Leopold FC660C

After a decade of exploring various mechanical keyboards (a few form factors, but mostly exploring the switches), I settled on a Topre Realforce around 2016 and fell in love. I later learned of the Topre silent switches (often branded as "Type-S"), and have used those ever since over many few boards: a HHKB, a Leopold FC660C with a PCB swap for programmable layers, various revisions of the Realforce. I used a friend's ErgoDox a few years ago, and quite liked it, but what holds me back is the Topre switches. If only it was feasible to acquire individual Topre switches and put them onto a custom PCB... Here's hoping someone on HN will swoop in and tell me "It's totally possible! Just _____!"

I have thousands of dollars of mechanical keyboards I could sell on eBay, if only I wanted to take the time to remember how I last left the firmware reset sequence. I set them all aside for several Leopold FC660C Topre keyboards with the Hasu mod supporting QMK firmware. Then I started getting ulnar nerve issues, either the gym or too many AI prompts. I discovered MoErgo's keyboards, and their custom Cherry Blossom switches. I honestly believe they have subtle design genius pervading their work, beyond anything I have ever experienced. Quiz me; I've also tried X. Their Glove80 could use a bit of the "door slams like a Rolls-Royce" quality that many of these bespoke keyboard makers apply to more conventional designs. The design nevertheless triumphs. Their second generation Go60 is my "Stay60" I can't give up. The build quality, and I don't want more keys. At first it feels like the Cherry Blossom switches fire from a breeze with the window open. One adapts.

Their UKH 80 looks incredible. Software is as critical as hardware: The UHK supports holding a key down to select a different keymap layer, then using the other hand to tap a key in that layer. While few people learn many-key chording, "one finger each hand" is every bit as easy as ordinary typing, with practice. This supports an n^2 expansion in effective keyboard reach. I'm surprised this isn't the norm for selecting Chinese/Japanese characters. The question is: How well? I'm not entirely happy with my QMK firmware implementation. Tap-hold is the antithesis of n-key rollover; one needs to learn to properly nest key-down, key-up events. It's easy to switch from a clarinet (cleanly cover holes) to a saxophone (slap pads), but hard switching back. And we've all learned to type like we're on a saxophone, relying on n-key rollover to cover many sins. I now use QMK firmware with Hasu controllers for multiple Leopold FC660C keyboards with Topre Silent 45g "rubber dome" key switches. After trying dozens of mechanical key switches, I found that nothing feels like a Topre switch. And here's the kicker: The physical form factor doesn't matter so much if your fingers rarely go far from home row, which is what tap/hold facilitates.

You might want to look into Topre switches. They are electrocapacitive rubber dome switches. They feel like typing on a cloud. I own a Leopold FC660C modded to be silent and to support QMK. I sometimes think about getting an ortholinear or split keyboard, but that rules out Topre so I’m not going to bother, it’s just too good.

The HHKB variants can be nice keyboards, but they're definitely not for everyone. I have a Leopold FC660C that has the same silenced Topre switches as some of the HHKB variants and they're really nice, but the boards that come with them quite expensive for what they provide. The HHKB layout can also be a bit annoying to get used to too, which is why I use the FC660C, since it has arrow keys. In practice I find modern custom keyboards to have higher upside than Topre keyboards, since you can build one with your preferred layout and switches. If you get a QMK enabled board you can also fully customize the functionality of the keyboard, which I find immensely useful. Unless you specifically want a 60% keyboard with light tactile switches I wouldn't recommend an HHKB, but if that's what you want it's hard to do better.

Yes, easily. I came out of the mechanical keyboard rabbit hole with multiple Leopold FC660C Topre switches (there's no going back to any mechanical switch) and Hasu replacement controllers that support QMK. Here's an out-of-date version of my layout, heavily using tap-hold to access multiple layers: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Syzygies/log_folders/maste... Chording never took for me, but one-finger-each-hand concentrated near home row is such an obvious way to quadratically expand the address space. The Matias space bar was certainly an inspiration for this, though everyone uses QMK tap-hold for purposes like this.