I take my brush and put it inbetween where the two leafs hit to cause the actuation, usually with 205 and a decent amount. Have never fpund chattering from it and have done it on many tactiles that I have daily driven and never any actuation issues, however I think Ive always used jwk bottoms so maybe try on a few before doing a whole batch if u plan too.
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Mint Cream = FLCMMK Ice Mint + NK Cream bottom housing.
I found Ice Mint underwhelming in use. It felt scratchy like how polished Cherry Black can feel scratchy when stem hole in the bottom housing is not properly cleaned. To confirm my suspicion, I swapped the bottom housing with that of NK Cream. Sure enough, resulting combo felt smooth.
Calling this frankenswitch: Mint Cream. Itās likely the name has been used already but this will have to do for now.
Sound: Itās sound still remained muffled but at least not as much as before. I do prefer loud sharp clack sound of NK Cream but this sounds pretty distinct and somewhat enjoyable.
Ice Cream is what Iām calling the combo made out of the remainder. Despite Creamās long stem, key travel of this combo didnāt feel short. And, surprisingly, it didnāt feel as scratchy as Ice Mint. I suspect Ice Mintās scratchy spot is near the bottom of the stem hole. If true, it maybe the cylinder like shape of Ice Mint stem is trough the scratchy part of the stem hole wall while NK Creamās narrow end of its long tip is less likely to hit the walls. Sound is very similar to Mint Cream.
In Use: Iām now using a 60% hotswap filled with Mint Cream frankenswitches shown in the background of above photo. It sounds distinct and feels nice enough to recommend others to try this combo.
3 Likes
Speaking of āIce Creamā - Tecsee now sells what Iād consider a frankenswitching starter pack:
https://kbdfans.com/products/tecsee-diy-switch-icecream-series
Maybe a gateway drug into frankenswitches maybe not - but either way it seems like a really useful tool for folks to hone-in on their tastes. It took me buying way too many switches before I knew what housing and stem materials were my favorites - something like this would have been super helpful.
While it doesnāt cover the full spectrum by any means, it does cover a few of the most common as well as a couple specific to Tecsee - so at very least this will be a great way to familiarize oneself with the material options available from them.
I think these may have already been mentioned somewhere, but itās a neat enough thing I felt it worth the risk to repeat. Iād love to see other manufacturers embrace something like this - the more the merrier.
Imagine being able to pick each part of a switch to your personal spec rather than shop through a sea of hundreds and hundreds of options with poorly-descriptive names (and descriptions). Instead of āoh hey Iāve got a keyboard with Fambrigazi Studio Purpley-White-Crested Bongaloosā it might be, āI use Tecseeās Nylon housings, a UPE tactile stem, and a 14mm linear springā. I love my goofy names as much as anybody, but Iāll take a descriptive one over a flowery one any day.
3 Likes
A wise man once said that itās possible to make a good meal out of leftovers and thatās the case here as Iām really pleased with how these came out. The final component list:
- Gateron Milky Pro bottoms
- Gateron Milky Pro stems
- Gateron Black Ink tops
- 50g Sprit Extreme Slow I springs
Feel: As youād expect from the parts, itās incredibly smooth. I ultimately went with the Milky Pro stems over Ink stems because I feel that they provide a more distinct and consistent bottom out feeling. Itās a nice middle ground - firm but in no way harsh.
Sound: Smooth and pleasantly clacky. Thanks to the springs, itās got a nice balance between the bottom and top out sounds. The closest analog that I have is an Oil King and itās just a hair more mellow and deeper than that.
Lube: Hereās where I did something new for me. I lubed one switch with 205g0, assembled it, and immediately hated how sluggish it felt, even with a light application. Thatās likely because of the springs. Instead, I decided to try GPL 106 and Iām really happy with how it worked out. A little goes a long way and it improves the sound profile ever so slightly while making the push feel nice and uniform.
I also used Super Lube with PTFE on the springs for the first time and so far, Iām pretty happy with how that worked out. Itās much less dear than 105 so itās nice to have a budget alternative.
Films: Strongly recommended here. While the housings are solid N/S, there was an odd bit of play E/W. Deskeys films solved that beautifully.
Misc: The springs really shine in this switch, which is funny because they were complete duds in Oil Kings. In those they felt lifeless and dull on the upstroke but here they provide a pleasant, complimentary sound to the downstroke.
Stem wobble is somewhere between Gat Pro Milkys and their (normal) Pro counterpart. So quite good, actually! E/W is a bit more than N/S but itās far from what Iād call bothersome. To continue the comparison, Iād say E/W is comparable to an Oil King while itās a bit better when it comes to N/S.
So thatās it for this one. Iāve been doing lots and lots of tinkering to figure out whatās next and I plan to post here as often as I come up with things worth sharing. On to the next one!
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Tried combining some leftover switch parts from past Frankensteins:
- Kailh Pro Plumb tactile stem (lubed w/205g0 even on the legs)
- NK Cream top
- Ice Mint bottom
- 55g 18mm spring
Result felt was as expected: smooth light tactile w/decent clacky sound. I liked it enough to try building a full board with them. Also tried Zealios V1 stem but its tactility felt over the top.
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These simple but exceedingly frustrating combinations. Simple enough in theory: Cherry Hyperglide housing and a Black Ink stem. I built one and liked the combination so I decided to build a batch. As you can see, I built 10 and then decided to call it quits. About every 3rd switch I built I ran into this strange issue where towards the bottom of the press Iād get this odd tactile feedback. Not something Iād call a bump but it feels more like the stem legs reaching their end and the leaf hitting where the legs meet the body of the stem.
I think it was one of those things where I had to build a few to really find out. Frustrating nonetheless but Iāll keep iterating on it.
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Do you see any different if you put the stems next to each other?
The only substantial difference I see is on the side. Cherry on the left, Gateron on the right. On the side of the stem the lip is much higher on the Gateron but Iām not sure if this is a contributing factor. The shoulder bevel is also slightly larger on the Cherry stem but again, Iām not sure if itās a meaningful difference.
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They look very different to my eyes. Look at the width of the stem body. One on the right is thicker than the other. Angle of the legs look similar but legs of the right stem would be positioned closer to the contact leaves.
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Iāve also found a cool switch! Here is the recipe to make Blood Oranges
Tangerine Housings
Pro Burgundy Stems (kailh)
Spring Swap (optional, I used cannonkeys)
Filming is also optional
The result is a clacky and smooth switch that is sort of deep! It is an amazing thing I discovered.
I donāt think anyone else has made this other than me because I didnāt have any NK creams, and Burgundys are pretty cheap. Enjoy!
To get some use out of a set of North Pole switches which sounded like a flimsy quieter version of Oil King, I mixed it up with KS-3 X1 Pro switches to get:
- North pole with KS-3 X1 Pro top housing
- KS-3 X1 Pro with North Pole top housing
Both sounds really similar and closer to Oil King without feeling flimsy. Now my problem is having only one board that can bring out the sound of these āquite raindropā switches. Of the three, I like Oil King the most so guess these extra sets will have to slumber til later.
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Found another frankenswitch I enjoyed enough using to build a board with, a tactile this time. Maybe Iāve leveled up in switch moddingā¦
Part list:
- OG NK Cream top housing (POM)
- FLCMMK Ice Mint bottom housing (POM)
- Kailh Pro Plum stem (light tactile long-pole)
- 20mm 50g spring
- lubed w/205g0 even on legs.
While I just used parts I already had, I think any light tactile long-pole stem in POM housing will sound and feel similar. Sound is loud yet deep. Feel is more kinky than weirdā¦
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Was reminded by this thread of a frankenswitchIām temporarily using in my minivan; all leftover parts from cheap builds. Tubbed lubed with 205g0.
Cherry Top
NK Dry/Silk Stem
55-60g spring
Gateron Nylon bottom
I was expecting a deeper sound, but quite high-pitched. Comparable to a cherry-topped SP Star Meteor White when held, but obviously the keyboard makes it deeper. There is a bit of leaf crunch and some spring ping, but I think thatās just user error on my end, being the first time Iāve tub lubed. I like it enough to maybe consider a build with these in the future.
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Tried Cherry MX Clear stem in FLCMMK Ice Mintās POM housing and spring. Three surprises:
- tactility was surprisingly mild. much milder than Ergo Clear.
