geekhack

geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: mielouk on Wed, 15 May 2019, 08:04:26

Title: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: mielouk on Wed, 15 May 2019, 08:04:26
After I've revived my DasKeyboard Ultimate with new switches, I've been looking for new keycaps. The old ones got shiny and as a result, quite sticky.

First things first, I'm looking for a full set of keycaps. They should be thick, blank, ISO keycaps with a 6.25 spacebar and should have a relatively rough surface on top that doesn't wear as fast as the old ones did. (AFAIK DasKeyboard uses thin ABS caps with a Cherry profile?) 
After some research I thought that the SP DCS profile would fit my needs, but it apparently fell out of favour because of the thin keycaps. The sculpted SP SA caps look gorgeous, but they have a smooth top and the top row seems be difficult to reach.

So why not stick with the cherry profile, which I've been quite happy with up till now. https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/105-key-iso-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html (https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/105-key-iso-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html) but the shipping cost is nearly the cost of the keycaps themselves.

Do you have suggestions on what keycaps to choose?
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: LightningXI on Wed, 15 May 2019, 08:05:30
After I've revived my DasKeyboard Ultimate with new switches, I've been looking for new keycaps. The old ones got shiny and as a result, quite sticky.

First things first, I'm looking for a full set of keycaps. They should be thick, blank, ISO keycaps with a 6.25 spacebar and should have a relatively rough surface on top that doesn't wear as fast as the old ones did. (AFAIK DasKeyboard uses thin ABS caps with a Cherry profile?) 
After some research I thought that the SP DCS profile would fit my needs, but it apparently fell out of favour because of the thin keycaps. The sculpted SP SA caps look gorgeous, but they have a smooth top and the top row seems be difficult to reach.

So why not stick with the cherry profile, which I've been quite happy with up till now. https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/105-key-iso-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html (https://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/products/keycap-set/105-key-iso-cherry-mx-keycap-set.html)
Just use Cherry profile. It's the best.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: mielouk on Wed, 15 May 2019, 08:10:16
And where would I get thick, blank, ISO, Cherry keycap sets in the EU. Ordering from WASDkeyboards is quite expensive. Especially as I'm not convinced of their quality, yet.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: LightningXI on Wed, 15 May 2019, 08:11:17
And where would I get thick, blank, ISO, Cherry keycap sets in the EU. Ordering from WASDkeyboards is quite expensive. Especially as I'm not convinced of their quality, yet.
Just look up on eBay of your country, there could be some interesting finds.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: dexie on Thu, 16 May 2019, 00:12:39
In EU you might check kbdfans (https://kbdfans.cn/collections/cherry-profile) for cheap cherry keycaps. Other from that there are some EU-based mk shops. https://mykeyboard.eu/ and
https://candykeys.com/ are the biggest ones. http://www.ukkeycaps.co.uk/ might have a lot of interesting keycap sets
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: mielouk on Thu, 16 May 2019, 12:10:41
In EU you might check kbdfans (https://kbdfans.cn/collections/cherry-profile) for cheap cherry keycaps. Other from that there are some EU-based mk shops. https://mykeyboard.eu/ and
https://candykeys.com/ are the biggest ones. http://www.ukkeycaps.co.uk/ might have a lot of interesting keycap sets

Thx for the info. I knew of Mykeyboard and Candykeys (bought my switches there), but both don't have what I'm looking for. UKkeycaps is new to me, but they don't have what I want either. Kbdfans seems interesting and the 15$ DHL express shipping is also not excessive, but it's still China. Is there sufficient evidence that they are a trustworthy company?

yaa there are ots of those available on ebay..i just now checked it....Infact lucrative offers are available on almost every of them

Well, on eBay I find enjoyPBT offerings from China (again from kbdfans!?) or MAXKeyboard from California. None from Europe. Is it prevalent for keycaps to be bought internationally?


So what it boils down to is MAXkeyboard VS enjoyPBT. As I'm looking for a non-translucent blank keyset I would go with the higher quality PBT ones from kbdfans, if they are a reliable source. MAXkeys blank keysets are made of ABS and the translucent PBT ones look really ugly.
 

Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: dexie on Fri, 17 May 2019, 00:01:30
In EU you might check kbdfans (https://kbdfans.cn/collections/cherry-profile) for cheap cherry keycaps. Other from that there are some EU-based mk shops. https://mykeyboard.eu/ and
https://candykeys.com/ are the biggest ones. http://www.ukkeycaps.co.uk/ might have a lot of interesting keycap sets

Thx for the info. I knew of Mykeyboard and Candykeys (bought my switches there), but both don't have what I'm looking for. UKkeycaps is new to me, but they don't have what I want either. Kbdfans seems interesting and the 15$ DHL express shipping is also not excessive, but it's still China. Is there sufficient evidence that they are a trustworthy company?

yaa there are ots of those available on ebay..i just now checked it....Infact lucrative offers are available on almost every of them

Well, on eBay I find enjoyPBT offerings from China (again from kbdfans!?) or MAXKeyboard from California. None from Europe. Is it prevalent for keycaps to be bought internationally?


So what it boils down to is MAXkeyboard VS enjoyPBT. As I'm looking for a non-translucent blank keyset I would go with the higher quality PBT ones from kbdfans, if they are a reliable source. MAXkeys blank keysets are made of ABS and the translucent PBT ones look really ugly.

KBDFans is probably the most recommended vendor out there, super cool guys with flawless customer support. You can also get ePBT through KBDFans!

About MaxKeyboard. I own one keyset from them, and if I had to compare it to any other cheap keycaps I have (kprepulic, ePBT, kbdafans) MAXKeyboard would be on the last place.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: tex_live_utility on Fri, 17 May 2019, 02:07:49
Yes, it's totally normal to buy stuff internationally. Some people in the West even use proxy services to shop on China-only sites like Taobao.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: Surefoot on Fri, 17 May 2019, 04:20:58
There are quite a few good sources for PBT keycap sets in China. They are definitely improving in quality, too.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: mielouk on Fri, 17 May 2019, 05:12:34
KBDFans is probably the most recommended vendor out there, super cool guys with flawless customer support. You can also get ePBT through KBDFans!

About MaxKeyboard. I own one keyset from them, and if I had to compare it to any other cheap keycaps I have (kprepulic, ePBT, kbdafans) MAXKeyboard would be on the last place.

Yes, it's totally normal to buy stuff internationally. Some people in the West even use proxy services to shop on China-only sites like Taobao.

That is very good to know! Thx!

There are quite a few good sources for PBT keycap sets in China. They are definitely improving in quality, too.

Could you name a few? I'd prefer an European source, because of possible customs issues and buyer security.
Title: Re: Keycap profiles are confusing
Post by: Surefoot on Fri, 17 May 2019, 06:13:34
Krepublic, Mechanical Primitive, Dongguan Kuangtai PBT (their XDAS sets are excellent)