I’ll let you know when I get my case back from powder coating and get my board back together. Can’t wait!
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Nice! Is this in reference to the DJ/producer by any chance?
Thanks, I just came up the name, combining Sky and Cream 
Ok I’ve got a bunch of transparent cherry Mx blues and a bunch of zealio stems left over from when I made zealiostotles. Are these with putting together? Are transparent cherry housings any smoother than regular cherry housings?
I don’t know about smoother, but mx clicky housings are the most tactile of the bunch, so you might get something out of them.
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Heisenberg
- Halo Clear stem
- Gateron Blue Ink housing & spring
- Very smooth, “tight” feel - no or very little rattle
- Modest, yet crisp and satisfying tactility
- “D-shaped” bump starting at very top
- Is the danger
Short, snappy tactile with a harsh, loud bottom-out; the one who knocks.
Flavor-text:
I tend to fidget with my switch testers when I watch stuff. While clacking away on Creams, Inks, Creamy Inks, T1’s, and Holy Pandas, I had the thought to put a Halo stem into an Ink housing since the Cream and T1 stems do so well in them. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised by the result;
TL;DR: These crystalline wonders basically feel like extra-smooth, shortened T1’s.
That is, with a shorter travel because of the Halo stem, but with a similar smooth bump that encompasses most of the travel. Very satisfying.
This is definitely a switch meant to be bottomed-out; the bump essentially ends right as the stem hits the housing, giving for a very clean, snappy feel.
The sound and feel from that bottom-out is a little less distinct than that of a Holy Panda, also a bit less loud and piercing, as if the plastic is less dry, or more dense - I actually prefer this sound.
I’ve got to hand it to Gateron - they’ve got some good secret sauce in those Ink housings. I’d order a bucket of them if I could.
For its short travel, the bump is wide and smooth - very clear and noticeable, yet much more subtle than the Box silent browns I’m typing on now (which themselves are much more snappy than other “browns”).
I bought a bunch of Panda housings a while back, but damn if Ink housings aren’t way better in terms of what I want in a switch. I’m pretty sure my planned Holy Panda build just turned into a Heisenberg build. Well. At least the pandas are pretty…
Conclusion: Revising my recommendation for those that like an extra snappy, smooth “d-shaped” tactile bump. It’s not necessarily heavy like the bump on a Box Royal, but since it all but demands a hard bottom-out, they can be a little tiring - I suppose that’s the price of admission for what is to me still the most fun switch in my collection.
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This interests me. Will definitely try it out in the future!
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I was thinking… Purely on speculation and theory without much idea of what I am talking about honestly… What if a Silver Sky Panda and Ink could be put together?
Wouldn’t you get the endgame linear hopefully?
And can you mix and match a Sakurio with Silent inks?
I have Silent Ink Blacks coming in around December with my board, and I met a guy on discord who is willing to sell me brand new Sakurios for $1.10/s (dunno if that is a good price). Could I try a Franken with those?
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This is part of what’s fun about switch modding for me - wondering how properties of different switches will mix and then trying it to see if it’s anything like I expected. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t. The interaction between the leaf and stem plays a big part, as do the tolerances of the stem vs the housing. That said, it’s just about impossible to know how these will play out until you try them. On that note:
I did try the Outemu Sky silent linear (silver) stems in Ink housings. They might be a little better than the Panda housings, but the difference barely noticeable. I think this is because the stem a.) tends to have some wiggle room and b.) the dampeners are soft enough that sound doesn’t change much between housings. The real star of the silence show there is the stem itself; the housing is less important in that particular case.
You can mix Sakurio and Silent Inks - that said, I’m not sure they’d feel very different. I haven’t tried it myself though, so I can’t say for sure. They’re both manufactured by Gateron, and while they may be different plastic blends, the housings they make for Zeal have long been known for good tolerances and smoothness. Speculating, a Sakurio stem in an Ink housing might lead to a very similar switch, but one that feels very slightly more smooth when un-lubed. Once lubed I bet there’d be no difference.
That’s really the thing about the Ink housings that keeps blowing my mind - it’s how smooth they are without lube.
Back to mixing the Sky Panda and Silent Ink, because I love the idea of mixing the best properties of those two switches. So for example; a stem with the tolerances, shape, and materials of a Cream, but with a similar dampener to the Outemu Sky stems - I think that in an Ink housing would be just about as good as a silent MX could get.
I also think it would be cool if some company would let you choose between two or three levels of dampening softness. I like the Silent Ink ones, because they feel snappy - but some others might prefer the Outemu ones because they’re more quiet - or even for their soft feel. It’d be cool to be able to pick not just the stem, but also its dampeners.
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I have a batch of Gat yellows (clear top black bottom) and a batch of NK Creams. I hate both stock. And I wasn’t happy really with either of them lubed either (205g0). Both still felt scratchy and just overall not very nice. I am sure they would be OK ish in a board, but loose they seemed meh at best.
So, I tried stem swapping the cream stem into the gat yellow housing, using the Gat Yellow spring as well. I then applied a bit more lube (205g0) that I normally would, and switch films from KEBO. The result was a SUPER smooth gat yellow. There is zero spring ping and no scratchiness is detectable at all. I know this is nothing groundbreaking , but this makes me happy since I can salvage something usable about of these two switch batches.
The Gat Yellow stems suck in the Cream housings though. But, I have a bag of the Invyr UHMWPE Linear Stems from 1up keyboards coming. Maybe those will work ok in the Cream housings.
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Let us know if that works
That looks nice
BTW, I got a new switch tester with Zeal switches as well, but I really don’t like the linears… 
They feel a tad bit more mushy and scratchy to me, and even after lube they feel almost the same as lubed gaterons. I much more prefer the Gateron inks… Just my two cents.
I tried a Franken switch but there’s way too much rattle and I couldn’t exactly get the housing of the gat to sit properly with the sakurio stem… Or vice versa.
It’s a failure on my newbie end…
Will be returning the switch testers back to my friend after this…
Gat inks it is. 
EDIT: so someone on Reddit just mentioned that zeal switches and Gateron switch (non silent and silent inks) aren’t compatible stem or housing wise… So that’s why my experience was bad.
Is that true?
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I believe so. Zeal has Gateron as their OEM but paid for their own tool to yeild switches with better tolerances.
The Cream steams on the Gat Yellow house, using the Gat yellows spring all lubed up with 205g0 is a solidly smooth switch. And I’ll definitely report back on the Creams with the INVRY stems.
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I switched some switches while lubing and the Tiffany Ink is surprisingly smooth and quiet! 
OK, I have only tried one in my hand, but the difference is noticeable I would say.
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Better than stock?
Those Ink housings are pretty slick. I’d be curious to see some force curves between regular Gaterons, Inks, Tangies, and Zeals, where all other parts are the same aside from those housings. Maybe a Tealio stem, or some other smooth linear - and a pretty light spring. I’m interested to see if the data agrees with my perception, and if so, just what the difference is between them. Is it simply the amplitude of the little vibrations of the touching surfaces, or also the quality of them that might make a switch feel more or less smooth? What does Gateron know? What dark secrets lie within? What terrible bargains have been made??
… Now where could my pipe be?
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Kind of yes. The biggest thing is that it don’t bottom out so it will be the caps that say stop.
But a pretty expensive frankenswitch tho… 
Would love to try’em on that lodestone-keyboard. 
Hi All,
I have a bunch of leftover old Cherry Blue Switches (of the pre-1994 light blue variety). Does anyone have experience with these switches?
If so, is there a modern Prokeytheus out there with suggestions for what stems might work well and bring new life to these housings?