The Gateway Drug#

My first purchase was a Corsair K70 RGB Mk.2 with Cherry MX Blue switches. Looking back, it was the perfect entry point – feature-rich without being overwhelming. The dedicated media controls and volume wheel quickly became indispensable. There’s something satisfying about reaching up to skip a song without Alt+Tab out of your work. The metal top plate made it feel substantial, valuable even.

The only thing I disliked? That distinctly “gamer” aesthetic. Not everything needs RGB lighting that cycles through the entire color spectrum. But it did its job: it got me interested. More than interested, actually.

I started browsing Reddit. Then forums. Then YouTube. I discovered that keyboards weren’t just tools – they were a hobby. People discussed switch types the way others debate coffee beans. They talked about “actuation force” and “travel distance”. Some folks even lubed their switches by hand, disassembling each one and carefully applying lubricant with a tiny paintbrush.

This was deeper than I’d imagined.

Building My Own#

Somewhere in my Reddit browsing, I found the SofleKeyboard. A split keyboard. Column-staggered layout. OLED displays. Rotary encoders. And here’s the kicker: you had to build it yourself. It wasn’t available for purchase.

I was sold immediately.

A friend shared my newfound enthusiasm, so we embarked on this together. We ordered PCBs, switches, screws, and every little electrical component from the bill of materials. It was expensive – the PCBs alone cost more than I’d expected. But I was fascinated by something else: this entire keyboard design, including the build guide and parts list, was freely available online. Someone had designed this, built it, perfected it, and then just… shared it. For free. So others could recreate it.

The build was incredible. The finished product looked fantastic with its split design and those little OLED screens. But using it? That was a different story.

The column-staggered layout meant all the keys were arranged in neat columns rather than the traditional row-stagger we’re used to. Your hands barely move once you learn it. The reduced key count (only 58 keys total) meant everything lived on layers – pressing a function key transformed the keyboard entirely. The K could be a K, or an arrow down, or an asterisk, depending on what else you pressed.

It’s brilliant in theory. With enough practice, your fingers never leave the home row. You can program custom macros. It’s endlessly customizable.

But then came the problem: keyboard shortcuts. Try pressing Ctrl+Shift+Alt+↓ in Visual Studio Code – a common shortcut for adding multiple cursors. On the Sofle, that becomes Ctrl+Shift+Alt+↓ + the Upper Layer key. Five keys at once. Your hand contorts into positions that’d make a yoga instructor wince.

And there was another issue I hadn’t considered: muscle memory. The Sofle requires you to use the same keyboard everywhere. Your brain adapts to those layers, to those key positions. Switch to a regular keyboard and suddenly you’re fumbling like you’re learning to type all over again. I discovered that I type the letter B with my right index finger – perfectly fine on a normal keyboard, but on the Sofle, B sits on the left half. My brain refused to cooperate.

The Sofle taught me something important: not every keyboard is meant for every use case. Sometimes the perfect keyboard on paper isn’t perfect in practice.

Finding the Sweet Spot#

My next keyboard took longer to choose. I knew what I wanted now: hotswappable switches (no more desoldering), a more traditional layout, and crucially, ISO-DE support. I use German layout, and apparently, this hobby is heavily ANSI-focused. Finding ISO-DE keycaps became a recurring nightmare.

I nearly built an Isometria 75 – another open-source design – but the creator mentioned ongoing issues with the board. I’d learned my lesson about jumping in too quickly.

Then the GMMK Pro was released. A 75% keyboard (meaning it has roughly 75% of a full keyboard’s keys – goodbye numpad). ISO-DE layout. Hotswappable switches. A rotary encoder. It looked perfect.

It was also expensive. Very expensive. And that was before buying switches and keycaps.

I justified it the way I justify all my work equipment: compared to a carpenter or goldsmith, my initial investment is minimal. A desk, a chair, a monitor, peripherals – these are my tools. If I’m going to use something every single workday, I want to enjoy using it.

The GMMK Pro arrived, and it was everything I’d hoped for. That full metal housing felt premium. The layout was exactly what I needed – enough keys to stay productive, few enough to keep my hands from wandering. The journey seemed complete.

Then I started watching more YouTube channels about keyboards. Because of course I did.

The Current Champion#

The NEO65 changed the game again. A 65% layout (even more compact than the GMMK Pro, losing the function row entirely). But here’s what made it special: it supports both ISO and ANSI layouts. It works wirelessly via USB dongle, has Bluetooth, and can be wired. And unlike most prebuilt boards, you can customize the firmware.

That last bit was crucial since I didn’t want to have a macropad lying around on my desk.

It came with an array of foam and dampening materials – sound-tuning options I hadn’t used before. After hours of tinkering, I had it exactly where I wanted it.

This is the keyboard I use daily now. It’s genuinely the best typing experience I’ve had.

The Collection Grows#

I should mention the others that found their way into my life:

• The Das Keyboard 4 with Cherry MX Brown switches was my office keyboard at my previous job. Solid, professional, utterly unremarkable. It did its job and nothing more.
• The Logitech MX Keys Mini brought me full circle to that original MK710 feeling – great battery life, wireless, reliable. Sometimes it’s nice to work on something that isn’t mechanical. And the connectivity is brilliant: I can reach the TV-connected computer from across the room, or quickly respond to a longer email on my phone by connecting the keyboard to it. (Yes, I refuse to type long messages on a phone screen.)
• The Logitech MX Mechanical Mini sits at my current workplace. It’s a fun middle ground – low-profile mechanical switches that feel like something between the MX Keys and a traditional mechanical keyboard. Plus, one USB dongle can handle both the keyboard and mouse.

The Numbers Game#

Dive deep enough into keyboards and you’ll inevitably encounter typing tests. People showcase their keyboards in action, usually on sites that measure your words per minute. It’s become part of the culture.

I’ll admit: I enjoy these tests. Not because they matter much for programming – typing speed is rarely the bottleneck in software development. But they’re useful for comparing setups. How do switches compare to each other? Is this new keycap profile better for me?

Monkeytype is my favorite. It tracks three main metrics:

• WPM: Words per minute (total correct characters divided by five, normalized to 60 seconds)
• Acc: Percentage of correctly pressed keys
• Consistency: How steady your typing speed stays

I decided to put my keyboards to the test.

Final Thoughts#

What started with a colleague’s clicking keyboard became a hobby for some time. It’s fascinating how these rabbit holes appear everywhere – coffee, mountain bikes, mechanical keyboards. Each one seems simple on the surface, but dive in and you find entire communities, deep technical knowledge, and endless optimization possibilities.

Someone might reasonably ask: why spend hundreds on keyboards when your typing speed barely changes?

For me, it’s simple. Compared to other professions, the investment is minimal. I use a keyboard every single workday. If a carpenter needs quality tools and a goldsmith needs precision instruments, why shouldn’t I enjoy the tool I use most?

The real limitation for me was the ISO-DE layout. I considered switching to ANSI – it would open up endless keycap options. But I’d have two layouts competing in my muscle memory. I already experience this with keyboard shortcuts: my brain uses Command on thin keyboards (like the MX Keys) because it associates them with Mac layouts, and Ctrl on everything else. Adding another mental mapping seemed like asking for trouble.

Lately keyboards have become a quiet topic for me. I enjoy what I have and feel no urge to change anything right now.

For now, the Neo65 sits in front of me, ready for another day of work.