Loving this comparison!
I find that push-stem comparisons are more indicative of spring weight rather than tactility. Since switches are pushed against each other, it becomes a matter of comparing springs rather than stem feel. Which seems to tally with the published numbers from Novelkeys_ webpage:
| Category | Speed Navy | Box Navy |
|---|---|---|
| Peak | 100g | 90g |
| Operating | 70g | 75g |
| Bottom | 100g | 90g |
These are some spectacular descriptions! Can imagine how they feel like from this 
A really custom, custom keeb case. It’s not mine, but I thought it was cool enough to share in this thread. This is a titanium case that’s possibly had the rose pattern dye-sublimated/water transfer printed onto the metal, but the info I got is for aluminum…it also looks like it’s been heat blued prior to the whole rose print thing.
I also asked caustic customs weeks ago if he could do something like this. He gave me a hard no on both titanium, and the doing of the pattern.
That’s all I got from my research. Seems the exact process is typically trade secret stuff for any firm that can do it.
Its a black GMMK Pro using the following:
The numpad is a GK21s in the ABS case variant that uses some Durock T1s with the stock 67g spring and 3203+Deskeys. Its only sideways so I can fit it into the frame, I’m working on getting accustomed to using it southpaw.
It took me a while to hone in on what I wanted but eventually I found that I didn’t really like keyboard bounce, specifically the vibration transfer across the keyboard plate. I liked really uniform typing feel even if it was on the firmer side, so long as the vibrations were damped completely. As for the lighting, I flip between off and rainbow (like in the image) depending on my mood. The rather…esoteric spring and switch combo for the modifier/stabilized keys are mostly because I wanted to try and match the perceived force needed for the keys to the alphas where possible.
I have my eye on the Frog TKL, Freebird TKL and Mode 80 but in all honesty, my typing needs are set and I use the knob a surprising amount every day for volume control on my speakers. I’m quite pleased with this combination.
Only took me six-ish weeks to get around to building it but hey, I did get there eventually! It’s a Kei R2 with a brass bottom that I picked up from the extras sale. It’s a board that I’ve always adored the look of so I consider myself lucky that I’m finally able to call this one mine. I have GMK Analog Dreams ready to go onto it but I was in the mood for something a bit more reserved so I’ve gone with ePBT 9009 for now.
Definitely still getting accustomed to it but so far I really love the sound of the board. It’s clacky but quieter than my Prophet that also has Cherry Blacks, likely thanks to the Seion sheet on the bottom. So far, so good. Couldn’t be happier with it, really.
What plate and switches did you build it with?
Polished Black Hyperglides on the matching full alu plate. Now that the plate files are released, I’m excited to eventually try a polypropylene plate or another similar material. I’ll pair it with my 4 flex cut Had60 PCB when that ships early next year. My only concern with that is how more flexible plates will behave with the gummy mount. I’m sure other people are going to try it, I think it’s still just a bit of unknown territory since the files have only been available for a week or so.
Ooh very nice. Let us know how your experiments go.
I didn’t know what I was going to do with the orange case, but I knew I wanted to do a build with it. When Skiidata came along in MT3 profile, it just sort of fell into place.
I had a model F-14 Tomcat as a kid, made of the same nuclear-orange plastic - maybe it reminds me of an old favorite toy, maybe I just like brightly colored translucent things.
I had Tangies in with a poly plate at first, but I didn’t like the sound.
Oh yeah! I tried this with the stabs:
Fiberglass PTFE tape in the stems and housings, PTFE thread tape for the wires. Surprisingly effective for an all-dry tuning approach, but I think the KBDfans stabs have a bit too much forward and back play to get totally satisfying results with it. I’ll have to try it with some other stabs next time I do a build.
That looks awesome. I got word that Skiidata shipped for me too. Now if they actually shipped it UPS I’ll see it next week. If by Fedex, probably next month.
Gosh. I gotta try them PTFE tapes some.
So true. My results exactly.
Just comparing notes, do you tape both the top and bottom of the stem (big ramp and little ramp) or just the top? I can’t ever get the bottom tape (little ramp) to stick after adding any kind of lube.
