Well I fell down the custom keyboard world.

This makes me irrationally angry... Probably because I spent half a day the other week lubing a ton of springs.

Bag lube, quick shake for about 5 mins and its done. Honestly it's just as good as hand lubing, probably more even too :cry:. I haven't hand lubed a spring for about a year now.
 
Bag lube, quick shake for about 5 mins and its done. Honestly it's just as good as hand lubing, probably more even too :cry:. I haven't hand lubed a spring for about a year now.
I've bag lubed springs, but find untangling them afterwards is just as much work and can make a mess. If I'm swapping a spring, I just give it a scrape with a brush with some permatex. I've never believed lubing springs makes any difference to feel, it's just damping mass to eliminate ping.
 
I've bag lubed springs, but find untangling them afterwards is just as much work and can make a mess. If I'm swapping a spring, I just give it a scrape with a brush with some permatex. I've never believed lubing springs makes any difference to feel, it's just damping mass to eliminate ping.

Yeah it can be a pita, i've had springs ping out of the bag when i've tried to grab them but i've figured if i just grab the loose ones first and then untangle the rest later its not as bad. Usually just means unwinding them does the job, just gotta be patient. I still much rather bag lube than hand lube each single one, takes far too long.
 
This is where I post the annoying "what starter keyboard should I get?" post.... sorry!

The Keychron K2 seems to be the go-to but I don't like the layout, the extra spacing on the V1/K8/Q1 seem more what I'm after, also seen some RK keyboards too. Looking for a solid frame and hot swappable but there are SO MANY CHOICES!

Bit of gaming, work from home so it'd be used for that too so nothing too noisy. Wireless isn't really needed, any extras like volume would be good. I've never felt the difference in keys in real life but from what I've read I think Red/Browns might suit me best?
 
Last edited:
This is where I post the annoying "what starter keyboard should I get?" post.... sorry!

The Keychron K2 seems to be the go-to but I don't like the layout, the extra spacing on the V1/K8/Q1 seem more what I'm after, also seen some RK keyboards too. Looking for a solid frame and hot swappable but there are SO MANY CHOICES!

Bit of gaming, work from home so it'd be used for that too so nothing too noisy. Wireless isn't really needed, any extras like volume would be good. I've never felt the difference in keys in real life but from what I've read I think Red/Browns might suit me best?
Nothing wrong with Keychron (I have several) but there are so many options for less money! And if you have no requirement for ISO, literally hundreds. Don't discount plastic cases- the Montech Mkey is a fantastic keyboard out of the box, sounds and feels amazing.

For ISO The Epomaker TH80Pro is also plastic and great, and there's a new version that I believe has a gasket mount. Monsgeek M1 is aluminium, feels very premium and has lots of configuration options.

Lots of newcomers go for the Glorious GMMK (non Pro). I'd avoid, it's not expensive but not great. The Pro is way better, but overpriced in my opinion.

One nice thing about Keychron is that they all support QMK. Once you've become addicted and have 10+ keyboards, this will become a consideration :) Additionally, one advantage of the Keychron Q series is that you can use them as body armour in the event of an infantry invasion (.....probably)
 
I think I want to go with ISO, hadn't really twigged before but it's what I'm used to and I'm old and stubborn :D How do people find it? Can't say I feel like i use the enter key much but it feels 'wrong'

I'd probably choose an ISO V1 but they only seem to do it in transparent, seems V1 suit my budget better than the £100+ kits :/

... Once you've become addicted and have 10+ keyboards, this will become a consideration ...

Noooo, this won't happen to me, I have far too much willpower...
 
Last edited:
I think I want to go with ISO, hadn't really twigged before but it's what I'm used to and I'm old and stubborn :D How do people find it? Can't say I feel like i use the enter key much but it feels 'wrong'

I'd probably choose an ISO V1 but they only seem to do it in transparent, seems V1 suit my budget better than the £100+ kits :/



Noooo, this won't happen to me, I have far too much willpower...

My first board cost £50, my second cost £600 and it just escalated from there :cry:. I now only have 3 boards and 1 on GB which should be delivered shortly. Maybe one more and im done, really want to own a Matrix Lab board, the Navi.
 
QK65v2 seemingly on the way, will be keeping an eye on it. Anyone have experience with the v1?

Missed out on the Neo and keep looking at the Envoy.
 
Gone with a Keychron V1 for £60, gives me hot swap, RGB and a volume knob which was kinda a selling point that isn't on many reasonably priced keyboards.
This should let me get into the swing of things and also play with different switches, I might buy a few of different types to try but I imagine the reds are going to be best for me. Any recommendations for switches to try?
 
Last edited:
Also, any good custom keycap sellers you guys like?
I'll be asking for the portal orange/blue ones I've seen for Christmas to use for [ & ], although is having a key for R4 on R3 a big problem?
 
Last edited:
How's your typing? Bear in mind Reds are very pretty light, so good for gaming but somewhat unforgiving for clumsy typists. My typing is terrible, so I find a heavier linear much more satisfying. Akko Radiant Reds are nicely lubed and transmissive if you're into RGB, but I'd honestly recommend Gateron Oil Kings for the best feel if you don't mind spending a little more. KS-9 Blacks are a pingy mess out of the box in my experience, but lubed up can be made even better than Oil Kings and they are RGB compatible. Best stock bang/buck I've found are Epomaker Flamingos (and Budgerigars are fantastic if you want a medium heavy tactile).
 
Last edited:
How's your typing? Bear in mind Reds are very pretty light, so good for gaming but somewhat unforgiving for clumsy typists. My typing is terrible, so I find a heavier linear much more satisfying. Akko Radiant Reds are nicely lubed and transmissive if you're into RGB, but I'd honestly recommend Gateron Oil Kings for the best feel if you don't mind spending a little more. KS-9 Blacks are a pingy mess out of the box in my experience, but lubed up can be made even better than Oil Kings and they are RGB compatible. Best stock bang/buck I've found are Epomaker Flamingos (and Budgerigars are fantastic if you want a medium heavy tactile).
My typing is.. OK I guess, not too clumsy.

Gateron oil kings seems to be ~ £6.50 for 10, radiant reds about half that price, is it worth paying for the lube service (never imagined I type that)

So many options, so how many boxes of switches you bought just to try does everyone have as I see this in my near future :D
 
Received my Epomaker RT100 in Grey yesterday (ordered directly from Epomaker on the 26th). I got it with the Wisteria Linear Switches. Its not a bad typing experience so far and not a bad sound, little bit more clack on the thunk than the Keychron on first impressions, but it so far seems to be a better 96% for me in the numpad/arrow key area.

Main things I have noticed is the little screen is very much a gimmick, it shows the time and gif okay, but the temp is location and not CPU and doesnt auto update from what I can see and the cpu % (on mine at least) just sits at 0%, and lets not talk about the backwards date on it. The one other thing I have noticed is the NumLock, CapsLock and WinLock lights do not seem to be working.

C0DOKx9.jpg
 
Last edited:
My typing is.. OK I guess, not too clumsy.

Gateron oil kings seems to be ~ £6.50 for 10, radiant reds about half that price, is it worth paying for the lube service (never imagined I type that)

So many options, so how many boxes of switches you bought just to try does everyone have as I see this in my near future :D

I bought the regular ("unlubed") Radiant Reds, they're fine and feel great. I think they use a dry lube if at all, but the stems are POM plastic which means they feel pretty smooth anyway. Oil kings I spent the extra for lube, so I haven't tried the regular version. They're like typing on butter.

Bear in mind the sound profiles between the two are very distinct, although obviously the board also influences this, but in my experience Radiants are mid to high pitched and clacky. Oil kings are lower pitched and thocky.

You'll end up with loads of spare switches. Just remember- the best place to store them is in a keyboard ;)
 
My V1 turned up, liking it so far however I do think I should have gone for something with a numpad as I noticed I missed it straight away.
Going to pick up a single cherry MX brown RGB and random other singles to see how a tactile feels.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom