I was surprised by how smooth CRP was when I first got my hands on a set.
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Yup. To me, CRP texture felt like that of ivory.
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Switch day, yay.
- TTC Red. nothing special there, i don’t even know why i bought those, tbh. POM stem, PC top, Nylon bottom as usual. Wobbly and pingy.
- Outemu ATK Spring Cherry/Sakura. Not sure about the Materials, i still need to find info about them, but those are quite good long pole Linears. Recent Outemus have just been so good. Barely any wobble and really smooth.
- BSUN Sonic. POM stem LY housing long pole Linear. Again, barely any wobble and really smooth. The sound is quite loud, at least in the hands, and a higher pitch.
- Infiverse Yunmu. Manufacturer seems to be JWK as the molds match some Durocks quite well. they are K3 stem and UPE housing long pole linears. Just like the others, barely any wobble and very smooth. The sound is somewhere between the Sonic and Sakura. Medium loud and medium high pitched, at least in the hand.
3 Likes
I’ve outdone myself with purchases lately. Too much to show, but I did pick up a set of DMK Jade caps that I’ve wanted for a long time. Got them yesterday. I’ll find the perfect board for them at some point.
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RISE NEON SWITCH
SPEC
- Linear switch
- PC top housing
- Modified Nylon Bottom housing
- POK stem
- Operating force 45+/-10gf
- Bottom force 56+/-10gf
- Total travel 3.5+/-0.5mm
- Pre-travel 1.8+/-0.5mm
Summary
BSUN TAI CHI SWITCH
SPEC
- Linear switch
- PC Top housing
- Modified Nylon Bottom housing
- POM stem
- Operating force 40gf
- Pre-travel 2.0mm
- Total travel 3.6mm
- about 21mm spring
Summary
4 Likes
Good mail day today! Wanted some more Knight stabs but almost everywhere was sold out, thankfully Swagkeys still had some of the clear ones in stock. So I grabbed 2 packs of those & a set of JTK Griseann since they have that & the Royal Alpha triple shot sets on sale for $45! Then I also got in 2 more Fugus + matching Moonblanks from ETF’s Shot & a Beer thursday raffles!
Edit: Threw Griseann on my TKL One
The set is super nice IMO. There was some kerning issues with the 2.25u Shift, 2.75u Shift & 1.5u Control but the set came with fixed replacements for all of those. The tripleshot legends came out really good too. Also they sound a little bit deeper than GMK or even doubleshot JTK, so I’m thinking the extra plastic with three shots makes them a bit thicker on the top. Thinking about grabbing Royal Alpha now too…
9 Likes
Gateron Smoothie arrived today. Happy that Milktooth is nearby and ships fast.
Sound is mid-pitch, clean and solid. Feels smooth and tight. A clear winner at easy to digest price. Better than NK Cream and Morandi in sound. And, unlike Morandi, no squeaks.
MMD Vivian is similar but lower-pitch with a slight bend to the sound that’s distinct and pleasant.
Despite shorter travel, both are great switches with affordable prices.
5 Likes
BSUN x HC Studio Roselle arrived, again from Milktooth.
Initial Impression: Roselle is thocky, deep and loud where Gateron Smoothie is clacky, clean and solid. No noticeable scratches nor wobble. Doesn’t feel cheap.
Roselle’s spring is very good, better than Smoothie at least. MMD Vivian’s spring is best however, a perfect joy to type on.
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For someone who has complained over the years about the unpredictability of wood and its propensity for warping you sure post quite a few pictures of wooden cases 
The fact you keep buying shows real optimism, which I appreciate.
Also I had to order one after seeing it. Thanks a lot…
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Yeah I remain optimistic that I’ll find one to stand the test of time. I thought my old KBDfans wooden case from 10 years ago was the one, but last year it hit the point where I could no longer get a PCB in it 
I will say that so far, my Retro60 from Evan still works, and I’ve had that one for quite some time.
These are affordable enough that I’d be okay with them only lasting a handful of years
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I don’t know a ton about wood. Will no amount of sealing keep it from warpage / shrinkage / expansionage over time?
Good question. This designer chose to use wood from the US and carefully dry it well before machining. We shall see how it holds up.
1 Like
Not really. For wood that has been carefully dried, sealed, kept in a climate controlled room (both temperature and humidity), and then resealed on a regular basis, it should stay relatively stable.
However, very, very few wooden objects are kept in this manner and temperature and humidity can vary wildly by the season. The fibers in the wood actually grow and shrink when they absorb humidity, and even tiny changes can cause wooden objects to warp due to this process over time. Generally, not a big deal if a say your couch frame is off by a millimeter, but that can cause issues for devices with tighter tolerances, like a keyboard case. Engineered woods like high quality plywood can generally remain stable for decades so long as they’re not exposed to liquids or temperature/humidity extremes.
That’s a good start! Hoping it lasts!
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My zebrawood Retro60 is also still in great shape and that was from 2017. Fingers crossed.
I wonder if the fact it is zebra wood made a difference.
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My retro60 is walnut and doing well. The KBDFans case I had that eventually shrunk too much was zebrawood. 
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What started happening when it shrunk too much, was the pcb warping or something?
I didn’t have a build in it for a few months. It wasn’t until I tried to put a build it in that I realize it had shrunk. I thought maybe it was just that the plate was too big, so I tried just a bare PCB… I got it stuck because the fit was so tight. I thought I was going to break the PCB trying to get it back out. Since then, it’s been sitting empty in the closet. I keep hoping my brother-in-law will get some sort of CNC machine and I can fix it
2 Likes
If you’re open to some manual labor, you may be able to take some 60 or 80-grit sandpaper and sand away a bit of the wood to make room for the PCB. You’d have to use some higher grits like 120 and 220 to get the case smooth again, but you would have to reseal/stain/finish it. Feel free to message me if you have woodworking questions. 
1 Like