How do WASD keycaps compare with Filco?

[pauld]

I use dvorak layout and have been looking for a keyboard with a physical dvorak layout.  After considering various options (and asking a few questions on this forum) I've decided that I'll have to stick with software mapping, and have bought a Filco Minila keyboard.  It arrived today and first impression is very good.

I'd still like to have dvorak layout on the keycaps though.  I know I could use blanks (have been doing at home for the last couple of years) or just stick with qwerty layout (do that on my laptop) but for those times when you're eating pizza with one hand and holding up a credit card to see the numbers on it with the other and trying to fill in a form with a single remaining finger, life is much easier with the keys showing the letter they will actually type.  I know this for a fact as I use an old Sun keyboard at work and you can just move the keycaps around on those, they are all the same profile.

There are a few limiting factors:
- I use an ISO keyboard
- I use the X11 dvorakukp variant
- the Minila has some non-standard sized keys, eg spacebar
which mean it's pointless buying a full set of keys as things like braces would be wrong profile (row 4 in most sets but row 3 in dvorakukp).

My conclusion after all that is that pretty much the only option is to buy a WASD 59 key ISO set and use only the letters and the ? key (different position but same row in dvorak and dvorakukp) and leave all the other keys in place.  I remap a couple of other keys as well but could try single caps or just live with the existing labels.

My basic question is: has anyone tried mixing WASD and Filco keycaps like this and, if so, how does it look?  If the difference is hard to spot, I'll probably go for black keys with white legends and the whole thing should look pretty uniform.  However, if the final effect would be weird because the keys would obviously be two different types, maybe slightly different sizes or colours or fonts, it would probably be better to get a different colour so it doesn't look as if it's all trying to blend in and failing.  Also, if anyone has tried this and thinks the effect is uniform, it's probably worth spending extra on a few custom keys, but since the extra few would almost double the price of the set, it's not worth it if they'd look terrible.  I've got plenty of blanks I could use.

A supplementary question would be: any other suggestions?  However, NB my lengthy (sorry!) preamble and please don't suggest blank keys etc.  I don't fancy stickers much either.

Many thanks!

[zslane]

Comparing them side by side, they are virtually identical in terms of size and shape and thickness/weight. I don't think you'd be able to tell them apart on that basis.

Typeface is probably where you'd notice a difference. I'm not sure if any of WASD's standard legend options match the Filco caps exactly. You could submit your own keycap legend graphics to them, but you'd have to figure out (or scan) the typeface used by Filco and recreate their legend design yourself, which can be a lot of work.

I'm also not convinced that white print on black keys would look the same between them since I don't think they use the same opaque inks.

[rowdy]

If you don't mind uniform profile, there are plenty of nice DSA sets.  Not sure about the X11 dvorakukp layout, but you could use blanks on any missing keys as a last resort.

http://pimpmykeyboard.com/keysets/

[pauld]

zslane: many thanks, it's good to know about the size/shape, and good point about the fonts etc - you absolutely right that no two whites ever match!  I think that clarifies it for me that it would be best to go with a different colour set.

rowdy: am I right in thinking that you can only get the DSA sets from SP?  I had already had a browse of what they offer and there are some good sets.  The problem is that they are almost all limited in terms of what they still have available.  For example, I came across this review https://deskthority.net/group-buys-f50/granite-set-100-pbt-dye-sub-dsa-t7697.html and there is an enormous range of key packs available that would cover all my needs, but afaict they don't have it any more.  I don't have an issue with uniform profiles, have probably done far more typing on this sort of key over the years than any other, but I think they would look odd sitting next to OEM keys so I'd want to replace all of them and that doesn't look possible.  Maybe I need to sign up for the next group buy though no idea how to do that.  I think it's probably the WASD keys for now, though the SP ones look like they might be better made.

Anyway, thanks both for your help.

[rowdy]

Yes, many of those sets were limited runs, and whatever is left is in their store.

Keep an eye on group buys - they do come up from time to time, and even have a say in interest checks, if you want to try to steer a particular buy in a certain direction.

[zslane]

On SP's webstore you can buy full sets of generic dyesub PBT keycaps in DSA profile in a number of colors. I've purchased white, light gray, medium gray, and blue in the past. In fact, you can get the same gray shades as Granite.

[Hyde]

WASD and Filco both use Costar as their OEM manufacturer.  So most likely as people mentioned it should be identical.

Just the font might be different because different client might specify different font.

I say just get it from WASD and it should match perfectly.