You’re right. No shame there, but definitely knocks a $100 or more off the price.

Scandalous!

True. I was mostly thinking about having to buy keycaps aftermarket when the prices double/triple and having to source all the different kits.

Personally, I think I have three times as many keycap sets than I do keyboards.

Yep! This is far from the strangest layout and keycap use out there, but you’ll find that Enter and Shift keys are more common for split spacebar layouts on larger (and saner) 40% keyboards.

This is still a split spacebar layout though, the person on reddit who built this thing even said that they just didn’t have the right sized blank keycaps. This is very normal for small keyboards since keycap sets usually are designed for regular layouts and don’t always have the right size, sculpt, and legend for weird layouts.

Don’t forget keycaps! It’s where the real money is lost.

That set looks like GMK Blue Samurai, which sells new for $150.

Split spacebars are thing mostly because of layouts that won’t support a normal spacebar key. But, since most of these keyboards have user created and designed firmware, one could assign those spacebar keys to do anything.

I have a few keyboards with split spacebars where the “right” spacebar is normal; it’s just a spacebar but small. The “left” space does dual duty; tap it and it’s a spacebar, hold it down and it becomes a modifier key for a custom layer. Custom layers are used on small keyboards to make the “missing” keys available, sort of like how a phone keyboard has number layer and symbols layer.

I fully embraced this habit of split spacebars because I cannot train myself to use my left thumb to hit space for the life of me even though I’m a touch typist. Since my right thumb is the only digit hitting space, may as well get some use out of the rest of the space taken up by that spacebar.