Keebin’ with Kristina: the One with the Wafer-Thin Keyboard

But sir! I can’t believe I missed [dynam1keNL]’s initial flat offering from about a year ago, the mikefive, which came about when he and some friends ordered switches directly from …read more

May 20, 2025 - 02:20

Keebin’ with Kristina: the One with the Wafer-Thin Keyboard

Illustrated Kristina with an IBM Model M keyboard floating between her hands.

The mikecinq, an incredibly slim keyboard. — Image by [dynam1keNL] via reddit

But sir! I can’t believe I missed [dynam1keNL]’s initial flat offering from about a year ago, the mikefive, which came about when he and some friends ordered switches directly from Kailh and Kailh were like, do you want to try these even lower-profile PG1316 laptop switches? It’s called the mikefive because it’s 5 mm thick.

That’s okay, though, because now you’re caught up and I can talk about his latest keyboard, the mikecinq. The inspiration for this one includes the aesthetics of Le Chiffre and the slimness of Le Oeuf. As you’ll see in the gallery, the top is ever-so-slightly slanted downward from the top.

You can see it really well in the second picture — the top row is flush with the case, and the keys gradually get taller toward the thumb clusters. All [dynam1keNL] really had to do was 3D model the new case and screw in the PCB from his daily driver mikefive.

[dynam1keNL] ultimately found it nice and comfy, especially for the thumbs, but decided to take it one step further and designed a new switch footprint. Why? The PG1316s are surface-mount with contacts below the switch, so you really need a hotplate or oven to mount them.

So in order to deal with this, he made a dedicated mikecinq PCB with big cutouts with castellated holes beneath each switch. Now, the switch contacts are accessible from underneath and can be soldered with an iron.

You may have noticed that the mikefive production files are not available on GitHub — that’s because it was recently licensed and will be available soon. But if you want production files for the mikecinq, let him know in the comments.

Cyberpunk 2077 Here In 2025

A Cyberpunk 2077-themed split keyboard with a yellow case and Baja Blast RGB and everything. — Image by [felipeparaizo] via reddit

While this Cyberpunk 2077 keyboard is certainly nice enough to be a centerfold, [felipeparaizo] has a full write-up on GitHub, so here I go talking about it at length instead!

This here is a Sofle RGB v2.1 that, as we’ve concluded, is heavily inspired by Cyberpunk 2077. The case is 3D-printed and then airbrushed, and then stickered up with custom decals that include references to Arasaka and Samurai. The acrylic base lets even more Baja Blast-colored RGB goodness shine through.

The switches are Akko Crystal Blues, which seem like a great choice, and the caps are two combined sets — one matte and one translucent. This is the second version of the project, and you can see how the first one turned out over on GitHub.

via reddit

The Centerfold: An Avalanche of Color

A colorful Avalanche keyboard in the 60% style. — Image by [CaptLynx] via reddit

So this right here is an Avalanche keyboard, but at 60%. Go admire the original ones real quick; I’ll wait. They’re just as lovely as this one! I love the jawbreaker-esque layers of the case, and those knobs are exquisite.

Do you rock a sweet set of peripherals on a screamin’ desk pad? Send me a picture along with your handle and all the gory details, and you could be featured here!

Historical Clackers: the Brackelsberg

The Classic Typewriter page calls the Brackelsberg syllabic typewriter “another hallucinogenic creation from the golden age of writing machine design“, and I don’t disagree.

The Brackelsberg, a two-handed type-writing torture device. — Image via The Classic Typewriter Page

This 1897 machine had types arranged on several type sectors which swung up and down. Each sector carried about 30 types, which I take to mean characters.

The 132-key board was divided into four sectors, and they could be operated simultaneously — as in, you could type four characters at once, entering entire syllables if you so desired. Thus, it was called a syllabic typewriter.

A hammer struck from the rear, connecting the paper and ribbon with the types. It seems slow and cumbersome, doesn’t it? But Brackelsberg insisted that it was quiet, pointed out that the writing was always visible, and argued that the syllabic gimmick would make it fast and convenient to use.

Although never mass-produced, a working prototype was built and is pictured here in a photograph from Friedrich Muller’s book called Schriebmaschinen und Schriften-Vervielfältigung published in 1900.

Finally, a Keyboard That Looks Like a Typewriter and Might Not Suck

I say this because of the disappointment I suffered buying a similar Bluetooth keyboard for ten bucks from a place where everything typically costs half of that or less. The thing just stopped working one day not long after the store warranty had expired. You win some, you lose some, I suppose.

The Yunzii QL75 keyboard, which resembles a typewriter that AI created for me once. — The Yunzii QL75 typewriter keyboard. Image via Yunzii

Anyway, the Yunzii QL75 ought to fare better given that it’s ten times the cost to pre-order; at least I hope it does. And much like the crappy one I have, it comes in pink.

You can choose either Onyx tactile switches or Cocoa Cream V2 linear switches. But if you don’t like those, the switches are hot-swappable and compatible with 3-pin and 5-pins both.

The keycaps are ABS with a matte chrome electroplated finish and laser-engraved legends. Yes there is RGB, but it doesn’t shine through the keycaps, more like between them, it sounds like.

Thankfully, the QL75 works with QMK and VIA if you want to change things up. This thing has three-way connectivity to the device of your choice, which, if it’s small enough, can sit right above the keyboard where the paper would go.

There’s no telling what the knobs on the sides do, if anything, although there are arrows. On mine, they raise and lower the little kickstands.

Via TweakTown

Got a hot tip that has like, anything to do with keyboards? Help me out by sending in a link or two. Don’t want all the Hackaday scribes to see it? Feel free to email me directly.