Lord of the Rings mechanical keyboards are perfect for people who speak Elvish

Middle-earth has seen a lot of trials and challenges, but perhaps none more pressing than a lack of mechanical keyboards that any of its various peoples can actually read. Everyone from elves to dwarfs used to carry keyboards with unknown languages on them. Drop released two prebuilt mechanical keyboards to rule them all and the speakers of Elvish and Dwarvish.

The Drop and The Lord of the Rings Dwarvish and Elvish Keyboards are the first to get official Lord of the Rings licensing. Drop's Lord of the Rings keycap sets were written in Elvish and Dwarvish and follow Drop's Lord of the Rings artisan key caps.

Drop's keyboards are for people who want a keyboard but don't want to build their own.

The form of Elvish found in that oh-so-special ring can be found in Drop's Elvish keyboard.

The Dwarvish keyboard uses a different language than the Erebor one.

There are some loose translations on the product page. Shift on the Elvish keyboard is "ortho," the word for "raise," and Shift lock on the Dwarvish keyboard is "ah dun ashft."

The key caps are made from PBT plastic, so we expect them to have better quality and texture than the typicalABS key caps. The keycaps have a taller, thicker, vintage-style form factor that hugs the fingertips. Drop uses the profile in his keyboard.

The legends should not fade because of the dye-sublimated legends. The technique works well for this look.

Drop's tenkeyless mechanical keyboard is used as a base for the keyboards, with Lord of the Rings-themed designs and colors on its plastic top cover and aluminum case. Drop's Phantom stabilizers and bilingual keycaps are included in the price of the keyboards. We haven't tried them out in person, but the keyboards seem to have the same cables as regular ones. It's possible to change the cables for something more interesting or durable.

Holy Panda X switches are said to have a more consistent feel and less stem wobble than the original Holy Panda Frankenswitch. The HolyPanda X's force curve can be seen below.

Drop's product page for the Holy Panda X says they feel "incredibly similar" to their predecessors. Holy Pandas had a strong pop and tactility when we tried them.

If you want a Lord of the Rings keyboard in any other form factor, you'll need to build your own. If you build your own keyboard, you'll be able to get keycaps that skip the English legends completely.

The keyboards will be shipped to elves and dwarfs by October.

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