deskthority

Looking for some advice. I see that the all-55 gram Topre RF 87u is finally back in stock at EK. Both the black and white models are available at $215.

One of my favorite boards is my HHKB Pro 2, but I've thought for some time that I might prefer 55g over the 45g Topres in the HHKB. I might also like the reportedly more solid feel of the RF with its steel plate. However, I really like the layout of the HHKB, and although some remapping is possible in software, the RF does not lend itself to swapping keycaps to reflect the remapping to the extent that can be done with IBM keyboards.

Another thought is to acquire the 55 RF in order to transplant the heavier domes into the HHKB, but this carries some risk of damaging either or both boards and is rather expensive.

Would the 55g RF 87u be worth trying, or should I pass?

If you like Buckling spring and 45g Topre, which I can see that you do, the 55g Topre is a pretty safe bet.
Swapping the domes over is not that difficult if you just take your time but you're right that it will be an expensive affair. You'd also be left with a Realforce with a mix of 45g and 55g domes which might be a bit of a tough sell if you were planning to recover some of your costs.

Maybe I should wait on the transplant until I have a Type S HHKB. Then all it would need is a steel plate. And maybe a USB C connector. And Bluetooth....

Cost recovery? Hmm....

Not sure I understand you. The Type-S is 45g too, and a steel plate mod of an HHKB would be an epic undertaking given how the HHKB is made.

Matteo did this very mod, and recouped some of his expenses by selling the resulting franken-Realforce. His had the anniversary edition caps, which helped hasten his sale:

http://deskthority.net/f-o-r-s-a-l-e-f5 ... 0realforce

I'm putting off buying an HHKB until I can afford one. Maybe it'll be Bluetooth by then, I like to think! Surely be a while.

Muirium wrote: ↑Matteo did this very mod, and recouped some of his expenses by selling the resulting franken-Realforce. His had the anniversary edition caps, which helped hasten his sale:

http://deskthority.net/f-o-r-s-a-l-e-f5 ... 0realforce

I'm putting off buying an HHKB until I can afford one. Maybe it'll be Bluetooth by then, I like to think! Surely be a while.

You cannot afford not to have an HHKB! Given your fondness for small form factors, symmetry, dye-sub PBT caps, and the HHKB layout, this board is definitely for you.

The $400 or so they take to get here (after customs intercepts it, and you have to visit them in person to bail out your parcel) says I can't, quite yet. I'll contrive a cunning scheme, eventually…

Speaking of which:

http://deskthority.net/for-sale-f55/vir ... ml#p175148

Britain and Germany are in the same tax zone, so I could save the nightmare of the arbitrary and vicious customs system here by going that route. But I'd need to double proxy, and pay for three legs of shipping even so.

Muirium wrote: ↑The $400 or so they take to get here (after customs intercepts it, and you have to visit them in person to bail out your parcel) says I can't, quite yet. I'll contrive a cunning scheme, eventually…

What are the customs rules in the UK? Is there a value under which customs declarations and duty fees do not apply? In the US I think it is anything under $200, but that might be only for items shipped from Canada. I am completely ignorant of such matters. Let me know if I could be of any assistance.

002 wrote: ↑Not sure I understand you. The Type-S is 45g too, and a steel plate mod of an HHKB would be an epic undertaking given how the HHKB is made.

Yes, I know. I was thinking that I would want the Type-S switches, but with 55g domes. The bit about the steel plate was meant to be ironic.

They'll ignore anything under £30. So about $50.

Anything above that and you're in trouble. The tax is 20%, and the handling is quite random and often as much as that again. I've had things taxed in the 25-50% range quite commonly. And on one fateful occasion back in 2002, I paid over 100% tax on a DVD boxset I imported from Japan. Never again! That parcel had been marked as a gift (something I did not expect, it was from a retailer) and they leapt all over it.

Perhaps an HHKB inside a Christmas cake would work.

Ssssh! Quit exposing my schemes!

Clever. Mum's the word!

I'm in the same boat as the OP.
After a long time using my HHKB Pro 2 exclusively I was in for something new, refreshing, better(?).

So I made up my mind again what I'm really looking for in a keyboard, used mostly for desktop and gaming.
Starting from scratch again, for the sole reason to not hang onto old thoughts and decisions.
For example I guess my preference in form factor now is a TKL after all.

I quickly erased linear switches from my list as I need and want tactility.
I also quickly erased clicky switches like blues and greens because actuation and release point are too far apart.
And, it should be a switch that one can actually buy and don't have to mod myself.