So far I’ve just tried this with the KBDfans ones, but that experience has me thinking it’s going to depend on the stem. In the case of those particular stems, there’s barely enough vertical clearance for the wire to allow for one side to be taped. I’ll be trying the mod in some other stabs at some point; I have some GMK and imitation Cherry screw-ins coming and I intend to do some testing with those.
So this I haven’t tried yet, but is next in queue for testing. So far it seems like the thin strips of tape have trouble sticking with any introduction of oil on a surface before sticking-down; I’m talking just my fingers here. I’m borderline obsessive with how much I wash my hands, and the oil on my fingertips is enough to compromise that adhesive when it comes to very small or thin pieces.
It also seems like it has trouble in general if there’s just a small flap after a bend, with the force of it wanting to straighten back out overcoming the adhesive if the initial application wasn’t just right.
I’m thinking at least when it comes to stems, the effectiveness of this tape will depend a lot on the dimensions of the stem, and how well the adhesive can grip its surface.
When it comes to housings, I already love its capacity to tighten-up tolerances and provide a slick surface without lube, but I definitely have a lot more to learn when it comes to getting the most out of the three different PTFE tapes I picked up recently.
So currently having some issues with stabs as well. The ones on the KBD67L ticks lightly on the spacebar if I try to hit it a bit harder and on the @Backspace (hehe, see what I did there).
Really want to keep these stabs because dropping 21 bucks on durock stabs is painful. If anyone has any way to get rid of tick please let me know. I’ve wire balanced, lubed, holee modded, and broken them in.
The enemy is lurking
Tick is my absolute nemesis.
I was just discussing with @ajoflo about KBDfans stabs, and how they have lots of forward-back play - which makes eliminating tick a lot more difficult.
Durocks are better for that than KBDfans’ polycarb stabs, but I honestly find them pretty tough to de-tick as well. So far I’ve had the most success with Nylon (polyamide) stabs - they’ll always have more travel texture than polycarb stabs, but I find them easier to silence when it comes to ticking.
What are some Nylon stabs that can work? I’m willing to lube if scratchy.
Easiest to find are GMK.
Cherry aren’t exactly rare, but harder to find - and often falsely conflated with GMK. Cherry sold their keycap tooling to GMK, but the stabs are different. I found clones of Cherry stabs somewhere, but at the moment I think all the vendors I frequent are out of “genuine” Cherry stabs.
Some random no-name ones are Nylon, but it’s hard to tell from a photo and they rarely specify. If the stabs are all-black they have a higher chance of being Nylon, but could be something else.
The important thing here is that polyamide is softer than polycarbonate - and that means it absorbs more high-frequency vibrations (like ticking). The sacrifice there is more grain in the travel. They can be plenty smooth, as in move freely with little to no extra resistance, but they will always have some level of grain that polycarb stabs won’t.
I thought I was finished with the Kara but I suppose that’s what I get for thinking. I’m apparently on a bit of a retro kick, seeing as this arrived today and with how I ended up building it. I missed my old Kara a bit so I picked one up in Soya, a color that I’ve come to really love the neutrality and slight retro vibes of. I disassembled it, cleaned it, tweaked the stabs, removed the band-aid mod, and set about building it back up. I originally was extremely excited to put my yet-unused Momoka Frogs in this but almost half of them had such an awful ping to them that I had to remove them and set them aside to work on another day. I think it’s leaf ping rather than spring ping, but I’ll need to test that theory. Either way, it sounded like I was rapping my fingers on the edge of a metal cup. Instead, I ended up doing the following:
Overall, I really like the sound of the Nixdorks in the Kara. I’ve been gravitating towards lighter spring weights lately so I was a little worried that the 65g springs would be too heavy but the lightness of the initial actuation still makes these nice to type on. The long pole isn’t too abrupt either - I wouldn’t mind the travel being a hair longer but I think it’s just enough to make a nice typing experience here. Overall, I think they complement each other really well to produce a nice, warm sound. I’m excited to have a Kara back in the family and getting to spend some more time with this thing!
Not the best photo but I’m enjoying the classic, no-frills typing of this KFE CE. Top mount, alu plate, Greetech browns, & CRP dyesubs. Sounds and feels just right.
