Mechanical Keyboards, Part 1: Choosing a Keyboard

I had never seriously looked into mechanical keyboards until about a month ago, but it turns out that I now have a lot to say on the subject. So much so that I'm going to split it into two posts:

Part 1 (this post): Why I decided to get a S$35* mechanical keyboard, and how I chose it.

Part 2: Software customisation (creating hotkeys, shortcuts and macros using Autohotkey which is a free, open-source program) and hardware customisation (keycaps and switches).

* S$35 = US$26.

I realise that this is a niche topic, probably of interest to about 0.1% of my readers (what is 0.1% of 5 readers?) It's also rather dry and technical. Nevertheless, I'm writing it all down, partly for my own future reference, and on the off chance that it helps someone who is actually interested in MKs and facing some of the same choices that confronted me.

MK: What

So what is a mechanical keyboard? Mechanical keyboards (MKs for short) have individual mechanical switches under each key, whereas membrane keyboards – which are cheaper and more common – have a rubber or silicone membrane beneath the keys. Many people find MKs more tactile and satisfying to type on.

My mechanical keyboard, with some keycaps removed to show the red switches

On r/mechanicalkeyboards, MKs are promoted (and membrane keyboards correspondingly lampooned) with religious zeal – like this comment describing membrane keyboards and their "mushy uncomfortable feeling we've all come to despise."

Despise! But hey, this is reddit.

MK: Why

A good MK is obviously satisfying, but I think other keyboards are fine too. My laptop keyboard has chiclet keys, and I was fine with it. My work keyboard, on the other hand, really does not spark joy; I think it's below par even by membrane keyboard standards. I put up with it for over a year, but eventually decided that I had had enough.

A few other factors contributed to my decision. Two of my friends (one is a co-worker, the other an ex-co-worker) have MKs. I tried them and liked the look and feel. Around the same time, Mike Johnston over at The Online Photographer wrote a series of posts about keyboards, which also contributed to luring me down the MK rabbit-hole.

My main reasons for wanting a mechanical keyboard (in no particular order):

1. They are pleasing to type on.

2. Depending on the size/layout that you choose, MKs can be small, cute and minimalist – and I'm a sucker for small, cute and minimalist things.

3. If your MK is hot-swappable, its look and feel can be customised (by swapping out the switches and keycaps, for example).

4. They are supposedly more durable, and also, if an individual key stops functioning, it can be replaced without compromising the keyboard.

Some MK users also say that MKs improve their typing speed and accuracy, but for me, they're about the same. I did this speed test on my laptop keyboard, before I got my MK. Not bad, huh?

With the MK, my speed initially dropped by about 20 wpm, but after a few days I got used to the new keys and was back up to speed.

Choices, choices

If you're thinking about getting a MK, these are some of the main decisions that will confront you. I've explained my own choices, but of course your preferences and priorities may be different.

1. Budget: High-end MKs can get really expensive, running into hundreds of dollars – and that's before you get to artisanal keycaps and 24-karat gold plating. Mine was just S$35 (US$26), and I'm perfectly happy with it (more on that below). If you want to personalise your MK, a decent set of keycaps costs about the same.

2. Split or monoblock: Split keyboards – like Corne or Dygma – look cool, and I was (still am) curious to see if they are more comfortable to use. But they are way above my budget, so I went for a plain-Jane monoblock (one-piece) keyboard.

3. Ergonomic or regular: Ergonomic keyboards tend to be bigger and – let's not mince words – a bit ugly. Besides, I'm used to regular keyboards, so I saw no reason to change.

Stagger refers to how the rows or columns of keys are offset to one another. Some MK enthusiasts find vertical or orthogonal stagger more ergonomic, but budget keyboards all have "normal stagger", and again, that's what I am used to. It would take me a while to get used to a different layout and learn to type as fast as I do now, and I'm not convinced that the ergonomic benefits (if any) will be worth it.

4. Size: Or in other words, how many keys. This article has a good overview of the most common sizes, but in short, a full-size (100%) keyboard has 104 keys, while a 40% keyboard may have as few as 42.

