This year, I finally made it to Mechanicon - my very first time at this legendary meetup for mechanical keyboard enthusiasts. It’s a community-run event completely dedicated to keyboards - and not just any keyboards, but the kind people lovingly design, solder, and obsess over. It’s also the biggest event of its kind in Europe, drawing more than 600 visitors this year. The venue was buzzing with people, chatter, and the satisfying thock of keys being tested.
There were a few short lightning talks accompanying the venue, but the real heart of the event was the keyboard showcase. Tables were filled with incredible builds: massive, industrial-looking boards with rows upon rows of keys; elegant, hand-crafted pieces with wooden keycaps; and, of course, plenty of minimalist split layouts with just the bare essentials. It was like a candy store for keyboard nerds.
What really blew me away was the craftsmanship. Every board had a story - from custom PCBs and 3D-printed cases to carefully tuned firmware and layouts. Everyone I talked to was more than happy to share how (and why) they built theirs. You can tell people invest serious time, love, and money into this hobby.
I’m still pretty new to all this - I switched from an UHKv2 to a ZSA Voyager about a year ago - but I left Mechanicon full of ideas for future projects (and maybe a slightly longer wishlist of parts).
One thing I did miss was a soldering workshop. I asked the organizers about it, and they explained that hundreds of beginners with hot irons in a packed room would be… Let’s say a bit of a fire hazard. Fair point.
All in all, Mechanicon was a blast - a must-visit if you’re into mechanical keyboards, or even just curious about what makes people care so much about switches, layouts, and keycaps.
