Finally got a blank keys keyboard!

[oz]

I've been wanting a blank keyboard for awhile, not for the coolness of it, but to force myself not to look for certain keys. Now if I look, it will only slow me down even further.

Here are some shots of it with the blanks and with the regular keys:





Oh, and I should add that the typing on the HHKB Pro is fantastic!

[bigtomrodney]

Niiiiice ozar. Where did you get it from? I'm looking for something similar myself. I've been tempted to break out the acetone and do it myself

EDIT - Is that what you did?

[oz]

Hey, BigTom... the Happy Hacking Professional 2 is manufactured and sold in Japan.

Sometimes, you can catch them on eBay but most folks that have them hang onto them. Otherwise, you can get the keyboard along with a set of extra blank keys from GeekStuff4u.com, and they'll ship it from Japan to you. If you should order one, be sure NOT to get the "lite" model, but get the Pro version instead, as there is no comparison.

I also bought a black Unicomp Model M Spacesaver along with a set of blank keys that should be a thrill to type on. Once I get the regular keys off and the blanks on, I'll post a few shots of it as well. It's the "buckling spring" clicky keyboard that's made here in the USA. I mentioned their boards in the keyboard review that I did a few months back.

At some point, I'll try to post some pics of the entire keyboard collection. It's grown substantially since I wrote the initial review.


Edit: BigTom, I think the easiest and cheapest way to get a good keyboard with blank keys is to get the Unicomp Spacesaver that I mentioned above, and when you order, put in the comments section to "please add a set of blank black keys for $20 to the order".

Unicomp ships overseas, so that won't be a problem, and for the $70 for the board, and $20 for the blank keys, you'll have a good buckling spring keyboard with two sets of keys. You shouldn't have any trouble selling it on eBay should you decide that you don't like it. I personally like it better than the Das Keyboard that I still own.

Once I get photos of my stealth Unicomp board posted, you can get a better idea about what it looks like.

[oz]

As promised above, here's my black Unicomp Model M Spacesaver with buckling spring key switches.

The following three shots show the board before taking it to stealth mode:

[oz]

These next two shots are of the buckling springs that are the heart of the key switches that the old IBM Model M keyboards were known for:







...and the final two shots are after the board has been stealthed:





I've not decided just yet, but I might also black out the Unicomp logo under the LED display.

Note that you can click on the images several times for progressively higher resolution views.

[bigtomrodney]

I may just be tempted. I use a wireless keyboard/mouse combo which work quite well. They aren't buckling spring but do have a nice positive action to them. I used to have an old Dell keyboard that was buckling spring, based on the M. They hated me at work for it but it was definitely the best keyboard I've used.

Now if I could just get a buckling spring wireless keyboard....

[oz]

You can sometimes find the Dell AT101W for as low as $9 (used) on eBay. I found one "new in the box" there the other day for $19 and snatched it up. They aren't bucking spring, but are Black Alps mechanical switches. Not as loud as the old Model M's, but very solid boards and fun to type on.

My new Dell AT101W looks just like this:

1999 DELL AT101W BLACK keyboard (GYUM90SK)