I wanted to get the smallest size that would not be actively inconvenient to use, and ended up choosing the 65% (68-key) configuration. Compared to a full-size keyboard, it lacks the numpad, F keys and some of the navigation and pause/lock keys (instead of F1, for example, you press Fn+1). The next smallest size, which is 60%, also loses the arrow keys – but I like my arrow keys, thank you very much.

If you're interested in 65% keyboards, this site (archived), while not exhaustive, is still a great list. The original reddit post also lists a small subset of 60% keyboards which are unusual in that they have arrow keys (which most 60% keyboards don't).

6. Hot-swappable: Most MKs are hot-swappable, but it's best to check. I wanted a hot swappable keyboard, for the reasons given here (except the last reason; I don't think mechanical switches make me any more precise, probably about the same). Speaking of which, that's another choice to be made – what kind of switch you want. But I'll cover this in the next post when I talk about hardware customisation.

7. Other features: I wanted a wired keyboard, because wireless keyboards need batteries, and I feel like I already have too many rechargeable batteries and devices in my life. Some keyboards have RGB backlight. I thought I didn't care about this one way or another (the lights can be switched off, which is what I planned to do). But the keyboard I got happens to be backlit, and it's kind of fun to light it up sometimes.

My mechanical keyboard

This is the keyboard I eventually got: Bow G68S, all-white version with red (linear, silent) switches. Like I said, it was just S$35 (US$26), and I'm perfectly happy with it – so much so that I am considering buying another one to use at home. I like the white keycaps more than I expected, but I'm still playing around with other keycaps (more on that in the next post).

The keyboard is a compact and pleasing shape, and doesn't feel cheap at all. It has little stands which allow for two different levels of inclination. It even came with keycap- and switch-pullers, and three extra switches.

The best thing about it is that it makes typing actively pleasurable, not just a routine chore. Like writing with a good fountain pen. Maybe with time, the magic will wear off, but I've had it for two weeks now, and it still feels as good as ever.

As I said in a previous post, it has literally improved my quality of life.

Cats on Bags

Late at night, at an HDB (social housing) estate in Singapore – super friendly tailless black cat checking out my tote bag.

He thereupon sat on the bag and refused to move, putting me at risk of missing my last bus home. These situations always remind me of this drawing by Galina Zhiganova.

I made a video of me trying to coax him into releasing my bag and shared the clip with some friends, one of whom pointed out that I was talking to the cat in Bengali. "ওই, অনেক হয়েছে, এবার ওঠ।" (OK that's enough, now get a move on.)

I have a friend from Kolkata (now based in Colorado) who is Bengali, but mostly spoke in English with his family and friends. Our Bengali teacher once asked him, "দেবক, তুমি কি বিড়ালের সঙ্গেও ইংরিজিতে কথা বলো?" (Debak, do you talk in English even with cats?)

The tote bag in question has prints of various vintage cameras, including a Leica M3 (1954) – a camera that I actually own and sometimes carry in that very bag. My friends were travelling in Indonesia when they saw the bag in a random shop and said "We have to get that for Sroyon." I've got some good gifts recently.

And now here's an older photo of "my" cat in Kolkata, sitting on a changing bag (used for developing film and other analogue-photography applications).

I say "my" in quotes because she is really a stray cat, but likes to hang out in our backyard and sometimes in my room. Our flat in Kolkata is on the ground floor, so she can climb in through my bedroom window. The most sweet-tempered cat I have ever seen.

The other night I was sleeping in my flat here in Singapore – my fifth-floor flat, where no cats climb in through windows – when my bedside lamp toppled onto my bed. It made the exact same light bump as my cat makes when she jumps from my windowsill onto my bed in Kolkata. It woke me up, and in that moment, I missed her intensely.

Masked Figures

Shortly after joking about mosquito bites, I got a severe case of dengue and had to spend four nights in hospital. This is like the time when I made a flippant remark about a minor earthquake and, two days later, experienced one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history.

