Chasing the Perfect Keyboard: A Lifelong Obsession That Started with a Telephone Button

Some people collect watches. Others collect cars. I’ve spent a lot of my time chasing the perfect keyboard. It sounds a little strange when I say it out loud. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that it was never really about keyboards. It started much earlier, with my fascination with buttons, switches, and that simple feeling of pressing something that feels just right. And I think I know exactly where it began.

The Telephone in My Pediatrician’s Office#

As a child, I hated going to the pediatrician. The only way my parents could convince me was with one simple promise: “You can press one of the buttons on the doctor’s telephone.” That was enough. Behind the doctor’s desk was an old multi-line analog telephone. It had a rotary dial and a row of buttons across the top. I loved those buttons. Pressing one gave a satisfying mechanical click, and a small light would come on. To everyone else, it was just an old office telephone. To me, it was probably the most interesting thing in the room. At the time, I couldn’t have explained why. I just loved pressing those buttons, hearing the click, and watching the little lights respond.

Looking back now, I think that telephone was the beginning of something much bigger. It wasn’t just my first love for buttons and switches. It was also my first fascination with technology and communication. Long before I understood computers, networks, or telecommunications, I was already fascinated by machines that connected people. That little telephone may have planted the seed for an obsession that has stayed with me for most of my life.

“What Is My Name?”#

Not long afterwards came my first computer: the Commodore C128D. Like every curious child, I immediately wanted to see what it could do. So I confidently typed:

What is my name?

The computer instantly replied:

Syntax Error

I still smile when I think about that.

Instead of giving up, I opened the BASIC manual and started learning. Soon I was experimenting with variables, PEEKs and POKEs, sprites, graphics, and small programs that sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t. It felt like magic. Interestingly, I don’t remember paying much attention to the keyboard at the time. There was nothing to compare it with. The keyboard was simply my way into this completely new world.

The Magic of the Amiga#

Then came the Amiga 500, one of my favourite computers ever. Compared with everything I had seen before, it felt almost futuristic. The graphics were amazing, multitasking felt like magic, and there were endless things to explore. I also loved the keyboard. I liked the shape of the keycaps, the layout, and the way it felt to use. Looking back, I think that keyboard probably influenced some of the things I still look for today.

Then came the PC era. PCs became faster, more powerful, and more capable. But somehow they also felt less magical. It is difficult to explain if you didn’t live through that period. Technology was improving quickly, but some of the excitement and wonder seemed to disappear along the way.

Understanding What Was Behind the Click#

When I went to university, that wonder came back, but in a completely different way.

Digital Systems was probably my favourite subject. I loved learning how something as simple as 0s and 1s could be combined to create something so much more complex. We worked with Boolean logic, truth tables, logic gates, flip-flops, and Karnaugh maps. I remember looking at those diagrams and thinking about how these simple building blocks could eventually become a processor, memory, or a complete computer.

I started to understand what was actually happening underneath every keypress. That simple click on a keyboard was no longer just a physical action. Behind it were electronics, logic, processors, memory, software, and eventually a language of 0s and 1s that turned a physical press of a key into something a computer could understand.

I found that fascinating.

Think about it for a moment: so many people, over so many years, worked to create all of this technology. Engineers, scientists, and programmers solved incredibly complex problems just so we could press a key and have something happen instantly.

Sitting in front of a computer, I realized that every single click was the result of decades of human knowledge, engineering, and hard work.

The Search Begins#

I spend many hours at a keyboard, so naturally I wanted one that felt good. Interestingly, I preferred low-profile keyboards long before they became popular. I liked some of the older Dell keyboards, and especially laptop keyboards. The keys were lower and narrower, and I found that I made fewer typing mistakes with them. For years I also used inexpensive Microsoft keyboards. They weren’t exciting. They just worked.

Then mechanical keyboards became popular, and I decided to try one. I expected it to be amazing. It wasn’t. The switches were fine, but the keycaps didn’t feel particularly good and the whole experience wasn’t the big improvement I had expected. That’s when I realized that finding the right keyboard was going to be much harder than simply buying a mechanical one.

The rabbit hole had started.

Down the Rabbit Hole#

Over the years, I tried more keyboards than I probably needed to. Every time I bought a new one, I had the same thought: Maybe this is the one. The first keyboard that really impressed me was the Durgod Hades 68 with Silent Red switches. For the first time, I understood why people get so interested in keyboards. The typing felt smooth, the keycaps were excellent, and the whole thing felt refined without being loud.