- sound was louder and deeper than I expected.
- FLCMMK Ice Mintās light 20mm spring had no problem with MX Clear bump.
This combo felt surprisingly good.
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Not really funky, cool or strange as such, but I really like the result.
Housing and leaf: Tecsee Carrot
Stem: Healios
Spring: TX long, 80g
Inpired by the āfruitā-naming scheme, I call it: Whispering Dekopon.
Dekopon, because itās looks really reminds me of Dekopons, and because Dekopons are bigger, heavier citrus fruits (heavier Tangerines, heavier spring 
).
Well, and āwhisperingā because itās silent
I had a bag of Healios stems lying around, harvested from switches with damaged housings.
I tried them in different housings, but in almost every housing (Nylon, PC, UHMWPE) they showed the known āstickynessā which is quite common for Gateron-made silent stems.
The only exceptions were Canacary-housings (POM) and even better Carrot-housings (PME)
Real dekopons for comparison, picture from Wikipedia.
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how do they sound and feel?
I have not yet tested them in an actual build, but I will soon.
So itās hard to tell exactly how theyāll sound. The switch just resting on a wooden table, Iād call the sound a very dubdued clack.
The switch feels very smooth, soft even, already before lubing.
Trying JWK P3 stems from Wuqueās Mix & Match series in a bunch of different housings today.
Most of these look good with clean details, though I did find a derpy one:
The stem feels at least decent in all these, great in a few:
It wonāt clear the tight Gazzew top, but it will work with his slightly less tight Outemu branded housings, so I stuck a Cherry silent stem in that one.
Iāll get back with you on the good ones.
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Alright! Iāve tried all these in-hand with the MM P3 stems, and have some first impressions on what I think might be worth it. I have not tried these in a live board yet, though - so keep that in mind.
Meh
Most of these have some kind of awkward aspect, like a leaf that dis-engages from the legs too early, etc:
-
Outemu Ocean - full travel, feels pretty rough
-
Kailhs; New Cream, Old Cream, Ice Mint - full travel, weird leaf stuff, feels a little rough
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BSUN Panda - full travel, weird leaf stuff
-
Tecsee Diamond - nearly full travel but does bottom-out on pole, really weird leaf stuff + slip-stick, feels almost tactile
-
Tecsee DK Oni - hard to say, likely the same as above, weird leaf stuff, a little rough
-
JWICK Nylon T1* - short travel, this sounds great but the leaf is ill-suited; a JWICK nylon linear housing would probably be fine
-
Gazzew Bobagum w/ āOutemuā top - full travel, weird leaf stuff, meh
OK
These donāt have any problems and might even feel pretty decent, but Iām not sure theyāre worth cracking-open any switches to make:
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SP Star Meteor White - short travel, a little wobbly, itās alright
-
TTC Wild - full travel, decently smooth, not bad
-
TTC Bluish White - very short travel, silicone plug thud
-
Cherry (Silent) Black - full travel, otherwise like the SP Star; ok
-
Tecsee Purple Panda - full travel, kinda swishy
Good
These feel really nice, and a couple sound really nice, too:
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Gaterons Oil King, Ink, and North Pole - short travel, very smooth, great sounds
-
Haimus Heartbeat and Moondrop Lunalight - full travel, smooth, stable
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Tecsee Lychee - full travel, pretty smooth, nice top-out sound
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JWK NK_ Silk Olivia - short travel, smooth, clacky
The Gaterons and Haimus are the easy favorites for me, here.
If you like the Nylon clack, go for the Oil Kings, otherwise the North Poles are my fave of the 22 housings Iāve tried so far - extra smooth and they also have a nice clack. The Inks are great too, but not really worth the extra few cents over the NPs - but a great option if you happen to have some lying around.
If you prefer full travel, so far the Haimus are the only ones that I think are really worth it.
Unsurprisingly, JWK housings are also good, and Iām sure the MM housings work great with these, too.
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I have a lot of unused switches. Most of them either have too much wobble (gateron) or need films (earlier jwk). Iām thinking some of these stems might be upgrades for those housings, but Iām not convinced. I feel like the housing is usually the weakest link. Has anyone tried the MM housings? Are they smooth? Do they need films?
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