More journeys with 415 Keys UHMWPE stems. So far my housing for it has been Gateron Inks, but its kind of expensive. For a cheaper option, I tried Gazzew Blue Ice housing and RGB top. Comparison
Sound: Blue Ice is relatively muted and quiet. Gateron Inks have a more distinct sound, not quite as thocky as stock Gateron Inks, but has a bit of that flavor.
Stem wobble: Blue Ice has less stem wobble, especially in north south direction. Both switches are perfectly acceptable in this aspect.
Smoothness: Gateron Ink is smoother, especially when pressed off axis. I can sometimes feel the UHMWPE brushing against the top housing in the Gazzew build.
Overall: decent option for an affordable quiet (but not silent) linear switch. In terms of typing feel, I prefer Gateron Ink or Durock Linears because they are smoother and more consistent. However If we compare the Gazzew UHMWPE linear to silent linears, then it would rank favorably. I dont like the silencing pads on most silent linear switches because they tend to feel mushy and reduce key travel.
I wonder if I take a milky yellow gateron housing and put it in something like a sakurios if it would sound better (if it can make any noticeable sound at all.
@skepp I gave this a shot just now; alas, the silicone plug stops the stem from going down enough to actuate reliably - it will just barely register or flicker but not stay actuated when held. I’ll give this a try with another (shorter) long pole stem shortly; Pro Burgundy stems are a hair longer than standard Kailhs and Tecsees - closer to Gazzew’s long poles.
@newness Ahoy! I do think a milky top would change the sound of a Sakurio slightly, but since it’s a silent stem I think most of that sound change will be in the travel itself. I have some milky-housing Gateron silent blacks (think of these as low-budget Sakurios), and they have a fair amount of travel-scratch / texture sound before lubing. (I actually kind of like it, but I imagine it’s not what most people would be looking for when tuning switches.) Here’s an old recording of the milky-top Gateron Silent Blacks:
The Bluish-White poles are pretty much standard length, yes.
Shoobs has a new video on an upcoming Gazzew long-pole linear that includes a great stem comparison between it (the Gazzew) and a bunch of others. The Gazzew stems are so close in length to the Kailh Pros I’d need calipers to tell the difference.
Kailh Blacks & Creams, while effectively the same length, are not identical. The Cream is ever so slightly longer, and with a lower bevel on the pole - closer to the Halo than the Black.
Tecsee long-poles are very similar in length to Creams and Halos.
Kailh Pro and Gazzew long-poles are also very similar, with the Pros being ever so slightly longer.
Bluish Whites are standard length, but have a much shorter, rounder bevel than usual. KK / Candy switches look like that, too. Edit: actually - the Bluish White pole is shorter than standard if strictly compared to the top of the cross-mount; in this image the comparison is with the top of the surrounding shroud because I used a straight-edge to line these up.
More info on the Bluish White compatibility; Tecsee and Kailh Black stems are also too long to work reliably - on a light bottom-out they don’t actuate, but they do if you push harder - they’d likely work without the silicone plug. Seems to me any long-pole stem is going to be too long to work reliably with that plug in the tube, though ones closer to standard should do alright.
Also - even though the TTC tops are some of the few that fit on Gazzew bottoms, Gazzew tops won’t fully mount on TTC bottoms.
Have you tested the kailh speed stems with the bluish white silicone plug? I know something like a speed copper stem in a t1 housing shortens the post travel significantly(clipping the stem restores it). I wonder how short the travel post but is with the bluish white bottom. Maybe even something approaching a D curve in a speed tactile? The other speed stems might also provide novel frankenswitches with the bottom out feel of the silicone plug and short travel if they actuate properly.
I hadn’t until you suggested it - but I did just now, and it does work. ( @skepp check it out )
I used a Speed Copper stem, which is the only speed stem of any kind I have on hand, aside from Ink Yellows.
The switch actuates as it should; right at the end of the tactile bump, which in this case is tiny and all the way at the top. Looks like more than 1mm to me, but less than 2mm.
Overall, it’s very short - but does have a tiny bit of travel after the bump ends - not nearly as much as a Speed Copper, though.
It sounds like a normal switch, minus the “clack” - which is replaced by a sound (not so much feel) similar to something with domes (because you’re bottoming-out on silicone).
The bottom-out feel is definitely softened, but it has a different, more crisp feel than most of the dampened stems with silicone nubbins on them.
How common are U4T stems in Cherry housings? Because geez do they just round out the sound in really nice way. All that kind of higher pitched buzzing/ringing bobas have in their stock housings is eliminated completely.
I’ll be taking a sound comparison test later if find the time.
Uh, quick question for all you switch modding types… is there going to be much if any difference between the leaves in a Cherry Brown switch vs a Clear? Looking to do some franken stuff and if the clears are for any reason more tactile that’d be preferred.
I know Clears are supposed to be more tactile, and that they definitely have a heavier spring - but I don’t know if the leaf is part of that stronger tactility or if it’s all in the stem. As many switches as I fiddle with I only have one set of Cherries.
Blue and Green are the ones with a different (more tactile) leaf. Brown and Clears appear to be the same leaf, and all the tactility gain is in the stem.
I’ve been looking for a mild tactile switch for occasional break from linears. After tinkering with all the tactile switches I had, I came up with a combo that I can enjoy not just on switch tester but while in-use.
Name: Linear Addict’s Tactile Fling switch
Stem: Halo stem.
Housing: Cherry blue’s black nylon housing.
Spring: TX 57g long
Lube: 3204
How it feels: While same stem as Holy Panda is used, tactile feel of this switch is much milder and feels similar to linear switch heavy-top spring well beyond what long (16mm) spring can deliver. And finger fatigue is minimal.
So far I’ve just tried them in Creams (which was meh) - I’ll mess around with them as I’m decompressing with YouTube this evening and let you know if I find anything worth mentioning.
I tried the stem with a bunch of tops and it didn’t work well with most of them - I think the only one it felt okay with besides its own was another Everglide top made of PBT - still, not as good as its own top.
I did learn something, though - the Water Kings in my batch that weren’t smooth appear to have over-sized stems, as they had an ever harder time fitting into other housings. (Like 1/3 of them) Either way, for the most part they would fit but be juust too tight, or not fit at all. It aalmost worked in a Hippo housing.
I think you’ve got the right idea swapping around the bottom for preferred characteristics while keeping the glassy smoothness of the top. I like the name - totally looks like that drink.
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