On my second day at the hospital, I had... I'm not sure what to call it – a daydream? vision? hallucination? I was lying in bed hooked up to an IV drip, a bit drowsy – not asleep, but perhaps not fully awake either – when I saw two figures at the foot of my bed. They wore expressionless white masks which covered their whole face, and red robes like the Red Rebel Brigade.

The vision(?) lasted just seconds, and felt different from a dream, in that I could see the rest of the room just as it was in real life, but with these two figures quietly looking over me. Their aura was not exactly evil, but not quite benign either. Enigmatic, like Kaonashi in Spirited Away.

Anyway when I saw them, I had a feeling that I would die that day (specifically from organ failure). I had a friend who died of complications from dengue, so maybe that was on my mind. Interestingly, it didn't make me anxious or panicky – though I did think about my family, and how they would feel if I died before they could see me.

Why was I not scared? I think one reason is that I don't set much store by premonitions. I have hunches and presentiments from time to time, both good and bad. Some come true, and some don't. A second reason is that the masked figures felt, if anything, like a calming presence.

I wonder if I will see them again.

Protip: Distraction-Free Writing

If you like a clean interface for writing (and who doesn't), I have a couple of recommendations for MS Word and Google Docs.

On MS Word – I've tested this on Word 2007 (home) and Microsoft 365 (work), I can't speak for other versions – press Alt+V followed by U to enter a distraction-free full-screen mode (below left).

In fact, after taking the photo, I decided to change the Word 2007 theme to silver, which feels less obtrusive than the default blue background (Word Options > Popular > Color scheme). Newer versions of Word have more neutral backgrounds anyway.

I mostly use keyboard shortcuts for formatting, so the hidden toolbars are not a problem for me. To revert to normal view, just press Esc.

The second photo shows a distraction-free mode for Google Docs. I use a Chrome extension called Focus for Google Docs. Install the extension, click on Focus mode for hidden toolbars and a soothing grey background, then press F11 for full-screen.

I don't know if these necessarily reduce distraction per se, but the clean interface looks nice and makes the writing process more pleasurable.

Another thing which makes writing more pleasurable is a mechanical keyboard (I got one recently, which you can see in the photos). It has literally improved my quality of life – not even exaggerating. I'll write a separate post about it soon.

Bengali Ghee

Food preferences are inherently subjective – shaped by culture, what we eat in our formative years, and individual taste. Having said that, can we all agree that Bengali ghee is objectively superior.

Compared to ghee from the rest of India (let's call this "non-Bengali ghee"), Bengali ghee is cooked longer and at a higher temperature, which makes it more caramelised, grainier in texture, darker, and slightly sweeter. The two are so different that they almost shouldn't be called by the same name.

Non-Bengali ghee is basically a cooking medium. Bengali ghee can be used that way too, but it also tastes amazing in its pure form. In fact, the simpler the dish, the more it shines. Bengali ghee with steaming basmati rice and a pinch of salt is pure perfection.

When I visit Kolkata, ghee is one of the things I always bring back with me. Because for whatever reason, it's difficult if not impossible to find outside Bengal, let alone in other countries.

When my friend Bronwen came to visit us in Copenhagen, we fed her Bengali ghee with rice and begun bhaja. The ghee, as you would expect, blew her mind.

Bronwen lives in a village in Wales which has no Indian stores, so she said the next time her dad went to Cardiff, she would ask him to get some ghee for her. I warned her that this would almost certainly be non-Bengali ghee, but she said, "Oh it's fine, I probably can't even tell the difference."

A few weeks later she texted me saying, "My dad brought me some ghee, and what the fuck, this is completely different, nowhere near as nice!" I said I told you so.

Mustafa, a giant supermarket in Singapore which specialises in South Asian products, has two whole aisles of ghee, but no Bengali ghee.

In a way, it's annoying, not being able to find Bengali ghee in various countries that I have lived in. But a part of me is perversely pleased that Bengali ghee is such a hidden gem; a closely-guarded secret, accessible only to us. It's a complicated feeling – not easy to express, but I've tried my best: