Is it safe to assume you’d recommend TX stabs over others?
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Cerakey offered me a sample of these ceramic caps, and I received them today:
I’d like to stress that I received these for free but my opinion is honest, I don’t have any agreement with the company.
So these are the pink ceramic caps, sitting on my pale green Keebio Jawn Founder’s Edition (which I won last year I guess). Beneath the caps are Momoka Flamingos (received from Momoka as a free sample too 
). In a world without VAT and custom fees this project would have cost me almost nothing… (I paid the shipping fee for the switches though.)
Back to the caps:
First impression: very carefully packed in nice sealed containers.
The caps are glossy but only in certain angles, so it isn’t distracting.
The surface feels like porcelain. Pleasantly smooth and slightly cold feeling on the touch. And the familiar rough ceramic feeling on the back (without the glossy layer). This doesn’t feel good at all but you don’t touch the back side of caps very often anyway.
The stem is “unibody”, so not the glued-on 3D-printed one you might see elsewhere.
The fit is VERY tight. I tried them on various switches and I kept pulling out the switches from the plate when trying to take off the cap. Regardless of the stem type (box, “dust-proof”, classic +), the tightness made me concerned.
However, it doesn’t seem to cause any issues. I changed the caps a few times, abused them even with some dreaded Box Jades (the old cap-breaking ones). But these ceramic keycap stems are much stronger than that of e.g. my very first SA set which was totally ruined by the same Jades…
This was just a small sample to populate my macropad, not a full keyset, so I couldn’t test real typing. However, I keep touching and stroking these caps, and resting my fingertips on them. Which is telling.
If you are interested, Cerakey offered a $5 discount for those using the “KBDNEWS” coupon code (this is NOT an affiliate thing, I don’t get any commissions). And they’re currently running a kickstarter campaign to fund the full ceramic set if that’s your thing.
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I always thought of them as Philips-screws used in the cases. Tho they probably switched to hex early.
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TBH I have not used them yet, but they have enough hype from people whose opinions I trust that I was willing to stock up on them. I’m gonna use one of the sets made for 1.2mm PCBs with my Babylon. Will definitely let you know how they are once I get that built!
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Yeah Mekibo sold out fast. I just got the 2 sets of the black WKL 1.2mm PCB ones from that. I got the other 5 black WKL regular ones from Ashkeebs, which I think still has some in stock TBH.
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Stickers!
From top-left;
- Unholy Trues (HP leftovers w/ H. True spring)
- Corsas (found a better prancing horse)
- Speed Bronzes
- Silent Peaches
- Kailh Pro Greens
- Kailh Blacks
- Holy Dragons (Halo / Dragonfruit franken)
- Aflion Icebergs (KM version)
- NK_ Sherbets
- Kailh Speed Golds
Also some others just because they were funny:
Oh yeah, these too!
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The V3. It’s not QMK. I didn’t learn that existed until I had already built this one out lol.
If you ever get to try out those stabs, make sure to let us know how they are. I’ve seen them being hyped constantly but don’t know if it’s worth the stress of trying to buy one.
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I just ordered some through the CA vendor Minokeys, that @linch pointed me towards.
@Rob27shred just mentioned they’re still in stock at Ashkeebs too which indeed they are. Just need to pay some more on shipping.
I’ll chime in too when I give them a try. (maybe we shoudl make a separate thread for that when the time comes.)
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Might as well try the TX stabs next. Come to think of it I do have a few keebs I’ve been meaning to build…
Most recently I tried the Owlstabs and a couple sets of Equalz V3s and like both types, but prefer the Equalz between them because the wire clip is a bit more solid, and they come with pre-cut modding bits which is a really nice bonus.
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I picked up a GMMK Pro to use as a glorified switch and plate tester. It’ll also be interesting as a mod testing vehicle. I got the green knob, but it doesn’t quite match my bruhtanical keycap set. It looks convincing enough though.
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First off, thanks for linking to that Macropad. I’ve been looking for a nice Macropad for weeks now, and did not know about this one. Just snatched up a pastel green one.
As for the Cerakey keycaps, is that set a specific Macropad set? Looking at their website they seem to only sell 4pc sets in only two row heights. Is your set all the same row height?
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No, not a specific set. They simply asked me how many of them I need and I said nine. In hindsight, I should have said a higher number. I didn’t think of row height either so these are all the shape of the top (QWERTY) row – R1/R2/R3 is ambiguous as I see.
Btw, it seems these handy containers are pre-packed and hold four of them normally, and one cap was simply added to the top one in the photo.
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It arrived, the “Rama” mug.*
*Not really a Rama mug.
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I think they spelled Rama wrong. 
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Yes, it’s just a joke and a reference to their flagship colorway (Yolk).
I know, my humor was a bit dry on that one.
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Yeah, it took me a bit to figure out there was three different versions of the IK75. IMO - now that Feker has done a QMK based keyboard, I hope they release an updated version of their Dopokey with QMK. That would be the ultimate version of this keyboard (unless they also wanted to change the PCB mounting…)
How do you like now that you have it built?
I think it’s pretty good. It didn’t take a lot of time to get it to sound okay, and it feels great to type on with the Anubis switches and new stabs that actually fit my keycaps. The LEDs are total garbage, but I never have them on anyway. The battery life is pretty nuts as well.
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