The vast majority of mechanical keyboards are used with keys or keycaps made of some type of plastic, however, other materials can be used for them. One of them, although it may surprise you, is to use wooden keys. What gives them a particular look and nature compared to the traditional ones. But, are they worth it or, on the contrary, are they just an aesthetic whim?
The idea of using wooden keycaps is something that sets us back at first, because to make them not only do you have to cut down many trees, but also the process of carving them is much more complex. This is why our computer keyboards do not use this material. Not only would this have a serious ecological impact, but they are also particularly expensive compared to those constructed from conventional materials. However, they have a number of attractions.
Advantages and disadvantages of wooden keys
As usual, we’ll start with the sweet.
- One of the most annoying things about a conventional keyboard is how the silkscreen on the keys fades over time. Especially the most used ones and this is where we come into one of the advantages of wooden keys and that is that the vast majority have the characters either laser screen printed or carved from the same wood which will last you for many years to come.
- They are very pleasant to the touch, and compared to conventional ABS and PBT keys, the wooden ones result in a pleasant experience to use. It’s not something that we can describe in words, but believe us that if you experiment at least a few hours with this type of keys, you will notice the difference.
And as for the downsides, well, these are:
- Since wooden caps are not as much in demand as PBT and ABS, the vast majority of those making these caps are craftsmen who have to carve and therefore carve the wooden caps one by one. This makes them rare and therefore difficult to find.
- Related to the previous point, keep in mind that building them requires more time than a machine to inject plastic into a mold, so you can imagine that the price of this type of keys is not cheap and makes wooden keys an almost luxury item.
- If you’re interested in an RGB backlit keyboard, then forget it, because there’s no semi-transparent wood.
But are they really worth it?
However, not everything is bad and the fact that you can have the keys made by a craftsman is that you can have a unique and completely personalized job instead of a generic job. Which for many will be silly, but let’s not forget that there are a lot of people in the world with money and they want things that other people don’t usually have. Obviously, a keyboard made with wooden keys is not the same thing as a work of art, for example, but it can be something unique for the one who ordered it and not only have a value economic, but also a sentimental value.
On the other hand, you may also be someone with wood carving skills and have considered making your own wooden keys. In this case, you’re going to need time, patience, and remember that there’s a learning curve like everything else. The good thing is that if you show skill, you will be able to sell your work to third parties.
