Blacks
11:55 Issues I had with the Pok3r/Gateron Blacks
12:55 Sixth keyboard (HHKB Pro 2, Topre)
13:25 Misfortunes when selling the Pok3r
13:55 Designing my own layout
14:30 Hand-wiring my own (seventh) keyboard
15:50 Eight keyboard (HHKB Pro 1, 2003, Topre)
17:10 Ninth keyboard (IQUNIX F96 Knight, MX Blues)
17:50 Why I lost interest (nothing comes close to the HHKB)
19:05 The keyboard landscape has drastically changed
19:35 MAYBE I should come out of my retirement to save my hand-wired keyboard
20:25 Outro

________________________________

[pepavasata]

I find it insane that handwiring a keyboard is something you gladly jumped into, but lubing switches sounds like too much of a hassle to you :D

[adamyelle]

These end game hobbies are interesting in that the whole goal of finding something perfect ends up taking you out of the hobby once you finally obtain it.

[YaroLord]

The biggest irony for me is that I joined the hobby by the same time as you, and during my journey I've tried pretty much all tiers: from the cheap mass produced gaming boards, to the slightly better, to really high end/expensive customs. Same with keycaps.
All that money spent and I my endgame ended up being a prebuilt mass produced board (Realforce R2)... so much for elitism :^)

[oxleygreive]

It’s always remarkable how you can dive into any topic and still produce an engaging and polished video. And a video on mechanical keyboards coming out within a few months of me discovering the hobby was such a fun surprise. Good stuff :)

[dragonmaster]

Wow, I never knew that this hobby even existed. My goodness there's a lot of depth here.

[white_mage]

nothing screams OCD louder than keyboard enjoyers

[see-sharp]

Imo, today the keyboards are the "expresso machines" of the computer world.
Bought a cherry black almost a decade ago, still works so i am not changing.

[tap]

The channel that keeps on giving.

I found you one day randomly and got hooked, seriously, your videos and editing style in combination with your scriptwriting is just so incredible I think at this point you could just talk about doing the dishes for 40 minutes and I would still watch the shit out of it!

Love your videos, regards from Switzerland.

[milosstefanovic]

Been using a standard PS/2 membrane keyboard for most of my life, other than the laptops I've owned, that mundane logitech office board carried me through a lot. For a membrane board, it actually was really solid. I was thinking of getting a mechanical keyboard for quite some time, but never really figured out what exact kind I'd want.

Until one day I was helping move my friend out of his old apartment and we found his father's old IBM Model M, and his dad just gave it away cause he didn't need it anymore. I ended up taking it, and honestly, as someone who types a lot due to university and my writing hobby, the Model M truly makes every letter typed an amazing experience. Feels like I am writing on a typewriter. It is big, comfortable to type on and reach all the keys because it's literally the keyboard that brought the standard full sized keyboard layout to the market, the switches feel tactile, the sound it makes is exquisite, and you never wonder whether you pressed the key fully or not.

This comment is much longer than it needed to be because I love typing on this thing so much. If it doesn't die due to old age, I don't think I'll be making a change anytime soon.

[neuroticdev]

I’m personally getting burned out in the mechanical keyboard space too, but maybe for slightly different reasons—it’s certainly not because I’ve found my “endgame”.

I love how people can get their boards to sound, feel, and look, but it requires a LOT of sacrifice (time, money) that I just don’t feel like I can make for this hobby.

Which is why I’m happy to see companies like NuPhy popularizing low profile mechanical keyboards. They’re solid stock, and that’s what’s so appealing about them to people. Plenty of non-enthusiasts probably picked it up for that reason.

I’m hoping we see more competition in the low profile keyboards and keycaps soon. I’m saving my money until then!

[DeltaResearch]

I'm flattered that you used my typing test of the M2 - it's definitely how you describe it, "poppy, " and it's more tactile than the standard M.
Personally, I've lately been slowing down on the keyboard hobby since customs are too expensive to try out/build, and I've honed in on what I like for vintage stuff (buckling springs). Very interesting video, I enjoyed watching it!

[bvllblessed]

Love the way you narrate, gives it a very casual and cozy vibe just like a good friend!

[TheFatSandwhich]

So very similar. I’ve used mech keyboards for years and really got into them with custom key caps etc etc around 2015. I bought a hot swap board a couple years ago but never really bothered doing much with it. The other day i tried a tape mod with it and it fell apart. Ordered another hot swap board and now here I am again, a couple years later looking into mods, buying new switches, watching YouTube videos all about them.

The keyboard scene has changed so much in the last few years. I remember how it was all about loud & clicks switches. Now it’s all about chasing smooth, ‘thocky’ sound boards and adding different foam and god knows what else. It’s also gotten very expensive. The amount of different switches on the market is insane, too.

[mehdi]

this was genuinely one of the best videos ive seen on youtube and i completely enjoyed my meal while watching this thx for this good quality video really enjoyed it cant wait for the part two

[THENATHE.]

I had an argument with an old teacher of mine about how PS2 is functionally plug and play now. Many motherboards (virtually all of them made after about 2015) that still have a PS2 port, as well as all PS2 to USB adapters, will detect something getting plugged in and restart the connector, meaning it will pick it up without turning off the PC. I proved this in class and got sent to the principal's office. Fun times

[CyberneticArgumentCreator]

It's such a bizarre C O N S U M E R mindset to be "bored" once you own the thing you want.

That's the point, brother. You have the thing. Be happy, not bored.

[donnietobasco]

This was such a fascinating dive into what it was like to have such a niche hobby in Estonia during the 2010s! I really appreciate the cultural context and trials and tribulations. I've only had two mechanical keyboards. A red dragon K551 that was like $35 USD. And now I take a Keychron K6 (Also 65%! Such a good layout!) with me everywhere. It has Gateron reds and I installed some o-rings to make it a little quieter in class, and some caps to give it a nice retro look. It has been such a fantastic keyboard that I have had little to no interest in finding any others. Mechanical keyboards have never been a hobby, but more of a tool.

[Walter_]

11:08 Thank you so much for giving me more confidence to start learning soldering real things.
Like i now know that even if hell breaks loose i can still salvage, i didn't know to what extent that was possible before.

[chocolatebutter]

I know this isn't relevant to this video, but you got me to pick up German again. I stopped studying it after getting to uni. You have given me such a wonderfully realistic perspective on learning without the usual cheats and techniques. Your message of consistency has let me enjoy the small victories of the learning process again. Thanks a ton for these videos!

[DirtyDan]

I never knew you could dive this deep into the keyboard game. I just bought a roccat isku fx as my first keyboard for my first pc in 2016 and last year I got some razer huntsman elite for free.
But now I'm tempted to buy a cool exotic keyboard.