The term ‘endgame’ is a kind of running gag for keyboard lovers. Endgame is when you finally get the best layout, case features, switches, and caps. So, it is basically about getting whatever you need for your keyboard for work. Then, after a few months, you find something attractive and start over. Consequently, most of us compromise somewhere in this search for the endgame, mainly time or money. Sometimes the things that we want do not even exist. But have you ever thought of building your endgame keyboard from scratch? Let’s delve into this and understand how to build the best keyboard.
Seneca- The Pioneer
Seneca is the first keyboard from Norbauer & Co. with plasma-oxide finished milled aluminum chassis, a solid brass switchplate, and custom capacitive switches. It has the finest stabilisers on the globe and spherical-profile keycaps with a proper retro look. There is no backlighting, but an entirely flat typing angle.
The weight of the keyboard is around seven pounds, and the price remains at $3,600. Now you may think whether $3600 is worth the keyboard, or is it expensive? A question may arise regarding the effectiveness and value.
Ryan Norbauer says: “He has spent the last few months typing on Seneca, and the answer to these questions has been found. It is- ‘Yes’. It is certainly the best keyboard you can purchase. The build quality is great, the Topre-style switches are great, and the stabilisers are the greatest. Hence, the keyboard is beautiful and easy to type on. Seneca is a true technical achievement across the world.” Aren’t these exciting to know ‘How to build the best keyboard’.
Who is Ryan Norbauer?
Before knowing ‘How to build the best keyboard’, you must know who found the answer first. Ryan Norbauer is a renowned figure in the keyboard community because of the aftermarket housings. However, Seneca is of its first kind of keyboard. It is the latest logical step towards the process of developing our own endgame. This is how Norbauer & Co. was born.
Norbauer spent his early life in West Virginia, watching Star Trek: The Next Generation. Hence, he had the vision of a retro-modern aesthetic and an egalitarian, post-scarcity world. The 1990s also saw the start of the personal computer and the inception of the Internet. The computer emerged as a ray of light in the world and a path to the future of Star Trek.
Seneca represents the effort of Norbauer to make the best possible computer keyboard, tailored to his standards and preferences, without thinking about the expenses. This type of keyboard appears and feels exactly how we thought of computers back when there was limited access to them.
How It All Started?
Norbauer had a tendency to look for things that do not even exist, then find out how to create them on his own. Around 20 years ago, he had an idea for creating a dating site. He had no investment in this. He dropped out of the PHD program and had an idea to start a new venture. He spent around six months coding for 14 hours a day. This made his vision or dream come true with a website. However, while fixing the issues related to proper typing form, Norbauer identified the need for a comfortable keyboard. Here starts the thirst for own keyboard. He started thinking about ‘How to build the best keyboard’.
The dating website inspired two more ventures. He sold all three startups in 2010, which gave him a lot of money and time to explore his new passion.
While searching for Star Trek prop replicas, he interacted with Topre Keyboards. He was using a modified version of the Topre keyboard by 2014. He was also involved in creating a Star Trek-inspired keycap set. As usual, it worked with Cherry MX-style mechanical switches. The Topre keyboards have different keycap mounts. Hence, it prevented him from using Star Trek keycaps on his favourite keyboard.
Then Cooler Master launched its NovaTouch, which had Topre switches that worked with regular keycaps. Norbauer got one. However, the cheap plastic housing did not impress him. He did not find anyone to make an aluminum housing for him. So, he decided to design a housing and gained knowledge of machining to make a prototype. After being fully satisfied, he found a manufacturer and introduced a small group buy to the keyboard community.
Then, he found it was a limited thing. He did not think of a business. However, people continued to ask to make more and more, which is how it became a new venture. Norbaforce for Realforce tenkeyless keyboards, Heavy 6 and Heavy 9 for Leopold FC660C and FC980C are the creations of Norbauer. Then in 2020, his Heavy Grail gained enough popularity in the housing segment, and designs for the Happy Hacking Keyboard.
Every creation was an opportunity to fine-tune his aesthetic and manufacturing potential and play with different materials. However, there were only housings and not the keyboards to complete them. Creating housing for keyboards owned by other companies made him familiar with supply chains and design decisions. Further, he wanted more control over the other aspects of the keyboard, and he wanted something to offer to people who are fond of the Norbauer aesthetic. This made him wonder ‘How to build the best keyboard’ for people who praise his aesthetic.
Journey to Create the Best Keyboard
He started his journey of “How to build the best keyboard”. He created a prototype using off-the-shelf components, standard MX, and stabilisers. There are myriad companies developing custom keyboards. Hence, he decides to make something unique and embed those things he wanted all along.
Norbauer recruited an electrical engineering agency to design the PCB, which he found to be the difficult part of the journey. Over time, the project turned into a dedicated assignment of making the best keyboard. He attempted to do his best, and his first prototypes turned out to be great. By the fourth revision, Seneca got life, and his search for ‘How to build the best keyboard’ ended.
While working on the switches, he overcame the stabilizer issue. Norbauer wished Seneca to be the best keyboard in the world. Hence, he had to make the best stabilizers for this. Seneca’s case is build of solid aluminum with an MAO plasma-oxide touch. The switchplate is built of solid brass, and the PCB includes a galvanic isolation chip to overcome the negative incidents.
Norbauer spent a decade developing a credible keyboard in the community and gathering a loyal customer base. Initially, he did not plan to sell many keyboards, but he sold 50 last summer. Norbauer also plans to make other keyboards since he has the full stack of switches, stabilizers, and firmware. So he may come up with more things, answering ‘How to build the best keyboard’.
There are many more issues for Norbauer to deal with. He has revised the firmware to make it open-source and include hardware remapping. Next is to design a new keyboard. There are opportunities to innovate the materials to build a keyboard. And there is a task to make a less complicated stabilizer. So, we hope your search for ‘How to build the best keyboard’ ends here with the journey of Seneca from scratch.
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