SYSymbiote·Nov 16, 2019
I've used Dvorak for over 15 years, but last month I was looking for a replacement for wearing-out Microsoft Natural 4000s, used at work and at home.
The Kinesis Freestyle Edge [1] looked like a great option, but then I found myself swept into the rabbithole of custom mechanical keyboards. There is a frankly overwhelming number of decisions to make: split or not, with or without function/number/numpad/navigation keys, the usual row-staggered layout or column-staggered or a square grid, then the type of mechanical switch. Finally, there are the 3D-printed split keyboards meant to fit the shape of the hands.
I ended up buying a Ergodash [2] kit [3] and soldering it myself. I've had it for less than a week so far, and though adapting to the column-staggered layout was reasonably quick, I'm still a bit hit-and-miss with pressing modifier keys
Read the rest
with my thumb. I'm not yet ready to give it a proper review.
Using a split keyboard has shown me I have a pretty poor keyboarding posture. Even with the traditional MS Natural ergonomic keyboard, I was twisting my right wrist because the keyboard is still narrower than my shoulders.
Xah Lee's site has a good, quick overview of many of the most popular DIY[4] and manufactured[5] options.
[1] https://gaming.kinesis-ergo.com/edge/
[2] https://github.com/omkbd/ErgoDash
[3] I bought the Ergodash kit from Germany from https://keycapsss.com/ , it's also available as a kit or assembled from Poland at https://falba.tech/
[4] http://xahlee.info/kbd/diy_keyboards_index.html
[5] http://xahlee.info/kbd/ergonomic_keyboards_index.html