dactyl skeletyl keyboard

BUILDING A KEYBOARD

August 01, 2024

1 minute read

In August 2024, I built the Bastard Dactyl Skeletyl, a split ergonomic, curved mechanical keyboard. This entire keyboard is open source: I 3D printed the case with my FDM printer, and I got the keys printed in MJF nylon from JLC3DP. The keyboard comes pre-flashed with VIA, so I can easily customize the four-layer layout to my liking and add complex macros. It's a 40% layout, meaning it only has 36 keys, including six thumb keys. While that's not a lot of keys, it drastically reduces the distance my fingers need to travel.

Keyboard image The Dactyl Skeletyl on my desk

Thoughts on the keyboard

Open-source: The open-source aspect is fantastic. You can either buy a prebuilt keyboard or build it yourself by just purchasing the PCB kit. I chose the latter because I wanted to learn soldering.
VIA: Customizing the keyboard with VIA is super intuitive and effortless. With only 36 keys, it's crucial to be able to choose which shortcuts to include in the layout.
Curvature: The curved design wasn’t a hit for me. It makes my fingers travel a bit more than a staggered key layout would.
Instability: Due to the 3D printing, the keyboard’s base is very light and tends to move around on my desk while typing. It's quite annoying, so I’m considering getting a metal base.

Keyboard image

I ended up replacing the thumb keys with some Guy Fawkes keycaps. They came in a Vim keycap set.

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