IBM Model F

I learned to type, and to program, on a Model F. My mother also had a Selectric, and I used it sometimes. I mostly remember it being loud. I don't recall the keyboards being especially different, but I was just a kid. I do know that it utterly spoiled me for dome keyboards, which I always hated; I hauled that Model F around for about fifteen years, before going full-laptop for awhile. I still have it. At which point the mechanical keyboard renaissance was in full swing, so I use an Ergodox now. Cherry-type switches are good enough, but if someone made an Ergodox type board with Model F type buckling spring keys (fat chance), I'd have my grail.

Exactly. I started out in my first job in an open-plan office where everyone had Model F and Model M keyboards because we were an IBM dealer and that's what IBM shipped. We made calls, talked to customers, talked to clients in the office and so on, no problem, because we were used to it. The biggest such environment I worked in circa 1993 had about 40 people in it. No problem. I carefully kept a bunch of those keyboards as people were throwing them out in the late 1990s and early 2000s and I have about 5-6 original IBM boards. I still use them. Yes in open plan offices, in the last decade. Including in crowded workplaces. I let people try my keyboards, encourage them to pick them up and feel them. I let my younger colleagues marvel that I type on a keyboard older than they are. Nobody minds. I've had like 2 complaints this century. It's not that bad. And it's also worth noting that I don't have RSI, I think because I use stiff mechanical boards with long travel and my fingers get a workout, even if the rest of me doesn't.

Awesome! I'm happy I have a future option in case my 3727 ever wears out (which I somehow can't see ever happening...). I'm not associated with this project in any way, but I'm excited to see the Beamspring (and Model F capsense stuff) is still ticking along. I keep meaning to redesign my controller for the 2020s but the original crappy design keeps working perfectly for my needs and I can't justify the time to update it. I'd love to do something dumb like throw an FPGA at the problem or try and use the RP2350 PIO. I don't think we ever matched what IBM's original ASIC achieved.

I have one, the reproduction of the model F104, and it's great. However I no longer use it daily as I've since built a custom ergonomic mechanical keyboard to do the same duty. I did not opt for the solenoid. The F keyboards use buckling springs, just like the M keyboards, the beam-spring keyboards are of a different design.

The solenoids in IBMs keyboard did not click. It was more of a bang. I have had 2 (one F and one of those beamspring ones. Can't remember exactly which B it was). The F was loud, the model B was just spectacular. Amazing to type one after I fixed it, but with the solenoid plugged in it was unbearable.

Ive been collecting Model M and Model F keyboards from IBM off from Ebay over the last few years. I've got quite a collection now. Only the IBM manufactured keyboards, no Lexmark or third-party. I remember typing on a Model M as a kid. My fingers pushing the empty spaces between CTRL and ALT, where on newer keyboards, an OS meta now lives. I remember writing Basic. Then Turbo Pascal. Full of curiosity and wonder. The IBM authentic keyboards have a badge on the back with the year and month of manufacture. Most of these keyboards are older than my co-workers. Many still function correctly. They're a joy to use.

As someone who only recently retired my IBM model F, those are some hot and spicy keyboards. I wish I'd learned about his book sooner.

WordPerfect 4.2 for DOS paired with a model F XT or AT layout (function keys on the side) keyboard has a special place in my heart. That combination along with a copious amount of weed got me through a lot of college papers in the late 80s.

I have the same experience but with a razer huntsman v2 dampened reds. I modded it (silicone in the bottom, some extra weight (coins in the silicone), extra foam, some rubber, fixed the stabs, lube and force break mod). I never thought I would abandon my Matias quiet click (which is still the only tactile tactile switch being produced) but here I am typing on a friggin gaming keyboard. Whenever I move to a house where I can have my computer far away from my family my old 122 key model f will come out though. I spent so much time restoring it that I don't think I could not not use it.

i’d recommend you try a model f. despite the model m’s quality, it was actually made as a cheap alternative to the model f. the f is basically an m on steroids. i don’t prefer it to the hhkb for 2 reasons: (1) it’s ridiculously heavy, and i take my keyboard around with me (2) the layout doesn’t suit my workflow very well

Love the Model F keyboard. If I could make my MacBook 1" thick and 2 lbs heavier in exchange for the Model F key feel, I'd do it. This machine's keyboard is probably shown in Wikipedia as the anti-Model F exemplar.

> German Utility Patent 1,279,693 This one's pretty amazing to see, given how close it is in appearance to the Ergodox and other "glove keyboards" (rather, the other way around—they all resemble IBM's patent!). > British Utility Patent 1,363,777 (GB1363777A) While the buckling spring switches used in the Model M (or, for those with more rarified tastes, Model F) are rightly lauded, the beamspring is less well-known. The individual modules are absolutely massive as far as keyswitches go, but they feel wonderful to type on. They were designed to evoke the Selectric so as to be familiar to new users, and some models, such as the 3278, even included a solenoid that would click with each keypress. They also featured doubleshot keycaps and were absolute bricks that make the Model M seem a featherweight by comparison.

I’m hearing that Lexmark/Unicomp keyboards were/are a cost cutting project compared to original Model F. Interestingly there is a company that resurrected true, pre cost cutting, model F: https://www.modelfkeyboards.com

As an Xer who grew up with all these old technologies and saw the transitions to modern stuff, I fully agree. It's odd how Millennials are so interested in obsolete and obviously inferior technologies like LPs and Polaroid photos. There's very, very few cases I can think of where an older technology really was better in a significant way. Mechanical keyboards like the IBM Model M (or better yet, the Model F, though the layouts on those keyboards sucked) were really great, but they were also expensive, and we do have all the Cherry-switch mech keyboards now, though personally I don't like them as much. However, one big negative trend I do see is with streaming services and the entire lack of ownership this carries. This isn't really a technology problem: there's nothing stopping you from buying real CDs and ripping them to FLAC and listening to those on your phone, for instance (that's what I do). I'd call this a mis-application of new technology, similar to how so much software is so ridiculously slow and laggy: it's entirely possible (and easier than ever before with modern tooling) to write software that performs well, but people are just too lazy to do it, and insist on building in too much BS like ads and tracking.