I am desperately trying to extend the life of my X220 exactly for this reason. It is the last laptop with a usable keyboard. But this thing has been around the world at least a dozen times and has cracks and bruises to show for it. No idea what I will do when it finally dies on me.
In their quest to become MBP replicas, ThinkPads lost their distinguishing features. Now that I've resigned myself to carrying a mechanical keyboard at all times (HHKB), I no longer choose a laptop based on one. I am now exploring alternative laptops after being a loyal ThinkPad customer for 7 years.