Hey, all, I’m cmc. I’ve been using mechanical keyboards for a very long time, starting with a card-punch machine in fifth grade, then Apple IIs, TRS-80s, and various Macs. I spent a couple of summer and winter breaks in college working with 3270s and various early PCs.
I got into keyboards as a hobby when I realized that my Matias Tactile Pro was kind of loud when I was on the phone, and after reading lots of stuff on GeekHack and Deskthority, picked up a WASD Code with clears, and then various other keyboards, including a Novatouch, a 5250 Model M, a Red Scarf III kit (which I have yet to assemble), and various others, along with various keysets.
My current favorite keyboard is my Novatouch, which I took apart and lubed and added Hypersphere rings while waiting for one of Ryan’s wonderful aluminum cases to arrive. It’s sporting SA Dasher, although for some time it rocked Nantucket Selectric SA (now on the Code). I recently built a Preonic, and I accidentally ended up with a Dasher D200.
I’m in the process of leaving my system administration job, and, with what I currently have I’m probably done for now, but I’m keeping a eye out in case something else comes along that I feel like I have to have.