A Keyboard to Make Sherlock Holmes Proud

[Guest]

Elementary: a hand-made keyboard featuring an old-school look and construction.

A Keyboard to Make Sherlock Holmes Proud : Read more

 

[sliem]

Dang that looks cool but I can't type with that -- and also super expensive. Maybe someone in China can make a $40 clone?

 

[gwolfman]

Didn't you report on this like a year ago? Anyways, to each his own.

 

[buwish]

Perhaps if I owned a Victorian themed home...then I'd buy this.

 

[chickenhoagie]

pretty sweet lookin..keys look typewriterish though.

 

[HolyCrusader]

It is a nice-looking keyboard. I've seen this (or a very similar) keyboard at least a year ago, although I don't remember a $1500 price tag on it.

 

[inglourious basterd]

"You'll probably wear out the WSAD keys after a few months anyway."

This keyboard is a modded IBM model M; your fingers will likely wear out before the WSAD keys do.

 

[Anaxamenes]

Ugh, a artist/craftsman makes something awesome and then everyone wants to run off to China to rip it off and make it consumable instead of appreciating it as a piece of functional art.

 

[Guest]

Well, there's no way to judge a keyboard until you've gotten your hands on it and felt it. Personally I'd give anything to have a late 70s/early 80's keyboard from a VT110/102 terminal, that was wholly compatible with modern hardware. The feel and touch of those were incredible, compared to modern keyboards. Then again, they were designed as industrial equipment with a price tag to match. Most modern ones feel sloppy, with very litle key movement,and a haphazard feel. Keytronic used to make good ones, they were the default price/quality choice for pretty much every systembuilder in Finland (where I'm from). I haven't found a keyboard that I COMPLETELY liked since. I don't want one with fiddly bits, multimedia controls, LCD displays, or macros. All of that crap should be left to optional control devices. The Z-boards and Nostromo's and their like are wonderful devices; I've owned and used a number them. Especially the new Nostromo is a wonderful piece of kit and I've quite liked the Zboard Fang. What I want from a keyboard is no-nonse text input and a good key-feel. I haven't found a perfect solution yet. I'm currently using a mac-keyboard on a Win/Ubuntu machine and I'm moderately satisfied with it. Here's hoping for a better future, and don't ask me about my troubles about finding a good trackball...

 

[rigaudio]

Nice to see some actual steampunk efforts instead of someone just slapping some brass-coloured tubes on something and calling it a day.

 

[andy_newton]

@Dactyl Spondee

Try Old school IBM Ultranav. I own a keypad-less Mac keyboard but I still prefer the ultranav over the Mac keyboard (although it is also very nice). It comes with (rather useless) touchpad and (most of the time not functional) trackpoint but I should tell you it is the best non-tactile keyboard around.

They have it with an without the numeric keypad depends on your preferences.

Mine is the numeric-keypad-less old school one without the Windows key. It's Fn CTRL ALT SPACE ALT CTRL. Nicely remaps from Mac OS X keyboard preferences into option command space command option. You can remap caps lock into ctrl if you need to.

Now my main concern is: where can I buy another one for a back up. Because the newer version forces fitting in a windows key that results in much smaller keys as follows: Fn CTRL Win ALT SPACE ALT and added some ruckus "ONLY-GOD-KNOWS-WHAT-KEY" and CTRL. It doesn't remap nicely anymore to any other OS than Windows.

Hope that helps.

-ND

 

[damian86]

nice, I wonder where the @ key is... HA, sherlock Holmes didn't have one

 

[neiroatopelcc]

Damn that's a cool looking thing.
It might be a bit pricey for a gamer, but it just might be worth it in the receiption of a victorian themed hotel or a themepark.
In both cases 1500 or even 2500 isn't a worry.

 

[hinkelmann]

I'm from old school, what is WSAD? Also I like my clone keyboard from China, it is wireless and it has US characcteres, those keyboards have a new symbol that I have not learned yet, maybe that is the WSAD, not sure, well I will keep my $15 keyboard, easy to read they nice white US letters so I can type this

 

[neiroatopelcc]

[citation][nom]hinkelmann[/nom]I'm from old school, what is WSAD? Also I like my clone keyboard from China, it is wireless and it has US characcteres, those keyboards have a new symbol that I have not learned yet, maybe that is the WSAD, not sure, well I will keep my $15 keyboard, easy to read they nice white US letters so I can type this[/citation]

Next time get something like an 'HP basic usb keyboard'
They're like €5 each, very durable and have the same plastic feel you're used to.

I'm using those, and I'm not recommending anyone, even gamers, to spend more on a keyboard unless they need stuff like the display on a g15

 

[maxiim]

My 10$ sony VAIO keyboard pwns this.

 

[kenmore]

I don't think it looks anything like a victorian keyboard would have looked like. I think it you google 19th century instruments, you might get a better idea.Out of my price range anyway.