Okay, it took a good amount of learning, but I’ve figured out how to get most of what I want with a custom keyboard build.

Here’s my goals:

  1. Ergonomic
  2. Quiet
  3. Dvorak
  4. But a normal person can still use it
  5. Cheapish because I’m a cheap bastard

With those in mind, here’s what I’ve finally settled on:

Board:
YMDK - Split 75% 84 Acrylic Kit

Keycaps:
YMDK - 9009 Retro 143 - Blank

Switches:
Haimu x Geon HG Red Silent Linear Switches A.K.A Haimu Heartbeat

See photos at the bottom of the post.

My plan is to take the switches to a fab-lab with a laser engraver and engrave the labels on the side of each keycap. Since the DSA profile is the same for every button, and I’ll have extras, I’ll have more than a few chances to get my laser settings correct.

By labeling the keycaps myself I can put the QWERTY label on the front side and the Dvorak label on the left or right side. By using this split design, I can combine the two halves to give people a totally regular looking keyboard that functions just as they expect.

Total cost including machine time: $182

What do you think? Do you think there’s room for improvement?