AVAILABLE IN RIGHT OR LEFT HAND CONFIGURATION. SEND ME AN EMAIL AND LET ME KNOW IF YOU WANT A LEFT HAND VERSION. 

The pictures and video are of the original prototype. In order to keep costs down I have re-designed the finger piece. It consists of a finger piece on the right side of the lever for right handers and on the left side of the lever for left handers. The face is rounded and does NOT include the mother of pearl dot as shown in the pictures. The back is flat where it attaches to the lever. I will update the pictures and video when I can.

When I got my ticket in 2012 and sat there in my kitchen in the dead of winter and fired up my homebuilt OHR 40 meter QRP rig pumping all of 5 watts into my homebrew mag loop, I swore that I would stay true to the hobby and always use a straight key. Well as I got more proficient and speeds got higher, I got a nasty case of carpel tunnel and repetitive stress pain as a result of using the straight key. Bad enough where I had to turn to a paddle. Well that led to bugs and then a couple of years ago, cootie keys. Well after using a cootie key continuously, I started to think about making a straight key that didn’t kill your wrists, elbows or shoulders. This key is the result. It’s simple really. Some would call it “Half a Cootie” and they would be right.

The TBHSK uses the same mechanism as my other torsion bar keys but uses a longer and super light weight aluminum lever. The longer lever makes for an extremely smooth touch and instant return to the starting point once pressure is relieved.

I make the bases at Herb Johnson Marble works in Proctor Vermont, Home of the Vermont Marble Museum. It’s called Verde Antique and is quarried in Rochester, Vermont just over the mountains from us. It measures 3″ x 5″. Total weight is 1 lb 10 oz.

The key comes with a 3.5mm stereo cable with the tip and ring shorted together.

Price of the key is $235 + $13.85 shipping to US.

Most DX Add about $20 but email for exact shipping amount.