geekhack
geekhack Community => New Members => Topic started by: pelicularities on Fri, 20 November 2015, 16:14:42
-
... I finally discovered the world of mechanical keyboards.
I bought a Das Keyboard Model S Professional for Mac in the fall of 2012 and fell in love. At the time, I thought it was going to be a keyboard for life. (My roommate wasn't too pleased.)
A few months ago, I walked past a Corsair K95 at an electronics store and poked at the keys, and walked away feeling superior about using Blues rather than linear switches.
Inexplicably, the next week, I went back, and poked at it again. And again. And again. And then I wanted a keyboard with Reds.
(This is what having an affair must feel like, I thought.)
So I ordered a switch tester through Massdrop. I was already a Massdrop member because of their EDC community, but having the Mech Keys Massdrop community right there definitely made it *cough* easier to get into mechanical keyboards.
The switch tester arrived, and then I fell in love with Gateron Clears. And also Cherry Clears and Cherry Greens - don't ask me what the logic is, there isn't any.
I'm now waiting for my Varmilo VB87M with Gateron Clears to arrive, and with my next paycheck, I'm planning to get the parts for a Planck with Cherry Clears and have a go at building my own keyboard. And also some Cherry Greens and a controller to turn my switch tester into a numpad, just in case I feel I need one when moving over from a full-size to a TKL keyboard.
-
Yeah, it starts with one switch. Than 3, than topre's, than alps, than buckling springs and artisans and classifieds and then house repossession.
Welcome to wallethack
-
How did you know I was looking at Topres next? :eek: :eek: :eek:
-
Its just the way it goes. Always MX switch, topre, then alps/buckling spring
-
I actually went (unknowingly) from BS to ALPS to MX. The BS was used when I was younger and ALPS were on the keyboard I found and started using when I started at my new job. I then did some research, found out I had been using ALPS and had used BS in the past, and jumped on my first MX board.
Welcome to the club mate, protect your wallet though!
-
Its just the way it goes. Always MX switch, topre, then alps/buckling spring
Haha, don't worry - I caught the joke ;) it's just a bit too real though...
-
Its just the way it goes. Always MX switch, topre, then alps/buckling spring
Haha, don't worry - I caught the joke ;) it's just a bit too real though...
I made a joke? What was joke? :)
-
Its just the way it goes. Always MX switch, topre, then alps/buckling spring
Haha, don't worry - I caught the joke ;) it's just a bit too real though...
I made a joke? What was joke? :)
I wish this forum had a like button!
-
Its just the way it goes. Always MX switch, topre, then alps/buckling spring
Haha, don't worry - I caught the joke ;) it's just a bit too real though...
I made a joke? What was joke? :)
I wish this forum had a like button!
*presses like button
-
Welcome to Geekhack!
Cherry clears and greens are a lot heavier than the other switches you've listed. Are you gradually finding a preference for heavier switches?
-
Welcome to Geekhack!
Cherry clears and greens are a lot heavier than the other switches you've listed. Are you gradually finding a preference for heavier switches?
I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed greens and clears, too, because based on what I read on paper, I didn't think I'd like them. And yet I also love the Gateron Clear! I think what's happening is that I'm finding that I enjoy very light linear switches and very heavy tactile switches, with different use cases for each of them.
This is all theoretical at the moment as the only switch I've actually used extensively is the Greetech Blue, but I think I'll enjoy typing (as in writing, blogging, etc.) on Gateron Clears. Typing on a Cherry Red keyboard feels a little like using a fountain pen - super smooth, with no resistance from the tool at all. I'm also into fountain pens, and while some fountain pen enthusiasts like a little bit of scratchiness from their pens to let them know the pen is there, I don't. I want the words to glide out of my head straight onto the page or the screen, and light linear switches let me do that.
Tactile switches evoke a different memory for me. I used to shoot 10m air rifle, and I was taught to "ride" the trigger - aim, depress the trigger partway until you feel resistance, refine the aim, and then actuate the trigger. On my Das Keyboard I often find myself resting my fingers on the keys and depressing them until just before the actuation point as I think about what I'm going to type. (Yes, I know I won't be able to do this with linear switches.) It's a lot more deliberate, and I'm a lot more aware of the keys under my fingers as I type. Based on the switch tester, I found that I enjoyed the greater resistance of the Cherry Greens and Clears precisely because of this increased tactility. When put next to all the other switch options on a switch tester, the Blues and Browns feel neither here nor there for me - too light to be pleasurably tactile, too tactile to be pleasurably smooth. I feel like this goes against all conventional wisdom about switches, but hey, the best switch is the best switch for you, etc etc etc.
Hence the logic behind my current keyboard acquisition plan: Gateron Clears on a daily-use keyboard for writing and thinking with. Greens on a numpad, for precision when inputting numbers. And Cherry Clears on a Planck as a happy medium. I suspect in the long run, for desktop use, I might gravitate towards a custom-built full-size keyboard with different switches for alphas, modifiers and numpad keys. We'll find out :)
-
Thanks for the explanation :)
Btw we have a writing/fountain pen thread (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=59329.0) too!