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geekhack Community => Keyboards => Topic started by: asgeirtj on Wed, 19 July 2017, 11:29:51

Title: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: asgeirtj on Wed, 19 July 2017, 11:29:51
Long time MX user here. I use Zealios because I think they are the smoothest MX, however, at least with tactile switches, there seems to be the issue of stratchyness. This is fixed mostly with lubing, but I think lubing goes away in about a year, and I can't be bothered to lube my boards so often. Does anyone experience something similar? Topre is smooth as a butter imo but the feeling is not to my taste. Even regular rubber dome is smoother, but it is mushy of course. I think MX is best because of customization, I think this is the only flaw with it, I wonder if there is some solution?
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: Auk on Wed, 19 July 2017, 11:37:36
Scratchy feeling MX is complained about more and more I noticed. It's interesting that this now appears:

     CHERRY switches have NEW stems, supersmooth! (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88031.0)

Also the recent iterations of Kailh switchs are often claimed to be smoother.

Perhaps Cherry's tooling was simply end of life, worn out and long overdue for refresh?
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: asgeirtj on Wed, 19 July 2017, 11:58:16
Scratchy feeling MX is complained about more and more I noticed. It's interesting that this now appears:

     CHERRY switches have NEW stems, supersmooth! (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=88031.0)

Also the recent iterations of Kailh switchs are often claimed to be smoother.

Perhaps Cherry's tooling was simply end of life, worn out and long overdue for refresh?

I assume the new cherry's are now as smooth as zealios?
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: zslane on Wed, 19 July 2017, 12:04:42
My MX silent reds are not smoother than my MX reds, nor are they smoother than the Gateron reds in my Varmilo boards. Take that for what you will. On that basis, I'm not convinced that newer MX switches are any smoother than older ones.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: ygor on Wed, 19 July 2017, 12:22:18
My MX silent reds are not smoother than my MX reds, nor are they smoother than the Gateron reds in my Varmilo boards. Take that for what you will. On that basis, I'm not convinced that newer MX switches are any smoother than older ones.

Weird... From my experience I can say that the MX Speed Silvers are a million times smoother than my old MX Reds. My Reds are scratchy af, but these Silvers are smooth as buttah, baby.

/shrug
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: romevi on Wed, 19 July 2017, 12:23:05
I've had older tactile grays and newer tactile grays, and the newer ones definitely are smoother than my old ones.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: Entropia on Wed, 19 July 2017, 14:20:20
The black switches on my Leopold FC980M are very very different from the black switches I have in my older Tesoro Durandal. The scratchyness is all gone and they are butter smooth.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: chyros on Wed, 19 July 2017, 14:24:04
It is with linear MX switches.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: Auk on Wed, 19 July 2017, 14:50:39
It is with linear MX switches.

I wasn't overly impressed with any of the black, red or brown on the 2016-2017 switch tester I tried, all were scratchy inc. the brown. I have noughties era mx black which are fine, but the green was the only one I liked from the tester.

I haven't tried any silver, silent or Kailh as yet.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: tp4tissue on Wed, 19 July 2017, 14:58:30
it smooths out..  get typing,
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: chyros on Wed, 19 July 2017, 16:01:11
It is with linear MX switches.

I wasn't overly impressed with any of the black, red or brown on the 2016-2017 switch tester I tried, all were scratchy inc. the brown. I have noughties era mx black which are fine, but the green was the only one I liked from the tester.

I haven't tried any silver, silent or Kailh as yet.
Brown is terrible, but the lack of smoothness isn't even its biggest problem xD .

Basically all types of Cherry MX have different problems :p .
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: Puddsy on Wed, 19 July 2017, 17:50:34
It is with linear MX switches.

I wasn't overly impressed with any of the black, red or brown on the 2016-2017 switch tester I tried, all were scratchy inc. the brown. I have noughties era mx black which are fine, but the green was the only one I liked from the tester.

I haven't tried any silver, silent or Kailh as yet.
Brown is terrible, but the lack of smoothness isn't even its biggest problem xD .

Basically all types of Cherry MX have different problems :p .

pretty much every switch has some problem

there is no perfect switch

everything is subjective
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: davkol on Wed, 19 July 2017, 18:09:57
everything is subjective
Geez. I really dislike the explicit postmodernism…
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: ImpendingxDoom on Wed, 19 July 2017, 18:10:31
"Tactile Feedback"
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: ɔiɈɘʜɈƨ∍∀ on Thu, 20 July 2017, 00:09:13
I can agree topre is the smoothest tactile, I also do not want to be relubing my switches so often so my mx style choice switch is a bumble bee I made , ultrasonic cleaned vintage blacks with gateron yellow housings and modern mx tops lubed with krytox.butter just butter
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: ander on Thu, 20 July 2017, 05:00:55
Ack, this whole "scratchiness" thing [note spelling], anyway... Someone started saying that and everyone just copied them.

Cherry's been making switches for a long, long time. And they're Germans, f'God's sake—believe me, they're into precision. They way their switches feel is exactly how they want them to feel. If you don't like them, don't use them. But they're not "scratchy"; they just are how they are—exactly how they are. You dig?
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: chyros on Thu, 20 July 2017, 05:40:34
Ack, this whole "scratchiness" thing [note spelling], anyway... Someone started saying that and everyone just copied them.

Cherry's been making switches for a long, long time. And they're Germans, f'God's sake—believe me, they're into precision. They way their switches feel is exactly how they want them to feel. If you don't like them, don't use them. But they're not "scratchy"; they just are how they are—exactly how they are. You dig?
Cherry is not a German company.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: ygor on Thu, 20 July 2017, 07:28:52
Ack, this whole "scratchiness" thing [note spelling], anyway... Someone started saying that and everyone just copied them.

Cherry's been making switches for a long, long time. And they're Germans, f'God's sake—believe me, they're into precision. They way their switches feel is exactly how they want them to feel. If you don't like them, don't use them. But they're not "scratchy"; they just are how they are—exactly how they are. You dig?

Is this a troll post? I can't tell anymore.
Title: Re: Is scratchyness a flaw with MX?
Post by: czarek on Fri, 21 July 2017, 10:11:31
I'd say Alps are more prone to scratchyness due to the way the switch is designed. Can be easily observed when trying abused Alps vs abused Cherry. When new it all depends on manufacturing quality, which with some new batches of MX is not ideal. Although Gateron easily shows that MX can be made super smooth. Also Cherry shown it many times with old (vintage) MX Black switches or more recently with Silent MX Black and Red switches which are very smooth.