No, not really, but I rotate a lot and usually there are always three mks on my desk.
I’m a collector and love the “unusual” ones.
The main reason might be my love for Topre and the JIS-Layout, my main “heavy-typing-tool” for more than 10 years is the HHKB JP, where that row is although shifted.
Have a nice day.
That’s funny. It has an ISO enter but no ISO key between left shift and Z. Kind of reverse of the ISO layout of UHK. 
Japanese folks might answer, who is ISO, that’s an JIS enter.
I prefer ANSI to ISO, but that large enter is the only one I’m missing, would prefer to have.
I used to type on ISO boards (German is my native language) when I grew up, but switched to ANSI enter as I shifted to Colemak layout.
European languages (on ISO layout) have their punctuation and symbols on different keys than US, but Colemak also has them on the US positions. So when I switched to Colemak, I prefered to have the symbols on US positions, normally found on ANSI boards.
Now I got used to the ANSI Enter on the UHK and on most of my Laptops. And when you look at the Ergo (columnar stagger) boards in the photo above, there’s really no special key for Enter anyway.
It is seldom, but here I do not agree with Max. I think another solution is objectively better in terms of ergonomics. Pressing the C-key position with the middle finger is the most awkward motion on a standard keyboard IMO. You can do it of course. I typed almost 40 years like that, but when I retrained myself (with a new layout) it become apparent that I should have done that much earlier.
Keeping the same finger positions on a columnar stagger and standard keyboard was one of the must-haves for my custom keyboard layout. I actually have explained that in detail in this article. Look for the animated pictures, which show you how the keys on a columnar stagger and standard keyboard are related. This is one of the relevant animations.
IMO you should indeed use the standard keyboard left side symmetrical to the right side (means pressing the c-key with the index finger). The real problem with a standard keyboard is the top left side, which you have to slightly adjust to, and will not be 100 % symmetrical on a standard keyboard. But you still can use the same fingering than on the right side. You will also find that the B-key has a special role on a standard keyboard. You just should not use it – when you want to be compatible between a 3x5 / 4x6 and a standard row stagger keyboard.
BTW, I stopped using my UHK60 and gave it away in the family. That was after I had tried a Lily58 – now about half a year ago. From the very first moment it was clear that a keyboard must be symmetrical to be most ergonomic and also logic. It felt right from the first second and I knew I never will go back to a standard keyboard. It took a few days, where I needed to get adjusted to it, but it is so much more natural that way, that IMO there is no other way.
I still think a symmetrical standard keyboard with 0.25u row stagger could be a good option – not too different from a standard keyboard. But it does not look like we will ever see that.
Regarding a standard keyboard. I only use that on my laptop keyboard nowadays-- and as explained in the article – works reasonably well, while keeping the same fingering.
I am in the same camp that I would love a UHK60 like columnar version. Wireless would be nice, but is not a need for me. Especially when you need to recharge every few days. There is a keyboard with a single coin cell (Lotus58 unwired), which will last for a year or longer. That is without lights and display of course. I personally find that more interesting than a keyboard with display and lights, which is begging to be recharged all the time. Downside of that one is needing a dongle. Bluetooth would draw to much power.
“losing the ‘B’ key” (moving it, e.g., to the ‘;’ and then moving that elsewhere) … that is … that is … that might be a bridge too far …
yeah that’s what I’ve been thinking, that it makes more sense having left hand symmetrical to the right, back when I was typing on qwerty I have re-learned to press c key with my index finger, however when I was relearning into dvorak I decided to teach myself back into pressing c with middle finger, and currently it works good because I have halves of UHK 60 that are turned a bit so that the C motion is not as weird as on a regular keyboard, feels quite natural really. This is why I’m hesitant to relearn to use C key with my index finger again, considering I remember it was pain in the ass last time I did it on qwerty, and also if I ever need to get used to ortolinear keyboards in future (unlikely, I’m a perpetual fan and user of uhk 60, but still) - I wouldn’t need to relearn.
If you have an ISO UHK, you could shift the ZXCVB row one key to the left (Z on the ISO key), then keep fingering C in the new position with middle finger. The original B key would become the new ISO key with whatever symbols you had on that.
You both just found out that non-symmetrical row-staggered keyboards with QWERTY suck… 
I totally understand when one does not want to do that. The question was which finger to use for the lower left row to keep the same fingering between a standard and columnar keyboard – at least that was how I understood the question. It simply is not possible to keep the fingering the same on both keyboards when using an unmodified QWERTY. One has to live either with the modification, which btw. is not that “wild”. I would move the B to the N-position and the N to the ;-position. Of course the ; needs to find a new place on the symbol layer – which makes sense in any case I think. But is especially important for non-english typists.
Re-learning a new key to come to usable speed takes about 1h of deliberate practice btw. So with about 2 or 3 hours you would be (mostly) back to speed. That is not that hard. If you want to move away from standard QUWERTY is another question of course. There are good reasons not to go that route. But then I would stay also with standard keyboard – for the mentioned reasons.
Not to forget alone the number of keys do not match between an ISO-keyboard and a columnar stagger. On the latter you will have 12 keys, but the ISO has 13 in the lower row.
I agree that when setting up in the “right” angle and width the key is usable. I would argue and say it sucks less. When you compare to the right hand side I do not think that someone would think it feels naturally.
