⌨️ Welcome aboard!

Two days ago now, I received another buckling spring keyboard — welcome an IBM Model M 1391401 (08.07.1987). I decided it would be nice to have 2 keyboards like this.

The previous one I daily drove was a 1996 Lexmark. You could hear it in my videos all the time. I actually don't quite remember when exactly I purchased it, but I know it was in the beginning of 2022.

So, what's the difference? Lexmarks were made cheaper and they aren't considered authentic by collectors. Other than that, I couldn't find any comparisons online. So, here's my input. These keyboards have different «voices». True IBM keyboard sounds «tighter», more high-pitched. It also has a nicer, less sloppy tactile feedback. A Lexmark sounds deeper, the keys feel sloppier (not that it's a bad thing, necessarily) and it's just louder.

The best analogy I've got is if the buckling spring switches had colors, the true IBM would be red, and a Lexmark would be blue.

I do enjoy the IBM one more, personally, because every key press feels more on point, as if I have to spend less force lifting my finger from the key. I'll keep using the Lexmark on my secondary computer, the buckling springs are still much nicer than any mechanical switches out there.

Let me know what you think, and in the meantime I'm preparing a video. So stay tuned for that. I think it's pretty obvious what the video is about, but no spoilers... 😁