That depends on how much you use it and how dirty/oily your hands are.
For some people under light usage they might not shine for a year.
The space bar is usually the first to start shining, hence why a lot of sets provide space bars are optional extras.
Thanks for the replies.
I bought the Ducky PBT on Massdrop but I'm reconsidering now.
I think I may perhaps get the GMK Dolch that's on Massdrop.
Anyone here have both GMK ABS and BSP PBT and can comment?
Thanks for the replies.PBT will take longer than GMK ABS to shine, but after years of use will eventually shine, GMK will shine in about a year of heavy use if you don't have too oily of hands. I have both but haven't use my GMK long enough to get any shine and my BSP/other PBT sets definitely have no shine.
I bought the Ducky PBT on Massdrop but I'm reconsidering now.
I think I may perhaps get the GMK Dolch that's on Massdrop.
Anyone here have both GMK ABS and BSP PBT and can comment?
I actually have OG Dolch caps, as well as some newer GMK caps. They are my favorite caps. PBT dyesubs are nice, but those Ducky PBT caps on Massdrop have etched legends?? I don't think I would like the feel of that at all, and they will accumulate dirt very easily. The price is a huge difference but if I were getting those PBTs I would only get the blanks, because those etched legends would feel weird and bother me too much.
PBT will take longer than GMK ABS to shine, but after years of use will eventually shine, GMK will shine in about a year of heavy use if you don't have too oily of hands. I have both but haven't use my GMK long enough to get any shine and my BSP/other PBT sets definitely have no shine.
What board are you wanting to put these on? As BSP doesn't have 1.25 standard bottom rows, so if it isn't 84/86 key layout you can't use it without supplementing keys for the bottom row.
Personally I like BSP over GMK but that is an unpopular opinion as many people here rave about GMK. Just I like ultra-smooth keys which BSP is the king of, but the color choices you get with ABS makes the occasional set appealing.
I have a Filco Majestouch 2 (with WinKey).. I'm rather unfamiliar with keycaps so I'm not sure what would fit my keyboard. Would I be able to use BSP easily?Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.
Do people like GMK over BSP because of the color choices or do people actually generally prefer the feel of GMK ABS over BSP? My default was to try to get BSP because PBT would take longer to shine although I haven't tried either. I may end up getting GMK because they seem more easily available (through various group-buys) and have more color choices.
I did some gaming for a couple months on my GMK dolch and it got shiny on the wasd keys and the spacebar. Even the E key as well.
After months of extremely extended periods of gaming on my Realforce with their standard PBT keycaps I have zero shine. (excluding the spacebar which is ABS)
That being said, Realforce has extremely good quality on their PBT so keep that in mind. Other companies may have less durable PBT.
At the end of the day, even though GMK has top quality, no amount of quality can change the inherent properties of a material.
ABS is still ABS and PBT is still PBT. GMK caps are good but they aren't invincible.
Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.
I agree..GMK is top quality but it will still shine easier than good PBT...there is no doubt about that at all.
Is that a big deal? I dunno...for some no..for some yes...GMK keycaps feel nice and solid..but they do feel different than good PBT..not bad different..just different..
But given the choice between Ducky PBT with ENGRAVED vs. GMK...no brainer..GMK....Thick Ducky PBT w/ Dye Sub...I like both..
Layout, the height makes no difference on what they are compatible to. The layout needs a 1.5 1 1.5 7 1.5 1 1.5 or 1.5 _ 1.5 7 1.5 _ 1.5 bottom row and the Majestouch 2 along with most modern boards has 1.25 1.25 1.25 6.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 bottom row.Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.
Why wouldn't BSP fit? Is it because of the height of the keys or is it because of the layout that BSP uses?
I actually have OG Dolch caps, as well as some newer GMK caps. They are my favorite caps. PBT dyesubs are nice, but those Ducky PBT caps on Massdrop have etched legends?? I don't think I would like the feel of that at all, and they will accumulate dirt very easily. The price is a huge difference but if I were getting those PBTs I would only get the blanks, because those etched legends would feel weird and bother me too much.
Actually I didn't even consider that etched legends would probably accumulate dirt.. I'm definitely cancelling that now. Thanks a lot for that idea. BTW, How do the OG Dolch caps compare with GMK caps?
Layout, the height makes no difference on what they are compatible to. The layout needs a 1.5 1 1.5 7 1.5 1 1.5 or 1.5 _ 1.5 7 1.5 _ 1.5 bottom row and the Majestouch 2 along with most modern boards has 1.25 1.25 1.25 6.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 1.25 bottom row.
I don't notice a big difference between OG and GMK. I think the OG are slightly "slippery"-er, if I can put it that way, but I'm not even sure I'd be able to tell the difference by feel alone.
Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.I was thinking of doing the same thing (having stock bottom from a Gateron Dyesub set and rest alpha & mods from a BSP Keyset), because I have a modern bottom 1.25 1.25 layout.
Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.I was thinking of doing the same thing (having stock bottom from a Gateron Dyesub set and rest alpha & mods from a BSP Keyset), because I have a modern bottom 1.25 1.25 layout.
Will there be any obvious color difference when they are placed on the same keyboard since they are from different sets?
Yea BSP wouldn't be able to fit on that board without using the stock bottom row or one from another set, a Vortex or Gateron Dyesub set from a IMSTO groupbuy would work though.I was thinking of doing the same thing (having stock bottom from a Gateron Dyesub set and rest alpha & mods from a BSP Keyset), because I have a modern bottom 1.25 1.25 layout.
Will there be any obvious color difference when they are placed on the same keyboard since they are from different sets?
There is some differance, as I've done that with my BSP and Vortex Red on Beige sets before, it's not super noticable but you can tell the differance as Vortex uses a darker grey and lighter beige
Took a quick comparison shot for you, not sure which sets your trying to mix but here's these.Show Image(http://i.imgur.com/WRnBLo1.jpg)
Vortex on the left, BSP on the right.
Is the shine from oils on our fingers or is ABS worn easier and just becoming smooth and reflective from the wear? I wonder if the shiny areas could be sanded down effectively..
Does anyone have an ABS SA set with shine? If the shine is from the texture on keycaps being worn smooth and reflective it may never show on an already completely smooth set.