That is an option with less impact possibly, but still not 100 % compatible. In any case you can not have both (unmodified) QWERTY compatibility and at the same time same fingering on a standard and a split ergo keyboard. It was a heureka moment when it became clear to me that the B-key (position) plays a special role in that regard. BTW, of course the B-key is not “lost”, but when you look at the animation above you see a new key appearing on the left side. You could also say the B-key moves from the center to the left side. For an ISO-board I think your suggestion is a good one, for those wanting to change little. Of course that will keep Shift in the pretty bad position, which one can get accustomed too, but it is far from ergonomic. Even the B-key is better to reach – which is otherwise in the main alpha-block the worst key! You could put shift as a bottom-row-mod on the Z and ?-key. That is likely then the best “little changes” compromise and actually not bad at all!
I have described that concept in the article linked already, as well in the beginning of this article – look for the pyramid graphic there.
On Github you find a quick overview of the concept, which I call Spacemak – in honor of the SpaceFn-concept it expands upon.
I plan to create Kanata config files for possible different stages to use that concept, but do not know when I will come around to do so. But as a UHK user you can quickly create the needed configuration! 
I just use an ergo split graphic, because it makes it much easier to see what is going on. But you can apply the same concept to a standard keyboard.
To summarize: one quickly finds out that no perfect solution, being 100 % compatible with the past, is possible – let alone when using different OS and keyboard types.
Nothing will be 100% compatible, because - guess what - the keys are not in the same positions! 
Because nothing is 100%, I’ve decided to “suck it up” and just accept that row staggered keyboards are a certain kind of pain. Instead of tinkering too much with less-than-perfect workarounds, I just try to use ergo (columnar staggered) boards as much as I can.
With the Corne keyboard I now have a perfectly portable solution, and with wireless bluetooth it will connect to anything I need to use it with.
Runs for something like 2 weeks before I need to charge it again. Plugs into USB-C to charge, and when I need to use it with something that doesn’t work over BT, e.g. enter BIOS.
It took a while to migrate to a 40% keyboard. I did it in steps, starting from my “Maxtend” UHK60 config.
maxtend+q or chord q+wfn on UHK60)fn is held (“numtab”)What’s missing?
That is not the biggest problem. It is the combination and interplay between all the different parts: OS keyboard layout, key-handling from the application, different physical key arrangements are part of course, languages you need to use, which part keeping unchanged or “compatible” is relevant to you, …
I am not sure what you mean here. As soon as you need to use a standard (laptop) keyboard – which is a must for many regularly – one has to find a way to deal with that. It sounds like the workaround or options I suggest are lacking very much. I do not think so. I think they are a great way to deal with the practical limitations of keyboards, OSes and so on. They give up part of the compatibility to gain compatibility (and more) elsewhere. But that of course does not mean it is the best approach for everybody and every situation. If I would need to use other people’s computers regularly (for more than typing in a URL) that would be a different story. Also when you use lots of programs relying on shortcuts you can not or do not want to rebind. And so on.
It is a personal decision where you want to or can give up compatibility with QWERTY or a standard keyboard. There is no perfect solution. All of them are “less than perfect”. Staying with QWERTY and not changing anything, adding a navigation and symbol layer, changing to a different layout, using HRM, Combos and so on. All of them are not “perfect” and have certain advantages and disadvantages as well. I think one should not try to make people believe there would be the perfect solution. I can point to several shortcomings in your Maxtend approach. And of course I can do the same for my setup as well! Both our solutions have different aeras where they are less than ideal, neither is perfect. And the same goes for other layout, software and hardware choices: Miryoku, Svalbord, Callum-style mods, which layout, how to implement … Which to choose is a matter of preference, what you are accustomed to, willingness to learn / adapt, which use-cases you have and much more.
The great point is that with a keyboard like the UHK or other solutions like Kanata one can find solutions which are great workarounds for your own PC usage. I would recommend everyone to answer the question what is really disturbing when using a keyboard and than looking at the different options and fix that. A second step is to look what could be improved. Change that if you feel like it.
P.S.: A smaller keyboard is not better, it is smaller! It is nonsense to state 29 inch wheels would be better for MTB. That totally depends on how tall you are, what type of riding you do. If you prefer a nimble bike or one which rides like a stable tractor and so on… The same applies to how many keys are “best” for a keyboard. For me the sweet spot is around 60 keys. But my son wants direct access to F-keys for certain games. For him more keys are “better”. You prefer to trade potential typing speed and ease against less finger travel. Then a smaller keyboard is “better”. What is best is very personal – and not a constant anyways. Would I have directly needed to switch to my current setup I would have given up quickly. But in different phases different solutions where “best” for me. None was perfect, but all have been very usable “workarounds”
for me the killer feature on the 80 is really the replacement of the case keys with low profile choc switches. if there were a way to redesign the 60 so that it’s just as robust, but opts for those 2 per side choc switches instead, i could see me going back to a 60 layout… maybe. i have def started using the f keys on my 80.
as someone who has gotten into mtb recently i appreciate the analogy lol.
I totally agree. It is great that we both share our solutions, and people can pick and match to their own personal preference. Perfect is only what works best for the person - it’s an individual choice.
Also, I don’t think there’s an endgame. I thought I had one, and then I started experimenting with “just one more thing”… I guess it never ends.
I hope I never created the illusion that a smaller keyboard was better for everyone, universally. I was simply trying to share with others my experience of moving to a 40% keyboard, and what steps I took to make that work. What I feel are pros and cons for me.
I have found a perfect workaround for when I need to use a laptop: I disable its keyboard and place a UHK on top 