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What’s that? Another KBD67L configuration?
You bet it is!
Today I’m giving Durock Sea Glass and NK’s PBT Cherry Sand keyset a try, along with my trusty POM plate and R1 black case.
Too soon to have any developed thoughts - but they’re smooth, and have a medium weighting and mellow sound that I like. It really is all about the aesthetics with these, but being legitimately good linears makes for a nice bonus, I think.
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I promise I’m not trying to monopolize this thread, I just have switch ADD:
Tecsee Blue Sky Sun tactiles*
These aren’t new, and I don’t think you can even buy them anymore - but I realized I’ve had them for two years and I’m not sure I’ve even tried them yet.
I think they’re on the better side of on-par for Tecsee two years ago; that is: I think they feel great and sound OK - at least stock.
If a clean sound doesn’t matter that much to you, I’d say these are ready to rock from the box. The big top-bump is satisfying, and I don’t feel any grain. I think pretty much any and all negative feelings I have about these revolve around the somewhat inconsistent wiggly metallic sounds they make - not unlike other Tecsees.
There’s a hint of dry-ish rattle to the impact, but this is well mitigated by the material choice alone and isn’t enough to bug me on its own, and certainly not enough to stop me from enjoying these switches.
*The name:
they are definitely Tecsee’s Blue Sky switches, which where sold outside of the Drop sale I got these in - however, this specific variant with the yellow UHMWPE stems isn’t one I’ve seen elsewhere.
I’ve only seen the white POM-stemmed versions, sold on the Drop page as the “Cloud” variant. But what are these? “Stars” or “Suns”? Going by the variant I bought on the page, Stars - but looking more closely, not everything lines-up on that page - including the color choice.
It’s certainly trivial given I’ve only ever seen this switch variant on one sales page with inconsistent info, but I’m a good 95% sure these yellow-stemmed switches (with 0.5mm longer poles than the rest) were intended as the “Sun” variant, with the pale-gold ones being the “Star” variants.
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After a rebuild, I’m pleased to have my June on the desk today and to actually enjoy using it. Previously, I only used it a day or two before putting it on the shelf.
I didn’t like the way the Black Sesame v2 switches felt in it. Which is strange because I have the v1 switches in another board and like them a lot. Maybe it was the difference in mounting method. I don’t recall the difference between v1 and v2 switches. Maybe they have a different spring?
I also fixed an annoying space bar stabilizer issue. Turns out it was another case of lube getting under the stabilizer stem. This lead to slightly sticking at the bottom. The result felt very much like a warped space bar. I’m rather pleased to find it was something I could just disassemble and wipe clean.
Rebuilt with nyogel on the stabilizer wire and CIY Naraka switches. I like this combo a lot. 100% improvement rebuild and a big success.
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Another successful rework of a board. This is the fourth time I’ve rebuilt my frog mini, and the first time I like the results.
This time I added plate foam (foam between PCB and plate) and lubed Gateron Slay type A linears. Topped off with HSA keycaps.
Very happy with the results. Another board that normally just sits in its case has become a pleasant typing experience
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Looks the same as past pics, except for stepped Caps, but I rebuilt my Salvation plateless with an H60 and TTC Aces. Been typing on it today and very pleased with the results.
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This one just moved from workbench to desk today. No stabilizers 98%. DIY as much as is practical for my “workshop.” Handwired, 3D printed case, bespoke 102-key layout, laser dye-sub XDA keycaps (more on that below), laser cut “Masonite” plate, Kailh Box Jade, KMK on an RP2040.
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It’s early obviously, but I’m optimistic about this one. It feels pretty nice, and the Jades are almost as nice as the Navies, just missing that slight “kerchunk!” that the Navies have. The Jades are a bit snappier, and I agree that they may be ever so slightly louder, but I don’t think they dethrone my dark blue fingerbreakers.
After my last set of keycaps came out with some fairly obvious alignment issues, I rethought my jig and made a new one that could support 26 1u keys, plus one of arbitrary width. I also went with corner legends instead of centered, as that punishes a lack of accuracy much less, if you can at least get your setup repeatable. Then, I did clusters together in batches (i.e. all alphas in one run, all F keys together, etc.). The result is a much less jarring alignment situation. It would be ideal, if the plastic itself had cooperated. This PBT recipe didn’t like the infusible ink nearly as much as the DSA keycaps on my other no-stabs build. Legends are not as crisp as I’d like, and the colors are pretty muted, but the improved alignment makes this a modest victory.
Overall, I like (though not quite love) the way they came out, and the overall effect for the board, between the layout, case, and font, is a bit “Apple meets Logitech circa 2004,” which may or may not be a good thing, but it’s always satisfying to wrap one of these up.
More pics:
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I keep a Tofu with pbt keycaps on my desk as my daily driver and pull my more expensive/GMK builds out for enjoyment only. Am I the only one who does this?
Tofu Redux + NK Taro + Oil Kings
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Oh that’s sick. How’d you reroute the trace? Got pics?
Cool mouse. 
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I definitely have daily drivers with less precious bits that get a lot more miles than my aesthetic favorites
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The XD64 has a full 15x1U shift-row if you want.
Since I used a 2U left shift, I had one unused switch in the matrix.
In the bottom row, there is one switch spot (where I have the “Delete” now), which is originally wired together with the switch to the left oft it (Where I have the “Backspace” now).
But that switch is “the end of the line” so to speak. It’s just directly wired to the place besides it.
So while there is physically space for two 1U, both are connected to the same place in the switch matrix.
So I simply drilled a gap in the traces between them, and connected the now freed solder pads to the unused solder pads in the shift-row.
Hard to explain with just words, so here are two pics to hopefully clarify it.
A closeup:
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I know it’s not everyone’s cup o’ tea, but every now and then you need to paste a Razer-esque thirst trap for all the gamer bros to convert them to the Proper Side of the mechanical keyboard hobby. 
Blame Wooting, not me! 
Build Summary🛠️
- wilba.tech Salvation in Textured Red e-coat
- Wooting HE60+ module (HE PCB with PC plate and screw-in stabs)
- Geon Raptor HE switches
- Oshid Amber 3D legend PC keycaps
- Archetype Cerebrum Neruokolk (Amore)
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Finally got a chance to throw my CRP R4 set on with the Cyrillic alphas & I must say this looks really good on the burgundy of the Dolphin!
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Oh I like being able to see all the parts through the keys - lighting or no lighting (but we do love some lighting!). Your second glamourshot in particular makes me want to get some fully transparent caps for sure!
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Well, I can’t really recommend this set from Oshid as the kitting blows and is only on this setup because Wooting forces you to use the 6.25u space bar and regular caps lock… They look and sound great, but the kitting and abysmal communication throughout the whole Kickstarter campaign is guaranteeing that this is the last set I am buying from them. 
3 Likes