The Space space keyboard is a small, non-split keyboard designed by qpockets, of the now (unfortunately) closed P3Dstore. The keyboard in the picture in particular was built by Reddit user lily_vacation01.
The interest check for this board was held almost four years ago at the time of writing (January 2021). Time does fly!
This post is part of a series on unique keyboards of which I’ve collected pictures over the years. All of the keyboards in the series were designed by fellow community members. At the time, I rarely collected context or the source, so information may be lacking at times.
Why is it special?
- It’s an ortholinear layout. Back in 2021, those layouts were still pretty popular, but it has seen a decline in interest over the past few years.
- Keyboards consisting of a single block usually have more keys, especially in an ortholinear form-factor. Similar designs are created more frequently, such as the Le Chiffre and many others. You can search for “40% layout” to find other small designs.
- I rather like the middle column of 1.5u keys, which divide the two blocks of alpha keys. I’m not sure whether that’s very useful in practise, but it’s definitely aesthetically pleasing.
- Next to that, the colour scheme is appealing, and the two artisan keycaps by Asymplex really make it pop!
- Of course, it being a design by P3Dstore gives it a few unique characteristics you don’t frequently see, such as the construction with hidden bolts. I couldn’t find it, but later designs of them did sometimes include a gasket mount, which is otherwise rather rare to see in a layered acrylic sandwich case. It’s a shame they had to close down, because they definitely added something to the space (and not just the Space space 😉)!