Issue 191 / Week 15 / 2025
This is a hand-picked selection of last week's content from a keyboard enthusiast's perspective. Posts that may teach you something, make you think and contribute to the common knowledge of the DIY builder community.
There are 11+32 entries in this issue:
Editorial
Behind the scenes #191
Keyboard projects, tips, quick news, keyboard art, in the mailbox, meetups, vendors, discounts.
Switch trends
Best-selling keyboard switches of April, 2025
In this month's overview of community-favorite mechanical switches, here are April's top picks, based on real sales data provided by vendors and manufacturers.
Projects
Hephaestes38
An open-source 38-key low-profile unibody split keyboard: Hephaestes38 by DeppressedCabbage.
Lobotomy
Kilipan's Lobotomy is a crazy 30-40% Alice keyboard.
MPA keyboard
A 42-key wireless split keyboard with CFX spacing – MPA by miwayho.
Ambra
The 34-key wireless Ambra, designed by stozi, is a nice split keyboard with vertical thumb clusters.
Spliteo
Teodor Raykov's Spliteo is an ergo split keyboard with a 4-key thumb cluster.
KYB3R.ORTHO
A 32-key ortholinear keyboard by nerdbude: the cyberpunkish KYB3R.ORTHO.
Bug54
The Bug54 is a low-profile wireless split keyboard by Oliver Gründel.
Hermod
Charlie Steenhagen's modular low-pro split keyboard: the Hermod with huge displays.
EclairM0
A cute little gadget by Mateusz Nowak: EclairM0.
Quick news
TIPS
IMG2CAPS by TurtsMcGerts. The app lets you upload an image, position the keyboard over it, and extract a dominant color for each keycap. It's using the Yuzu Playground color codes, so you can Export / Import to their editor to tune the legends, and order your custom keycap set.
OverKeys update. An open-source keyboard layout visualizer for Windows.
New switches by Cherry – the next-generation IK inductive switch, plus three new MX mechanical switches: MX Honey (silent tactile), MX Blossom (35cN linear), and MX Falcon (heavy tactile). Introduced at Computex 2025, Taipei.
Closed-source, commercial, WIP, etc.
Kickstarter: Mothwing. A prebuilt split.
The Wings build video. A nice monoblock angled split with a trackpad in the center.
An adorable handwired macropad: Boom3rang by sai_2602.
Custom QMK gamepad (video) by hvnslab.
Rain2 keeps annoying "both diagonal and straight users": Openwork.
A split ortho prototype by skraim – with magnetic connectors, for gaming.
Delta Omega. A brutalist Totem? Board and repo WIP.
Retrofitted Little Tikes. Committed by nobutternoparm.
Magpie – I'm sure we've already had some project with this name – is a split by baaawbag. Mix of the Sofle, Lily and ZSA Voyager.
mikecinq by dynam1keNL. With PG1316S switches. And a second one with per-key RGB: Jarne Blade v2.
KABARGA – a wireless unibody 40% keyboard by aroum.
Non Nemo Wired by thunderbird2086.
Lumon Terminal Pro build video. Inspired by the Severance MDR Terminal Pro keyboard. Designed by keylavye.
MechaPress88 v3 by blastrock (PG1316S, split).
And another monoblock with a keywell: ULP Curved. This one was handwired by Arc.
Sweep case with TPU insert for shock absorption. By tolki/mr_tolkien.
Keyboard speedometer with both display and servo indicator – by Alexnumber1.
Woyager. Ionut Duma's (ahito89/Top Candy) attempt to recreate the Voyager via 1U PCBs.
TypeOrTalk - An interesting keyboard by Sam, with built-in speech-to-text option.
History/Discovery
The IBM Model M Enhanced Keyboard turns 40 – a crash course on the subject by Sharktastica.
Keyboard art
Industrial Chocofi case by heinn_dev.
Nooir N1 – cool case. Photos by NarcolepsyNick.
I like the KingKeeb v.2 deskmat design concept by PigModding (source).
Nail art meme keyboard by Rain2. For ladies (or gents) with long nails. (And the same author's Corne case.)
Serenity with colorful silkscreen art (AI-generated image). Designed by Mike Barnoski aka MKBR/MKBRRD.
Ice Ring 63 RT build by Blapeee.
Capybara macropad by twinattacker.
Cerakoted Not-a-Lemo connectors by VoxelMods.
Weekly Diderot effect
Cerakey ceramic wrist rest ($5 coupon: KBDNEWS). Photo and mini review by wadmutter.
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