That pretty much left:

MX Brown
MX Clear
Topre 45g
Topre 55g

I made a pretty nice deal on an MX Brown keyboard from CM Storm which I could test for a bit, and albeit it offers tactility, I don't recognize it during gaming. During typing I press a little bit lighter and notice it, but during gaming I don't at all. Also, Topre 45g on a RF don't have enought tactility for me too, as I still know from the time I had one.
So MX Clear and Topre 55g is what's left, and tbh ... I will try both but ordered a 55g RF in white now, as this could really be my daily driver for a long time.

Happy that I finally made the decision of those 55g RF boards and cannot wait to finally test it. Super excited.

detto87 wrote: ↑I will try both but ordered a 55g RF in white now, as this could really be my daily driver for a long time.

Happy that I finally made the decision of those 55g RF boards and cannot wait to finally test it. Super excited.

Just a heads-up, www.keyboardco.com just got these in stock. Depending on where you live, it might be cheaper / faster to order from there.

You better like black.

Muirium wrote: ↑You better like black.

http://www.keyboardco.com/keyboard/usa- ... yboard.asp

Does Not Equal



Even if it does conveniently cost 50% more…

The weird thing is that Keyboardco only has 55g in ANSI, yet they carry different models than EK. EK has the one I want (in fact, they have white models of ergo, 55g and silenced versions) while KC has this beige one instead. What's Topre up to now?

Apparently it's the same model, SE08T0. https://elitekeyboards.com/products.php ... =rf_se08t0

Might just be different lighting in the photo.

Nightmarish lighting, if so! Has anyone bought a "beige" Realforce from the Keyboard Co. so we can find out? The white ones definitely look more like EK's picture in real life. But I've only seen 002's touring board in person.

Thanks for the heads up, although a bit late as I ordered already from elitekeyboards.

I compared the price when shipped to germany.

elitekeyboards total incl. shipping and incl. invoice: ~ 250 Euros
keyboardco total incl. shipping: ~ 260 Euros

Happy

What about incl. customs?

Yeah those are the total prices. The elitekeyboards from USA has included customs, the keyboardco doesn't add customs.

Ouch, they really are gouging us then!

A 20% markup is unavoidable, because of VAT. And 30% I could understand, because business here just generally is more expensive. 40% begins to make me wince. But here we are at 50%, flying our own across the Atlantic!

And Americans complain that EK is expensive. We should be so lucky.

Looks like there's an opportunity to set up an outfit to import and sell Topre boards to the European market. Who's with me?

We wouldn't even need an unscrupulous friend in America to help beat that price! Although I'd always suggest going through German customs rather than Britain's, as they're so arbitrary here.

EK has the 55g RF87u back in stock. I'm considering swallowing my pride and ordering one. I already have a set of white HHKB caps along with some black caps to get rid of the winbubble keys, and by using black mods, I could pretend that the backslash is backspace and reprogram the board for my Mac using KeyReMap4MacBook (now known as Karabiner). If only they had the silenced version in all-55g.

Writing this with my HHKB Pro 2 (black case; white and gray caps). Taking a vacation from my XT. I like them both, but the 60% form factor and layout of the HHKB are certainly winners.

So you're thinking of using the 55g Realforce (albeit with swapped caps and software layout) rather than cutting up its precious rubber sheet and transplanting into your HHKB?

Muirium wrote: ↑So you're thinking of using the 55g Realforce (albeit with swapped caps and software layout) rather than cutting up its precious rubber sheet and transplanting into your HHKB?

I want to do both. First, I would see what the RF is like. I am remembering Trev's thread where he declared that his keyboard search was over after getting his HHKB Pro 2 -- Type S, no less! Then, a complete turnabout after he tried the RF 87u again (silent, but not uniform weighting). However, I was sad to see that he seemed merely to settle for the RF, saying that it was underwhelming. I think that now I have gained the confidence to attempt surgery, even on a precious HHKB. Just have to be careful not to transplant the abnormal domes into my frankenboard. Perhaps I only have to watch out when transplanting the controller....

Hey there! RF 55g arrived!

I didn't have to pay more than the total price mentioned on elitekeyboards which made it even less pricier than keyboardco! Guess the FedEx shipping costs included the customs already.

Anyway, happily typing and gaming on it now.
And it's a great board for sure!

The 55g keys in the RF board really require a bit more force to press than the HHKB's used (and maybe slightly stiffened) 45gs. Both are a joy to type on and I haven't decided if I will give away either one anytime soon.
For now my main board is the RF and I prefer the very consistent and slightly ploppier keys on it.
Also, the TKL layout MIGHT be the middleway for me after all, although I miss the backspace from HHKB and I had no problems using the fn-layer. It really mostly comes down to key feel and desk space. Thing is, I like the key feel on the 55g RF so much that I might ditch the HHKB in the long run what I would've never thought would happen.