Keyboard stems go slip
I assume most people worry about the cruciforms having lube on them. I donât think most people understand how lightly you can lube stems to make them nice. I hardly notice the extra lube and it has never caused an issue.
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But itâs still not a fullsize (ie, actually 104 keys). Itâs missing the ScrlLk key, and youâve lost one of the Ctrl keys⌠And just the changes to the layout (movign Fn to the right side, making bottom row totally non-standard, a half-height set of cursor keysâŚargh the list goes on and onâŚ
I mean, if you are going to have the Numpad, why on earth insert an extra column of keys, and shuffle things around on the bottom row? Just leave the main part of the keyboard as normal, and slide the numpad over a bit⌠Use the Numpad as both a 10-key and navigation clusterâŚ
Thatâs actually the key that pushed me over the edge to posting this here⌠Iâve used a 10-key for years and years, changing that part of the layout would likely be far more damaging than anything⌠I an just see all the times I wanted to perform the subtraction operation only to delete part or all of the number I was enteringâŚ
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Youâve just reminded me of my first ever mech board!
âŚwhich I know a lot of people consider having a weird layout, so it belongs here. But Iâm going to argue it has a better layout than the keyboard above.
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Youâre too young for this reference but Iâm gonna use it anyway:
Youâd be amazed how many gags the writers got out of this guy not being able to see or hear very well.
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Wasnât just a gag, it was the whole premise of the cartoon⌠Definitely one of the last classic slapstick style cartoonsâŚ
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Nope - thatâs exactly the layout I was referring to⌠Itâs really a slightly modernized version of an IBM Model F layout⌠And itâs definitely a better compromise than that thing I posted. 
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I know I really like this 71-key layout, but I will never pay $450 for this abomination:
Why? Just WHY?
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Hmm if it works for you, I guess it gets old after couple of times.
I just canât imagine having grease all over everything the stem might touch.
Someone saw the MacBook Touch Bar and thought, âIâm gonna do that, but like, way moreâ
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I usually wear gloves when I go to reassemble the switches. I use tweezers to grab the stems out of the tub. I suppose some lube might end up on the outside of the housing top by way of transfer from the tweezers to my gloves to the housing, but certainly not anything significant.
Other than that, my goal is to have every single surface of the stem coated so that anything it touches inside of the switch gets lubricated.
Many of my builds only have the stems lubricated. Especially on builds where the stem only needs some slight tuning. If itâs a particularly bad sounding switch, I will often lube the stem with 3204 and the housing with 205g0 (the Huey special).
Box stems do pose a bit of an issue for me because they will require more work. I often only lube the housings on them.
Also, since weâre talking about lubing practices that arenât followed by the streamers, I also have never owned or used a brush to lube. I have, however, gone through several hundred dental applicators. Tip is the perfect size for housing rails.
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Gazzew sent me some of those the first time I got switches from him - can confirm, those things are a great size for spot lubing.
I must say your comment is giving me mixed feelings, interesting stuff to digest honestly.
Anyway, when you say box stems, do you mean box stems like the new Gats or Outemu or BOX stems by Kailh? becuase I tried lubing a BOX switch and it didnât feel any difference, plus the lube wore off.
Also why mix 3204 and 205g0?
3204 for the stem since it spreads easily and wonât overlube. 205g0 in spots on the housing, especially the bottom and the top where the stem hits, to quiet the switch. Again, Iâm talking about very small amounts. Just enough to cause a matte finish but not see white.
Yes, box like Gateron kangaroo and TTC. Lubing the inside housing tops and bottoms helps to quiet the switch.
I mostly lube to tune the sound of switches. If a switch is noticeably scratchy, Iâve never found that lube will eliminate that issue.
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I mostly lube to tune the sound of switches. If a switch is noticeably scratchy, Iâve never found that lube will eliminate that issue.
Iâm not a linear fan, so I never really cared about scratch feel/sound, I would happily use Cherry MX or NK Creams which are noticeably gritty, my only gripe is off center press, switch isnât worth much if it doesnât feel consistent when youâre typing.
Had that happen with the KS9 Gateron Yellows, no gritty-ness but they had weird plastic-y resistance feeling when pressing slightly off center, and it threw me off after using KS8 Gats (that I gave away).
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Yes, I know that feeling. I find the JWK switches perform a lot better on off-center presses. Also, for linears, the newer Boba LT swiches and many of the TTC switches have a lot loss of that slight bind on off-center press.
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Omg man. Akko has been coming out with some straight heat. Iâm still amazed at their Mod 005 kit, but this HHKB looks super nice. I love the milky acrylic. CNCâd too? Whew⌠Might have to ditch the Iced Kara if this thing sounds any good!
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Akko is blowing the market away and puts other vendors to shame, really makes you wonder why we paid so much for things, especially switches.
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I was thinking the same thing earlier. Surely, they would never have gotten to this point if it werenât for us paying for more âpremiumâ experiences earlier on and paving the way for this market⌠but man! The stuff theyâve got to offer at the prices theyâre at really is pretty awesome. The next person that asks for my advice on getting into the custom keyboard hobby will probably get an Akko recc from me.
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Just checked it out, i prefer the way it looks over my old Kara, which costs $160 retail without switches or keycaps. Are there any reviews of it yet?
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