In August 2020, I bought my first mechanical keyboard: a Keydous NJ68 from Aliexpress

• 68 keys(5 rows typewriter, with arrows and a few editing keys)
• PBT keycaps, with nice, simple lettering, Cherry profile
• Cherry Brown switches
• RGB backlight with lots of patterns, etc
• Hot-swapable switches
• Bluetooth or USB-C, with big battery

I am very pleased with the way it works. A few months later, I bought another, this time with Cherry Blue (noisy) switches. I use the noisy switches in my home office, and the Brown switches in my open-plan office at work.

About annually, I do a scout around of mechanical keyboards to see if anything interests me. Then I realise that, for me, a keyboard is a tool, not a hobby. I have plenty of other hobbies to consume my money.

Part of me would like to build a wooden housing for the keyboard. I have few nice chunks of wood (kwila, acacia, beech) and it would be an interesting winter project.

These are my thoughts about the decisions I would make if I were to choose again

• I really do prefer the feel of the mechanical keys, and that is worth paying some money for.
• I like both the clicky (Blue) and the feely (Brown) switches. I would probably get the Browns as the noise from the Blues does affect others at home.
• It is nice and heavy, so it stays put on the desk.
• I would probably choose a TKL (87 key) keyboard. This keyboard is big enough that there are not too many second-layer keys
• I have learned where the most common editing keys are.
• But the [`/~] key is on the right hand side so that the [Esc] key can be close to its normal position. This is unnatural.
• The TKL layout is not much bigger, and I am not particularly limited in my desk space.
• I would not choose Bluetooth.
• I used to use a Logitech wireless keyboard, and do prefer to not have a cable lying on the desk.
• I cannot use Bluetooth. For Various Reasons (TM), I have an encrypted disk and need to enter a password before the OS has booted. The BIOS on my PCs does not support Bluetooth, so I have to have either a wired keyboard, or one with a dongle that pretends to be a keyboard.
• The battery lasts about a week, so I had to plug it in periodically anyway; I could get into the habit of hunting around for a USB cable to plug it in on Friday afternoons.
• I really like the idea of swappable keycaps. However, in 2 years, I have not felt the need to change them.
• I used to change keyboards when the bumps on [F] and [J] key wore off, usually after 3–4 years.
• After 2 years, the [J] key is wearing down a bit; [F] is still ok.
• I really do like some of the other colour options available.
• I am not prepared to spend $100–$200 on keycaps alone. This is not a hobby.
• Having said that, there are some really beautiful colour schemes out there: my current favourites are GMK Birch and GMK Green Tree.
• Don’t bother with hot-swap switches. It has been 2 years now, and I have not felt the need to change them. This is not a hobby.
• Don’t bother with RGB backlighting.
• I found the flashing patterns to be very distracting; I did rather like a dim cyan colour
• I often accidentally hit the magic key-sequence to select another pattern, or to change the brightness, then I had to find the user guide to work out how to reset it
• The light does not shine through the double-shot PBT keycaps; it only comes through the gaps between the keys
• I have subsequently re-configured the keyboard to disable the pattern-change key-sequence.
• Don’t bother with programmability (QMK, etc)
• I keep the same keyboard long enough that it is easier to re-learn where the hidden keys are, rather than re-program the keyboard to suit my muscle memory.
• This keyboard uses a proprietary, Windows-only application to re-program the keys.
• I have only used it work around accidentally changing the backlighting; if there are no annoying colour patterns, and enough keys that second-layer keys are easy to learn, then there is no need.