Collectively building/buying Custom Split Keyboard

For more than a decade I only remember one name when I hear the word keyboard - Abhas Abhinav(https://mostlyharmless.io/keyboards/).

Then, there was a whole section at IndiaFOSS 2026 dedicated to folks building keyboards. I had saved their contact info but the curse of Keitai has fallen upon me as my LineageOS phone needs repair. Luckily I took a physical card(rather cool looking) of Sillycuts(https://sillycuts.com/). I hope someone else who attended the conference can share contact details of others.

There were a few folks from Kerala there. One of them had a custom mechanical(non-split) keyboard of the same design as the one I am using - Kreo Swarm X(https://kreo-tech.com/products/swarm-x-all-black-wireless-gaming-keyboard). This is in your budget and can be a fallback option. It helped me with my hand problems. I love the sound of this one and folks at office sometime come to just type randomly. However, make sure people around you won't feel disturbed by the noise.

@abhijithb21 how could I forget abhas :P I will be editing the post above with keyboard links too.

Also thanks for sillycuts, though I am not sure, do they build keyboards? are they just cut things for you :P and thanks for the fallback.

I'm aware of this community: https://www.reddit.com/r/mkindia/ perhaps they do coordination, group buys, or have custom build knowledge there. I'm aware a walled garden social media platform is not good for community longevity but this is the most popular one I know.

There are also these open-source keyboard efforts which were apparently presented at IndiaFOSS:
https://devroom.absurd.industries/#talk-f49fd6f1-98ae-46b8-afb8-dc701721fb0f

My friend also made a custom split keyboard for a college project, including custom PCB fabrication and assembly, but he doesn't have a public contact yet. If you're interested, tell me and I could get you two in contact.
https://git.kryptonkk.co.in/portfolio/keyboards/atlas49
https://git.kryptonkk.co.in/portfolio/keyboards/prometheus60

i can give like 1k rs cumulatively to anyone who wants it for a keyboard build lol. even you

@Derpitron I see thank you for the links, I am not on reddit but I will see if I can get some knowledge from there (hate that they killed rss too, the thing aaron swartz helped create)

Did you speak with people in hardware room?, cause I feel it won't be under my budget, that's the reason I started this thread to collectivery do something.

My friend also made a custom split keyboard for a college project, including custom PCB fabrication and assembly, but he doesn't have a public contact yet. If you're interested, tell me and I could get you two in contact.

Yes I would like that looks like they are in this rabbit hole already. :P

my contact is in my website.

@untrusem Looks like your website isn't working
I didn't go to IndiaFOSS this year, so I didn't speak with anyone there

@Derpitron  It is working for me, though my registrar is having nameservers problems, you can visit https://untrusem.codeberg.page in that case (this message might come twice, i replied via email but it didn't come through)

@untrusem As for knowledge,
He added a few resources to his website for you: https://git.kryptonkk.co.in/portfolio/keyboards

Here's some recent threads from r/mkindia via redlib that might help you find a decent model:

• https://safereddit.com/r/mkindia/comments/1r6dhr3/hi_i_have_never_used_a_mechanical_keyboard_before/

• https://safereddit.com/r/mkindia/comments/1utdqb0/budget_cut_from_55k_to_3k_what_do_i_buy_read_body/

• https://safereddit.com/r/mkindia/comments/1r6dhr3/hi_i_have_never_used_a_mechanical_keyboard_before/

There are ocassional group buys in the community, the IMKC Discord will have more info if you want to join, but this is an hobbyist community, and group buys are usually for the fancier stuff (thus likely over your budget, even if its a build).

That said, I'd say 5-6 is a okay price for a budget keyboard in today's market. As it has gone mainstream, economies of scale have kicked in, and what used to be impossible to get a decade ago is much more accessible today. I don't know if AliExpress is an option these days?

I'd suggest just buying anything with decent switches instead of trying to build one. If you can find something with QMK and decent switches (Gateron/Cherry) in that range (and with decent reviews of build quality - go for it).

Alternatively, maybe save up a little more and buy a Keychron at 8k (on discount).

Alternatively, maybe save up a little more and buy a Keychron at 8k (on discount).

@Nemo I knew about keychron but I don't to have a normal full length keyboard.