The ultimate fancy-pants, endgame, holy-grail housing for your Realforce keyboard

Made in the USA

It was a longstanding dream of mine: to make a luxury aftermarket housing for the world's most glorious keyboard, the Japanese-made Realforce tenkeyless. The resulting Norbaforce design became by far my most popular project, with demand far outstripping my supply. Happily, it's now back in this much-requested re-release, and better than ever.

Unlike previous releases, the version of the Norbaforces includes a felt acoustic dampener along with breakout PCBs compatible with the 87U and R2 families of Realforce keyboards (two breakout PCBs total).

An all-new Norbaforce

The Norbaforce Mark II has seen a ground-up internal redesign from the Mark I, while retaining the original's iconic external look.

Support expanded from the 87U family to the new R2 family of keyboards. I have worked hard to maintain backwards compatibility with the venerable old 87U family of Realforces while also adding support for the diverse new R2 ( "mid size") series, which includes a Cherry MX-compatible Realforce.

Made in the USA by expert craftsmen. I don't think a project like this is worth doing if I can't produce the starry-eyed dream version of whatever I'm making. Nobody really needs an expensive mechanical keyboard; it is a fundamentally sentimental purchase, so I believe we should feel good about how it was made and the people who made it. Moving production here to the West Coast of the United States has made it possible for me to forge direct personal relationships with high-end specialist makers, bringing a new level of quality to my designs. Even the custom-bound product credential folios (individually signed and numbered) are made right here in California.

Heavy steel rear cover plate. Thanks to the amazingly positive reception to my Heavy-6 project, I have added a similar heavy steel backplate to the Norbaforce, which both increases its physical heft and also provides a more acoustically dense backing material for the housing. Fully assembled with an 87U, a powder coated Norbaforce Mark II weighs in at over 5½ pounds (2.5kg).

New material and finish options. from hard anodizing, new powder coat finishes, and to the insane (and insanely heavy) all-stainless Veracity Steel housing option, there are options to fit every aesthetic whim and fancy. 

USB Mini interface. to support a broader range of enthusiast cables and to avoid current limitations in USB-C compatibility. The breakout PCB adds detachable cable functionality to the Realforces, which normally have hard-wired, non-detachable cables. 

Same sleek retro-futurist design. Its gently tapered and rounded profile makes the Norbaforce expensive to machine, but singular in its design. The shape intentionally gestures towards mid-century American optimistic techno-futurism, which for me is directly sentimentally linked to the origins of my own love of computer keyboards.

Finish and material options

K2 White textured powder coat [white rear plate]

Aperture Metallic gray textured powder coat similar to the type used on limited-edition Leica cameras

VHS White/gray textured powder coat, reminiscent of the backgrounds often seen in Memphis and Vaporwave aesthetics. It is specifically designed to pair with my forthcoming After-School 1992 keyset but is sufficiently versatile to be used with a wide range of colors and sets.

Veracity Steel This shiny hand-polished stainless steel is, in my view, the most retro-futurist of the offerings in the lot. It weighs in at over 9 pounds when assembled with a Realforce (black rear plate). The same material and finish used on many luxury watches, this finish can be re-polished and is thus user-maintainable over time.

Specs and technical details

385mm wide x 181mm deep x 22.5mm tall

Compatibility

The Norbaforce Mark II is compatible with all TKL form-factor Realforce keyboards I have encountered (86U, 87U, 88U, 89U, 91U, R2 RGB, R2, R2 PFU Edition, etc.).

Risers

As with the previous Norbaforce, the Mark II comes with attachable riser feet, allowing both an ergonomic flat profile and an inclined angle (3 degrees, the same as the Realforce 87U native angle) for those who prefer it. Risers match the finish of the housing.

Rear cover plate

Each Norbaforce Mark II comes with a powder-coated steel rear cover plate. It will be either textured white or textured black, according to the best aesthetic match for the finish in question.

Custom accessories

The Norbaforce has been sufficiently popular as to have spawned some other products, including a custom carry brief and a precious-metal keyring, both of which are also made in the USA.

Shipping

International. I am now offering the ability to pay for calculated duties and taxes in advance with your order rather than having to sort it out with your customs authorities on delivery. I'm sorry to report that I'm not able to under-declare the value of the items in your order, whether or not to you opt for pre-paid duties. However, to have full control over your customs declaration, you can always use a US-based proxy shipping/forwarding service.

Et alia

This product is an aftermarket upgrade housing and is a DIY kit; keyboard and keycaps are not included. Installation requires you to remove your Realforce from its stock plastic housing. This may invalidate your keyboard warranty, and by purchasing you agree to take on that project and its results at your own risk. (But, of course, that's also part of the fun.) Assembly is straightforward and documented, and of course I'm always here to answer any questions if any questions arise during your install.

Any other thoughts or questions? Just shoot me an email using the address at the bottom of this site, or join the discussion over at KeebTalk.