For the curious, this is the Ducky Origin Vintage.
this post was submitted on 04 Feb 2025
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Mechanical Keyboards
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That's Hot. I would switch if they had a buckling spring version I love the low profile.
Somebody a few years ago was trying to cram a buckling spring mechanism into a Cherry MX footprint, but AFAIK it never went anywhere, and even the Asian market "Alps Buckling Spring" modules still actuated a membrane.
For actual buckling spring feel, people will recommend heavier Kailh Box clickies, but while they're some of my favorite switches and generally recommend them to people who don't need to worry about sound levels, they don't feel like buckling springs to me but rather their own thing. I have some really cheapo "Outemu Dustproof Green" that I like quite a bit, actually, and feel a bit more like buckling springs, though I know we're not supposed to like click-jacket MX switches. Nothing sounds like buckling springs though, not by a long shot.
What's a buckling spring?
Here’s the wiki article.
The two most famous generations of IBM-made keyboards actuated a keypress by pushing down on a spring connected to a plastic flipper and held juuuust a bit off center, so at a certain point, instead of continuing to compress, the spring crumples over and causes the flipper to trigger either a capacitive pad (Model F) or a conductive membrane (the later and more common Model M that set the continuing standard for the PC layout).
People really like the way they feel and the fact that the buckling is directly, physically tied to actuating the key (not always the case with modern switches’ “tactile event” if they even have one). Some people love the loud clicking sounds.
Yeah I just have to stick with my Unicomp Keyboard you are right nothing feels quite the same and even then my old Model M feels better than my Unicomp even though they use the same molds
I have a Unicomp (actually two, but one is the quirky rubber dome they made) from the early 2000s and a Scotland-made one from the 90s, and they feel pretty similar. I understand the biggest thing is just that molds wear out over time and eventually there was a little slop. I have heard, but can't personally confirm, that the "New Model M" they sell has tightened things back up via new molds.