Support for Alternative Layouts
This is a summary of how alternative layouts have been supported by kits such as Colevrak and Homing. It is not a discussion of alt layout performance and development, but if that interests you I highly recommend starting with Pascal Getreuer’s A guide to alt keyboard layouts (why, how, which one?). It’s a concise and comprehensive overview with links to some great sites that go deeper. He also has a separate Links about keyboards page. The Keyboard layouts doc he recommends explains layout goals and metrics in detail, summarizing the alt layouts discussed here as well as more than one hundred others. Sculpted-profile The majority of custom keycap sets are sculpted-profile (Cherry, SA, MT3, KAT, etc. - more on profiles generally here) so let’s start there. Because each row has a unique keycap shape, alt layouts require a unique keycap for each legend that moves off its QWERTY row. At first there were two The Dvorak layout was patented in 1936 by August Dvorak & William L....
Apr 23, 2024
I miss having arrow keys and a numpad, and one of the layouts possible on the Red Scarf III looks ideal. It's the only keyboard where I've ever seen that layout offered, so I'd have to build it out. I'm trying to price one out, and am confused about the high cost of some ABS keycap sets. Don't get me wrong, this set looks awesome. Is PBT still the king when it comes to durability, or are these higher-end ABS sets comparable?
I for myself tested few pbt keysets from some manufacturers and they feel garbage, becuase they gather dirt and they have wrong (to rough) finish for long type sessions. The only PBT keycaps (from my experience) which are high quality and has really good finish are the stock HHKB (probably on realforce they are as good as on HHKB) and Model M. Its not just about PBT but about its quality. Durable garbage is still garbage ;)
On the PBT end, my best keyset when it comes to feel and durability (but not look unfortunately) is the original Realforce keyset, which is PBT dyesub. The only key that has any noticeable wear after a year of heavy usage is the space bar. However, I also own Tai-Hao PBT double shot Miami keyset and I find it less convenient then GMK Ocean Dolch. Go figure...