Keychron K4v2 purchased last week, and just got some YMDK Matcha double shot shine throughs and Akko Lavender Purples in the mail today. Spent about 45 minutes switching everything out, and I’ve got to say, I might have been converted from a clicky switch person to a tactile switch person. Really loving the sound and the feel so far.
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Welcome to the rabbithole! Those Akkos are pretty darn good, aren’t they?
The tactile space has the most actual variety, though much of that pools around a handful of popular styles with minor variations on those themes. Say that to say; if you like the Lavender Purples, there’s probably a good handful of other tactiles you’ll enjoy, too.
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My order from Cerakeys arrived and they did not disappoint. They’re absolutely beautiful and even the carriers are cool.
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bottom right sheesh
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Oh man. That’s really neat and I had no idea they existed - thanks for putting those on my radar.
If Delftware ever runs again, these folks need to be involved, right? I’m envisioning a really legit artisan or two… or maybe even a whole blue and white glazed keyset.
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Ceramic Enter key would be my choice.
So the set they’re coming out with will have all the keys, and I would imagine they may offer them individually at some point. Maybe anyway.
That’s what I was thinking as well. Delftware on actual ceramic keys would be outstanding.
There’s a big thing around Urushi keycaps in the Topre community and I could see them glazing some ceramic caps in a brown to get a similar effect.
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How’s the fit on switches, and does the stem seem malleable/adjustable enough to work with a variety of stems?
I just tried and they slide over the stem pretty nicely. I’m sure it will depend a lot on the mold of the stem itself, but I’m fairly confident that due to the non-compliant nature of ceramic, any oversized stem is going to be problematic.
The sockets though are super crisp.
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Ceramic Enter key would be broken in a week. 
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Happy to report that I got some Glorious Panda switches today to try out.
I have to say that I am quite happy with them! Lubed them lightly on the inside of the bottom housing and on the spring – didn’t touch the stem. As a result, sound even more decent (it was tolerable stock). Also played with placing the Glorious Panda stem into Boba housing for slight but interesting effect: seems to reduce pre-travel?
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Ooh, that’s good. The all white blanks are an appealing set…
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I do really love them! I’m glad I went for the Akkos instead of a more expensive set; they definitely do the job and seem unique among the “budget” switch sets. Now if I could only find some 1800 layout shine-through replacement keys for the missing pieces in the keycap set I bought, then I’d be golden. Right now, I’m using an R1 end key and R1 end, pgup, and pgdown keys, which detracts a little from the aesthetic, but don’t want to get a whole other keycap set to replace them.
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I’ve had my eye on them for a while since they were advertised to me on Instagram - curious how they hold up long term but also tempted to get a set for an entire keyboard if that ever comes (and it seems that’s what is being worked on). Glad these “small batch” ones turned out so nice!
Random things that came in this week or so:
- TX Long springs from Mekibo
- Detail factory brushes - from Amazon, Very soft! One dusting keyboards and the other for the car
- Solder supplies - from Amazon, thin solder and flux pen
- Knipex ESD Tweezers - from Amazon, expensive but also perfect. Great for surface component soldering or other very fine work.
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My office now has a window to Keeb Town
Been keeping this one in the tube until I got a frame for it, which I did today.
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Finally arrived!
Now I can finally finish the endgame build for the short future.
Gonna use them unlubed for a while and see if they get better to maximize the smoothness factor.
Unlubed they’re not that good compared to other switches, but I don’t really care about using them stock.
I hope JWK didn’t change the mold for the worse from the last time I’ve purchased switch samples from Durock’s store.
Because once lubed they’re pretty great from my little experience.
The switches sit quite tight on the PCB seembky, causing my R2 KBD67Lite PCB assembly to bend upwards a bit, not that bad, but it’s not great to see, hope it doesn’t cause damage in the long run.
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This is actually a minor design flaw with the R2-and-forward plate; I’ve built three and all did the same. R1 plate doesn’t, aftermarket plates don’t - just the stock poly one with the embedded standoffs.
I don’t think it will cause damage, but there’s a chance it could strain the sockets over time. I really think it will be fine, but if peace of mind is worth more to you than the cost of a plate, there are lots of options for this keeb.
I’m typing on a black POM one now (which you can also get in white), and I’m also a big fan of the FR4 ones - and if you ask, I think KBDfans will send you the file to have a custom one cut if that’s your thing.
As for the EV-01s, my experience has been the same with them: bone-dry, JWKs aren’t that impressive, but with even a so-so lube job they really come alive. Mine are pre-retool; all the sources I’ve seen say the post-retool ones are better and I’ve got no complaints, so I’d say you’re good there.
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While it’s curved the case seems to bent it back to shape so I think in terms of the PCB it’s fine, I’m more worried about wear on the plate or it getting damaged.
When was the retool? the original Durock switch samples I got were in May 2021, then I got some more samples in Sep 2021 (4 months after) and they were different.
The newer samples had crystal clear housing, much tigher housing that doesn’t require films after opening.
And they also had this plasticy resistance, kind of hard to explain but while they were better in most aspects, I didn’t like their feeling.
The EV-01 switches I got were ordered in this April, they aren’t super shiny and smooth like the newer samples, so I might not have got the retooled ones.
Here’s a photo comparing my original samples and the allegedly retooled ones that I got couple months after:
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