Keyboard Builders' Digest / Editorial
Behind the scenes #207
Behind the scenes with the February switch rankings, Womier SK80 Pro review, Switch Quiz, open-source and commercial projects, keyboard art, meetups, etc.
Published March 9, 2026
Hey, what's up everyone!
Welcome back for another recap and behind-the-scenes write-up – with some cool projects from the DIY keyboard scene, but also promising closed-source commercial projects.
If you are new to kbd.news, you can read how this started out and what this is all about nowadays. If you like what you see, subscribe to the newsletter (free) and donate some bucks to keep this otherwise free and ad-free project alive.
Chef's choice
If you only have time for a couple of posts, start with checking out these:
- February switch market overview (updated!)
- Switch Quiz – to narrow down the endless list of switch models
- Review: Womier SK80 Pro
Some posts worth sharing
- Here are February’s top mechanical switches, the community’s favorites based on vendor sales data. If you've already seen this on the weekend, I've updated the post with Divinikey's numbers.
- Review: The tri-mode wireless Womier SK80 Pro comes with Great Wave overdose, including a matching mouse pad and wrist rest.
- Dane Lipscombe's Koumori is a low-profile unibody split keyboard with trackpad.
- Scybin's Chitin is an open-source wireless split with a tiny trackball.
- A spartan split keyboard with some considerable pinky offset: Underset by humanplayer2.
- Nick Coughlin's Ground Control 40 is a 40% open-source ortho keyboard designed for rapid prototyping.
- Two Sweep derivatives with splay: RAII by unspecworks – wired or wireless.
- Yuburoll's DASIC is a symmetrical Alice-style split keyboard with reversible PCB.
- A new ergo keycap profile for columnar layouts: Bobslei by Beelb0u.
Closed-source, WIP, commercial, etc.
- Still just a render and a shell of a github repo, but anyway: etzee by Niola Secerovski aka secersh.
- Galileo is low-pro ortho PCB by Obiebousky.
- PlaketXL by Flatbrains!. Many photos in the last couple of days, this one is from thibounet's post.
- Fern by Acrobatic_Plan9973. A 34-key Cherry ULP split keyboard with dongle charging dock. It charges using pogo pins.
- Custom gamepad by JakeCatto/JaspMakes. With build video.
- Luminkey Nova macropad. Photo by jcjx91.
- Ercham MK1 – a one-handed game controller in the works. By Adventurous_Tie.
- ThinkPad 701C-like butterfly keyboard mechanism by Upset_Thanks_2049.
- CommandKeyboard-Advanced by Guntermann & Drunck – WIP operator interface in flight towers and control centers.
- ScottoRang PCB edition by Joe Scotto. A 16x16 mm spaced Choc board. Originally handwired, now with PCB kit.
- I don't usually feature meme boards, but this post with a handwired ortho by arax20 has some nice btc photos.
- 0.4 and 0.5 by ikakus. Not much, just two photos, but the structure is interesting.
- Custom ULP Ferris Sweep by Objective_Factor336.
- BANDIT is a monoblock offset split cyberdeck by DSCF_prog.
- MeKaBu – a collaborative effort pushing the limits with ZMK to realize a modular system.
Tips, Typing, Keymap, 3D
- How to DIY a set of custom painted keycaps? A video tutorial by Philo Yu.
- Northern Chorder is an open-source chording keyboard firmware + GUI practice app.
- According to this tear-down by Sam Holland, the Teenage Engineering EP-40 synthesizer features off-the-shelf TTC low-pro switches to achieve pressure-sensitive capabilities.
- These Lego keycaps by Strange-Alfalfa311/TheBike560 work well with Lego minifigures and brics. Files on makerworld.
- New Reptiloid keycap options by turtle_bazon.
- A Totem LP case by Beelb0u (via r/emk).
- Programmable keyboards on controlled networks as a security risk. Good read with some interesting comments.
- Leg-mounted Sweep by rnichael_feldman.
History/Discovery
- This Sun 1 workstation board is Mikademus' candidate for worst navigation cluster placement. Well, I'm not going to visit my attic now, but…
- A nice beafy 1800 one: Goupil Golf. "Here’s an original Goupil Golf keyboard, a french company who used to make flashy machines in the 80’s" – RaspberryRare3348. But thas was manufactured in Germany.
- IBM P70 by NecessaryCute345.
Keyboard art
- Rain2's latest works: Orthonbend 40 and Splash Ergo.
- Dawn Hoofbeats artisan by Jellykey.
- Amazing modding job by Particular_Hawk_2356: HHKB-ized Transition Lite via a blocker top case.
Diderot effect (aka accessories)
- Dusty Acorns Wrist Rest. Cross-grain hardwood with 3D-printed PETG "wedge" on the bottom.
In the mailbox
Ouch, I'm still overwhelmed.
Waiting for review: The magnetic Dareu Cool68, a purple KiiBOOM Pahntom 98 with an extra Planetmars Pixelpop Arcade keycap set, Epomaker Glyph, Moergo Go60, Jezail Funder's Jiffy75 (campaign starts tomorrow), Whalebone stand, a Redragon 75%.
Donations
- New donors, yay! Thank you RGBKeys and Nelson M. C.!
- As always, many thanks to my awesome regular supporters and everyone who helped this project thus far.
For all the donation options check out the donation page!
Meetup database
The meetup database serves as both a calendar and an archive, so feel free to send me upcoming events or even ones from the recent past to make this collection as comprehensive as possible.
Recently added:
- Colorado MechMeets March 2026 meetup, March 21, Erie, CO, US
- Blooming Into Keebs, April 12, Irvine, CA, US
- Iowa Keyboard Meetup 2026, May 2, Des Moines, IA, US
- Colorado MechMeets May 2026 Meetup (Inaugural Southern meetup), May 31, Castle Pines, CO, US
Vendor news & Discounts
Feel free to use the KBDNEWS discount code at 194 keyboard shops worldwide! And do not hesitate to report any issues! :)
No new shops or updates to the database of keyboard vendors these past weeks, but here are some vendor news anyway:
- New keycap profiles coming to YUZU? It's been confirmed by Simon: PBS and PFF will be available from the 23rd March. (Reported by rowie324.)
- Redragon's switching their hotswap sockets from Outemu-style only to also supporting Cherry MX style switches (via r/mk).
- Corsair plans to wind down Drop.
Developments
- Switch Quiz – Answer some quick questions to narrow down hundreds of switch models from the switch database.
This project is basically a second interface for the database, more for newbies who prefer a guided tour approach. That said, creating this involved fixing a lot of inconsistencies in tagging, plus some new features not present in the database: non-silent, non-lubed filters, Choc V1 vs V2 vs Gateron LP differentiation, etc.
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That's all for today. Thanks for checking by. As always: Keep learning and building!
Until next time,
Tamás
Published on Mon 9th Mar 2026. Featured in KBD #207.
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