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Good morning, refiners! As you sit down at your desks today, I hope you’re willing to ignore the vaguely dystopian vibes all around you to focus on how awesome and retro your computers are.
No, but seriously, I’m a little jealous of Mark S. for getting to spend his days typing away on such a magnificent, mechanical beast. The hefty looking slates from Severance maybe aren’t enough to make me want to get severed myself, but I do love a good trackball, and his keyboard has one built in.
If you’ve got the same kind of brain sickness that I do, then good news, you can buy the keyboard from Severance right now. It’ll take a hefty donation to Kier first, but hey, at least you get to keep your memories.
Launching soon via Kickstarter, but already available via the company’s own website, Atomic Keyboard is selling a convincing replica of the keyboard from Severance for the low, low price of $899. Pre-order, though, and you’ll be able to grab it for a slightly more reasonable $599 (although the price for pre-orders will raise over time). Shipping is estimated for November, but as with all Kickstarter projects, it’s worth remembering that there is an element of risk here.
Credit: Atomic Keyboards
Still, that might be a risk I’m willing to take for something so beautiful. While it’s unclear which type of mechanical switches this keyboard uses, they appear to be hot-swappable, and the keyboard itself actually has a magnetic faceplate system that allows it to swap between three different modes. There’s the “Innie layout,” which is accurate to the show and excludes keys like Escape and Control, but there’s also the “Outie layout,” which brings those buttons back. Interestingly, there’s also a “Dasher” layout, which is a replica of the real-life DG Dasher D2 keyboard that the Severance keyboard is based on. Notably, this layout swaps the trackball for a numpad, but still arranges the keys like the “Innie layout.” Its inclusion also arguably justifies the higher price tag, as finding an actual Dasher D2 in working order these days is quite difficult.
Part of what makes the Severance keyboard look so satisfying and chunky, though, is the body. That might be contributing to the cost here, as Atomic Keyboard says its replica uses a steel top sheet, with a 15.4 pound aluminum enclosure. The trackball is also pretty large, at 50mm.
What do you think so far?
Credit: Signature Plastics
Still, let’s say you don’t need all that, but still want some Severance vibes at your desk. In that case, you can opt for Signature Plastics’ SA Macrodata Refinement (R2) keycaps, a more affordable alternative that you can apply to a regular keyboard to make it look more like the ones in the show. Pair it with a trackball like the Kensington Expert Wireless Trackball Mouse, and you’ll have a similar experience for much less.
Or, if you’re feeling crafty, you can 3D print a Lumon-style keyboard for yourself.
Note, though, that if you pre-order Atomic Keyboards’ replica and toss in a $10 deposit, you get a special, Severance style desk mat. With that kind of dedication, maybe you’ll get rewarded with a waffle party.