Then came the Durgod Taurus K320 TKL with red switches. To this day, I still think it was one of the best keyboards I’ve ever owned. Everything just felt right. The layout, the keycaps, the typing feel. It was one of those keyboards where you stop thinking about the keyboard and just type. And then I made a mistake. I sold it to buy another keyboard. At the time, I thought there would always be something better. Years later, I still regret it. Of course, that only pushed me further down the rabbit hole.

I started getting into custom keyboards. I thought that if I built my own keyboard, I could finally make the perfect one. That turned out to be another hobby entirely. Suddenly I wasn’t just using keyboards anymore. I was changing switches, trying different keycap profiles, modifying stabilizers, changing plates, adding foam, and trying to get rid of every tiny rattle. If you are into mechanical keyboards, you probably know exactly what I mean.

The One That Got Away#

Then I discovered the HHKB Studio. Wow. The typing experience was incredible. Almost no mistakes. Great keycaps. My fingers seemed to find the right keys naturally. Everything felt effortless. For the first time in years, I really thought: This is the one. And then I returned it. Not because of the typing. The typing was fantastic. It was everything else. The battery system frustrated me. For such an expensive keyboard, I found it strange that it used disposable batteries instead of having a rechargeable internal battery. The gesture controls also didn’t work reliably for me. And then there was the bottom half of the keyboard. The top felt premium, but the lower part and the battery cover felt surprisingly cheap for the price. That really bothered me. It hurt to return it because the typing experience itself was so good. I still hope HHKB releases an improved version one day. If they do, I’ll probably buy it.

Maybe Low Profile Was Right All Along#

The HHKB made me question something I’d been ignoring for years. Maybe I simply prefer low-profile keyboards. So I started experimenting again. Some came close. Others reminded me why I had moved away from them. Eventually, I realized something important. I wasn’t really looking for the keyboard that everyone else thought was the best. I was looking for the keyboard that was best for me. Those aren’t always the same thing.

Where I Am Today#

Today I’m using a NuPhy Node 75 with Silent Blush switches at work. So far, it is the closest I’ve come to what I’ve been looking for, but I don’t really like the keycaps. I’m also tempted to modify my Lofree Flow with silent switches and different keycaps, just to compare it with the NuPhy. I also managed to get very close to the HHKB Studio typing experience by modifying a GMMK Pro I already had. I added Cherry keycaps, replaced the stabilizers because the Enter and Space bars were rattling badly, and installed Kailh Deep Sea Silent Linear switches. The result surprised me. It feels so good that the GMMK Pro is now my daily keyboard at home.

Some habits never disappear. And honestly, I’m perfectly happy about that.

It’s Never Really Been About the Keyboard#

Looking back, I don’t think I’ve spent all these years searching for the perfect keyboard. I’ve been searching for a feeling. For me, the keycaps are one of the most important parts. I like keycaps that feel good, have the right shape and height, and make it easy for my fingers to find the right position. I’ve always preferred narrower key surfaces because they seem to help me type more accurately.

Then there is the sound. I don’t actually like loud keyboards. The sharp clicking sound that many people love has never really appealed to me. What I like is a good, quiet typing sound. Not completely silent. Just soft, smooth, and satisfying. The kind of sound you can hear when someone is typing on a well-built keyboard without the keyboard constantly demanding your attention.

And then there are the small things. A rattling spacebar. A bad Enter key. A noisy stabilizer. Cheap-feeling plastic. These things may seem insignificant to most people, but once I notice them, I can’t stop noticing them.

But when everything comes together, good keycaps, smooth switches, solid stabilizers, good build quality, and that nice soft sound, something interesting happens. The keyboard disappears. My hands stop thinking about the keyboard. I just type. That’s the feeling I’ve been chasing for decades. Every keyboard I’ve owned has taught me something. Not just about switches or keycaps, but about how much we can become attached to the tools we use every day. Maybe that’s why I still read keyboard reviews. Maybe that’s why I’m always curious about the next keyboard. And maybe that’s why I’m still comparing keycap profiles when I should probably just be getting some work done. The search probably won’t ever end. And honestly, I hope it doesn’t. Because this was never really about owning keyboards. It’s about finding that one tool that makes sitting down to write, code, or create feel completely natural.

And maybe, just maybe, it all started with a single button on an old telephone in my pediatrician’s office.