There are lots of keyboards that come stock with Kailh’s Box switches. Those are better than any cherry/clone, measurably so with higher press life-span and inherent IP ratings.
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Decided to put some new keycaps on my Keychron K2 and Q2 today.
K2V1
Soldered gat browns (don’t know how to solder so I can’t take them off)
Lubed stabs heavily
Tempest tape mod
PE foam in bottom case
Taro clones from Yongqiu
Q2 knob:
Zealios 67g
Fr4 plate (swapped out the stock steel plate for a softer feel)
PE foam in bottom case
Hammerhead light clones (again, Yongqiu)
The clones are nicer than I thought they’d be. The K2 is thoccy and deep and the Q2 is more muted and luxurious feeling.
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I see some cool looking keyboards in a lot of the “Got in the Mail” and “What are you throwing” posts and always wonder what they’re used for? Are you all gamers? Coders? Writers? Is it just a nice feel while typing?
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For me it is solely the feel while typing and pimping my ride.
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Samesies. I just like the premium typing experience I can get from these types of keyboards. Something solid, luxurious, but muted and not clacky. And I love all the color combos and photoshoots too of course
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I have a few really nice custom mechanical keyboards, and I use them primarily for document creation, data entry, and email at work, and then gaming/social media at home. all of them have specific switches/keycap types that help optimize typing, sound, or both.
the keyboard/mouse are the primary tools with which one interfaces with their computer, and having quality tools to get your work done is always a good thing regardless of the task at hand.
for me its a combination of feeling nice while i type, having a good looking work space, and the process of the build. tearing down to maintain is also really nice, like relubing stabs, cleaning, etc.
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What are the X and O keys on the right for?
I’m also really into the technology behind keycaps and switches. i have a ton of different sets of switches that i swap between. hako royal true/clear, halo true/clear, box navy, cherry mx clear (rare rgb housing), holy pandas, box master v2 white owl. i also have a few different sets of keycaps that are in different profiles, made from different materials, and have different legend tech.
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on 65/75% keyboards those are typically mapped to nav keys, or some combination of keys from the “middle” section of a standard keyboard. examples are page up, page down, home, delete, end, etc.
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Yeah. No clue what those keys even do. Hence, the fun looking keycaps because I don’t use those keys.
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those keys are the reason why i think that 65 and 75 are the optimal layouts, depending on if you actually use F keys or not.
do the keychron keyboards feature a reprogramming utility, like QMK? if so, take use of those keys and program them to something you’ll utilizse.
Yeah I can reprogram them, just don’t really see the need for it. I don’t have a use for any extra keys lol.
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@Shwa replying to your question here (even though you asked Brandon and not me 
). Thanks to @zslane @LinksLegionaire @adamantiumpops and others here for the info. I dove in and got the Unicomp and two Keychrons. I really like the feel of the Unicomp, though it’s not quite as solid feeling as the old IBMs and the chip in it seems a bit slow. The Keychrons are really nice. If anyone needs an one, I got two of them during their sale (maybe Black Friday) and my wife didn’t want one. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Thanks, @Lido
I had no idea that mechanical keyboards where a thing. I do love the nostalgia.
I’m going to poke around a bit.
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It seems like a large and complicated world. Luckily, I found something pretty affordable and fully assembled. Didn’t have time to add a new hobby!
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The Keychron keyboards as @Lido recommended are a great option. I would personally recommend the GMMK keyboards for a starter. they are solidly built, relatively inexpensive, readily available, have multiple layout options, and are hot-swappable. that means you can easily try out new key-switches to get the feel you want without having to get a new keyboard every time. this will allow you to experiment with both keycaps, and switches to find what you like.
if, and preferably only if, you find something you like (or like mechanical keyboards at all as a hobby), you acn use what you learned there and get something custom that you pick parts and build yourself, or get a nicer pre-built keyboard from companies like Drop, Vortex Gear, KBDFans, etc.
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Thanks for this write up. Gives me a great starting point.
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feel free to hit me up with questions, mechanical keyboards is a hobby ive had for a few years now and have built 4 custom boards, i have 6 sets of extra switches just to swap out, and a few extra set of caps in various materials/profiles lol
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For years I’ve been against lubing switches because I didn’t think it would be worth the time. I recently helped my brother build his first real custom keyboard for his birthday and he wanted linear switches. He ended up getting the Gateron Oil King, which are factory lubed but done way heavier than any other factory lubed switches I’ve tried. They are crazy smooth and the top/bottom sounds are very damped, so it made me want to lube my own switches.
Lubed both my work keyboard and my home keyboard this week, I am now officially ruined, I will never have a keybord with unlubed switches ever again lol.
Photod/videod is my home keeb: Melgeek Z70 Ultra with foam/silicone damping kit, clipped/lubed GMK stabs, krytox 205g0 lubed holy panda x switches and some thick 1.5mm dye subbed pbt caps.
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