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
- 62g Sakurios: Light, linear, and SO quiet. These feel so smooth out of the bag. Didn't bother to lube them. They don't need it. Might suggest just lubing the springs, but I barely notice any twang at all. Ultimately I found, for me, these were a tad too light. I tend to hit keys harder than some folks and was getting some accidental presses because I'm a gorilla. But damn these are nice.
- 67g Roselios: Same as the Sakurios, but a bit stiffer. I found these more comfortable for me, as I type heavier. I also lubed these springs and they feel great.
- 67g Aqua Zilents: As a recent fan of tactiles, and current user of Holy Pandas and V2 67g Zilents and Zealios, I am impressed. In a side by side with the regular 67g Zilents, the Aquas are just a tad smoother around the bump. Regular Zilents and Zealios seem a bit crisper or have a sharper bump. Zeal's site says the difference is the bottom of the housing. I looked for a difference in the stem/spring/leaf and my eyes saw none, but its noticeably smoother. They are very close to Holy Pandas in feel, but have slightly sharper tactility. HP's sound a bit better when made from POM housings, but sound is secondary to feel for me. Yes, I'll be ordering more from Drop now that Zeal's intro price is gone. EDIT: I DID lube these with Krytox 105 on the springs, and Tribosys 3204 on the stems. Perfecto!
I don't have the 62g Aqua's because I'm fairly certain they'd be too light, but I have no doubts they're as awesome as the 67g's.