TypeTide Guides

An IBM Model M and a Unicomp Model M side by side, the buckling-spring classics thrifters hunt for
Thrifting for Keyboards: How to Spot Vintage Gold at Goodwill
A beginner's field guide to the 'Great Finds' treasure hunt — what to look for in thrift stores and how to identify switches by feel. Read more...
A Teensy microcontroller board, the kind of chip that runs TMK and QMK keyboard firmware
The Firmware Inside Your Keyboard: From TMK to QMK to VIA
The community-built software story behind custom keyboards — hasu's TMK, the QMK open-source standard, and VIA's no-code configurator. Read more...
Buckling springs from an IBM Model F (left) and a Model M (right)
Before the Tape Mod: The 1980s Patent to Silence Pinging Springs
Sound modding isn't new — in the late 1980s, four AT&T engineers patented a foam insert to kill buckling-spring ping. Today's tape mod is a 40-year tradition. Read more...
An opened IBM Model F assembly showing the capacitive pads
Restoring an IBM Model F: Foam, Flippers, and the Famous Bolt Mod
The classic vintage restoration project — disassembling a Model F, replacing its foam, and the legendary bolt mod that brings dead boards back to life. Read more...
Close-up of colorful mechanical keyboard keycaps on display
How Artisan Keycaps Were Born: ClickClack's Skulls and the 21-Million-View Thread
How one forum member's handmade skull keycaps — sold through guessing games and poetry contests — spawned the entire artisan keycap economy. Read more...
Symbolics LM-2 Space Cadet keyboard with its legendary Hyper, Super, and Meta modifier cluster
The Space Cadet Keyboard: The Wildest Layout Ever Built
The Symbolics Space Cadet — the Lisp Machine keyboard with Hyper, Super, and Meta keys that shaped hacker culture and Emacs itself. Read more...
IBM 3277 beam spring keyboard viewed from the side (Public domain via Wikimedia Commons)
Beam Springs: The 1970s IBM Switch Enthusiasts Call the Best Ever Made
Before buckling springs, IBM's beam spring switch powered 1970s terminals — and collectors say it makes a Model F feel like a cheap knockoff. Read more...
Side-by-side comparison of common keycap profiles viewed from the side (Image: Fadi Albouni, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0)
Keycap Profiles Explained: From Typewriters to SA, Cherry, and OEM
Why keycaps are sculpted differently per row — a visual history from typewriter stairsteps to SA, Cherry, and OEM profiles. Read more...
A white Happy Hacking Keyboard Professional 2 with blank keycaps
Topre and the HHKB Cult: Why People Pay $300 for 'Rubber Domes'
Electrostatic capacitive switches explained — the smooth "thock" behind Topre boards and the HHKB that programmers swear by. Read more...
Close-up of an Alps SKCM Blue clicky switch showing its blue stem
Alps Switches: The Lost Rival of Cherry MX (and Why Enthusiasts Still Hunt Them)
The story of Alps Electric's complicated switches — the 1980s–90s rival to Cherry MX that many enthusiasts still consider superior. Read more...
IBM Model M keyboard (1985) with buckling-spring switches
The IBM Model M: Why a 40-Year-Old Keyboard Has a Cult Following
Why the IBM Model M's buckling-spring switches earned a 40-year cult following — and why enthusiasts still daily-drive keyboards older than they are. Read more...
KBC Poker II plate and PCB assembly with switches
How to Build Your First Custom Mechanical Keyboard
No soldering required: the complete beginner's parts list and step-by-step assembly guide for a first custom keyboard with a hot-swap kit. Read more...
60% Keyboards Explained: What You Gain (and Lose)
What is a 60% keyboard? What you give up vs what you gain — and why the Holy60 is a great first 60%. Read more...
Cherry MX Blue switches in a mechanical keyboard
Linear vs Tactile vs Clicky Switches: Which Should You Choose?
A plain-English guide to mechanical keyboard switch types — what linear, tactile, and clicky switches feel like, and which one fits how you type or game. Read more...