I’ve accidentally started a small mechanical keyboard collection.

I’ve been buying keyboards in an attempt to get a compact keyboard that works reliably and isn’t a hassle to use. An argumenent could be made if this counts as a collection (I’m not buying them for the purpose of collecting), but I now have 7 different keyboards, and don’t know where to store them.

This certainly feels like a collection. These are my keyboards.

2017

A coworker of mine at SkinIO had a small format keyboard. I believe it may have been a HHKB or something similar. Through him and too much time browsing r/mechanicalkeyboards I ended up ordering a custom keyboard from Sentraq with a set of limited-run gradient keycaps (GRADE, img) from Signature Platics.

My first keyboard, the S65-X was a 65% keyboard with metal top and bottom plates and acrylic core that could be programmed with QMK.

2018

Around the same time I was ordering the parts for the S65-X, my (now) wife and I were working on a wedding registry. I threw in a Das Keyboard 4 Professional as a “Nathan gift.” I was thrilled and she was less than excited when the first gift that arrived was a mechanical keyboard that I took to work.

This was my setup for years. The 65% at home, and the wide format keyboard at work. I love the volume knob on the Das Keyboard, and found it extremely helpful in an environment where I wore headphones all day.

2023

During the pandemic I shifted to a perminantly remote position working for a company in Zurich and continued to use the S65 at home. After a few years something failed on the board and even with swapped switches I could not reliably get all of the switches to work.

I brought out my Das Keyboard, but had gotten so used to the appearance of the 65% on my desk that I kept unconciously centering the entire Das Keyboard, not just the typing area, on my monitor. I was causing a significant amount of wrist pain for myself with horribly angles and decided to buy an 85% to stop myself from this silly dance.

I ordered a GMMK 1 TLK deeply on sale and it solved my wrist problems and confirmed that 75% was the minimum I wanted to actually use on a regular basis. I had grown tired of the shared esc/~ keys on the 65%.

2024

Going to the TLK from the Das was great, but highlighted how much I wanted the volume knob. 8 years in it was clear – I wanted a small keyboard (85/80 min) with a volume knob. That’s all!

In Nov 2024 I preordered a Knob.1 from Work Louder. It was going to be fully programmable (another thing I missed from the S65) and would have not one, but two knobs!

It was expensive, but after years of cycling I hoped this would be the last keyboard.

2025

The knob.1 came in September. I didn’t love the keycaps, but the keyboard itself seemed good. I ordered some white keys from SP to match GRADE and fill in the gaps from my original keyset.

There it was. All done and back to the appearance I’ve been seeking since 2017, with the functionality of the Das Keyboard.

2026

Unfortunantly the knob.1 has been plauged with software issues. While Work Louder says firmware updates are on the way, after 6 months of the keyboard power cycling while typing, loosing bluetooth setting, etc. I gave up.

The Keychron Q1 V2 is a 75% mechanical keyboard with a volume knob and QMK support. I’ve programmed the knob to do volume by default and display brightness on layer 2. This covers the functionality I had hoped to get out of the knob.

In addition, this keyboard has been out in mass production for years and I can easily find documentation and review weaknesses of this model. It can be programmed with QMK and is not reliant on a company’s propriety software (like input on the knob.1)

So far, so good! We’ll see how that lasts though.

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I didn’t plan on this many keyboards – I just want a tool that works. Something mechanical with easy volume adjustments that takes little space, works with my keycap set, and can be centered on my monitor.

In addition to these keyboards I have a working lego keyboard, the m0110 I rewired, and the macro pad I designed.

Device	Layout	Esc/~ Split	Easily Centered	Volume	Brightness	Reliable
S65-X	65%	❌	✅	❌	❌	⚠️
Das 4	100%	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅
GMMK 1	75%	✅	✅	❌	❌	✅
Knob 1	75%	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Q1 V2	75%	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Device	Layout	Esc/~ Split	Easily Centered	Volume	Brightness	Reliable
Lego	65%	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
M0110	65%	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