Author Topic: Seeking linear switch recommendation  (Read 4316 times)

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Offline trenzafeeds

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Seeking linear switch recommendation
« on: Thu, 10 September 2020, 13:56:18 »
Hey everyone, I've been out of the hobby for a number of years, but I have a KMAC mini clone taking up space in my apartment that I would like to finally build. I bought this board 4+ years ago (not exactly sure). At the time, the only serious MX-compatible switches on the market were gateron, cherry, and whatever Zeal managed to dream up. I was planning to build the board with vintage cherry blacks originally, but I'd like to get a bit caught up with what the options are nowadays before I make that commitment. A couple questions I have:

  • Are there manufacturers that I should be considering for high-end switches besides cherry/gateron/zeal?
  • Have gateron fixed the slight stem wobble on their linear switches? (this was a problem at the time I bought the board if I remember right)
  • If you're a fan of heavier, buttery-smooth linear switches yourself, which of the currently available options is your favorite?

Thank you to anyone that is able to provide some info, its nice to be back on geekhack!
« Last Edit: Thu, 10 September 2020, 15:18:20 by trenzafeeds »
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Offline Error213

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #1 on: Thu, 10 September 2020, 14:24:54 »
Gateron yellows ink blacks and alpacas

Offline trenzafeeds

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #2 on: Thu, 10 September 2020, 15:23:40 »
Gateron yellows ink blacks and alpacas

Thank you for the suggestion of alpacas, I've read a bit about them and they seem like a really good alternative. Do you have an opinion about how they stack up against vintage blacks themselves?
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Offline treeleaf64

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #3 on: Thu, 10 September 2020, 17:33:11 »
Vintage black brown and clear have best sounds of any mx switch

If you want something cheap and very good then use Ks3 Gateron   , they are only 15 cents a switch and they are as smooth as vintage black.
I would pick these over JWK switch because they are just the best possible value switch you can get. They are really nice. My favorite switch.

If you want the smoothest option then consider Jwk linear , they are 55 cents a switch . they are all recolors of each other, just pick spring weight you want

And if you want  to spend a lot of money then you can use Chetutil (cherry top Tealio )
Is it a Revo Kmac mini by any chance?
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Offline trenzafeeds

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #4 on: Fri, 11 September 2020, 08:43:31 »
Vintage black brown and clear have best sounds of any mx switch

If you want something cheap and very good then use Ks3 Gateron   , they are only 15 cents a switch and they are as smooth as vintage black.
I would pick these over JWK switch because they are just the best possible value switch you can get. They are really nice. My favorite switch.

If you want the smoothest option then consider Jwk linear , they are 55 cents a switch . they are all recolors of each other, just pick spring weight you want

And if you want  to spend a lot of money then you can use Chetutil (cherry top Tealio )
Is it a Revo Kmac mini by any chance?

Jwk is durock right? And what's the benefit of the newest tealios? Are they that much better than durock? Or are they pre lubed or something?

This will likely be my last build for quite a while, so I'm not so concerned about going the budget route. Not for switches anyway.

And it's an AMJ mini, chinese company that afaik didnt sell much outside china/korea. I bought it off yuktsi 4 or 5 years ago I think. I am replacing the pcb with Rama's new mini clone PCB. Technology has changed a lot recently :D
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Offline treeleaf64

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 12 September 2020, 18:26:28 »
Nah from what I can tell  they are the same smoothness as JWK but 2x more expensive. Yes, JWK is factory where Durock makes switches. I think Durock's just the store name.

 Ok if you don't care about price then I would put Gateron milky tops on JWK because the stock tops aren't that good for sound. It doesn't really do anything to smoothness once you lube the tops ~

Almost all  JWK are the same so it doesn't matter what switch you get, just make sure you have the spring weight that you want.
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Offline Error213

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 12 September 2020, 21:39:19 »
Gateron yellows ink blacks and alpacas

Thank you for the suggestion of alpacas, I've read a bit about them and they seem like a really good alternative. Do you have an opinion about how they stack up against vintage blacks themselves?
never used vintage Mx interested tho

Offline treeleaf64

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #7 on: Sun, 13 September 2020, 10:40:06 »
Gateron yellows ink blacks and alpacas

Thank you for the suggestion of alpacas, I've read a bit about them and they seem like a really good alternative. Do you have an opinion about how they stack up against vintage blacks themselves?
never used vintage Mx interested tho

Yellow ink v2 has leaf problem and is not as smooth anymore as v1  ( I don't remember if they had v1 of Gateron ink yellow)
Alpaca and other assorted Jwk are very smooth

Most vintage black you get will not be as smooth as these but they will sound good
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Offline trenzafeeds

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #8 on: Sun, 13 September 2020, 15:07:48 »
Nah from what I can tell  they are the same smoothness as JWK but 2x more expensive. Yes, JWK is factory where Durock makes switches. I think Durock's just the store name.

 Ok if you don't care about price then I would put Gateron milky tops on JWK because the stock tops aren't that good for sound. It doesn't really do anything to smoothness once you lube the tops ~

Almost all  JWK are the same so it doesn't matter what switch you get, just make sure you have the spring weight that you want.

Thanks, this is very helpful info.
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Offline treeleaf64

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #9 on: Mon, 14 September 2020, 09:07:14 »
You're welcome. Here is a typing video by my friend Andy. He has  Gateron milk top on the JWK switch bottom.

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Offline HungerMechanic

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #10 on: Mon, 14 September 2020, 10:04:02 »
tranzafeeds, I am not a linear pro, but I can provide some detail.

Durock linears are smooth, but the top housings could fit more tightly. The stock noise and upstroke characteristics are not great. Everybody will tell you to both lube and film them, then they are top-tier.

IMHO Durock linears are not a direct comparison to vintage blacks. My only experience with vints is those 'buttery' lubed ones, and stock Durocks are not like that. They have a 'skating' feel of one frictionless surface gliding over another.

You can of course lube them to achieve various feels. For vintage blacks, somebody tried to emulate the experience using JWK / Durock type switches. They were called H1s, made by HHHH. They still drop from time to time. 78 G. They have the best stock spring of any Durock style switch. I don't much like heavy springs, but these 78 were enjoyable, and felt lighter. The early batches were very smooth and pretty tight.

Are they like vint. blacks? I doubt it. But the aesthetic is there. You might want to take a look at that.

I second the reccs of Gateron Ink Blacks in terms of answering what you are looking for. They are one of the closest to your requirements.

You might want to look into the 8008 Ink switches that are in GB right now. They use Ink housings [which are good], no lube [so you can get it the way you want], and ship with a Gateron Yellow spring.

Don't get Ink Yellows tho.

Offline trenzafeeds

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #11 on: Wed, 30 September 2020, 17:06:06 »
tranzafeeds, I am not a linear pro, but I can provide some detail.

Durock linears are smooth, but the top housings could fit more tightly. The stock noise and upstroke characteristics are not great. Everybody will tell you to both lube and film them, then they are top-tier.

IMHO Durock linears are not a direct comparison to vintage blacks. My only experience with vints is those 'buttery' lubed ones, and stock Durocks are not like that. They have a 'skating' feel of one frictionless surface gliding over another.

You can of course lube them to achieve various feels. For vintage blacks, somebody tried to emulate the experience using JWK / Durock type switches. They were called H1s, made by HHHH. They still drop from time to time. 78 G. They have the best stock spring of any Durock style switch. I don't much like heavy springs, but these 78 were enjoyable, and felt lighter. The early batches were very smooth and pretty tight.

Are they like vint. blacks? I doubt it. But the aesthetic is there. You might want to take a look at that.

I second the reccs of Gateron Ink Blacks in terms of answering what you are looking for. They are one of the closest to your requirements.

You might want to look into the 8008 Ink switches that are in GB right now. They use Ink housings [which are good], no lube [so you can get it the way you want], and ship with a Gateron Yellow spring.

Don't get Ink Yellows tho.

Hey I'm a little late following up, but thank you very much for this, super informative comparison. I'm ordering some different options to test out and compare with vintage blacks (traditionally my favs). Who knows, maybe I'll discover a new favorite! thanks again to everyone for the help :)
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Offline shadowcelery

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Re: Seeking linear switch recommendation
« Reply #12 on: Wed, 07 October 2020, 11:47:12 »
I would definitely go with a jwk linear. There’s a reason why there’s so many runs that are just recolors of them.