Lubing Vintage MX Blacks

[j0hnny]

Hello GH! Recently acquired some vintage MX blacks, but wasn't sure if I should maintain them before putting them onto a board. They aren't "sticky" per say, but I figured if I was going to do any type of maintenance on these switches, it would be now. Is this common practice? Do most people only lube when rubbing is an issue, or in other words, don't fix what's not broken?

Any recommendations would help. Thanks!

[bocahgundul]

Yes we always lube cherry mx cause they're so scratchy

[iLLucionist]

I gotta lube my browns. They so scratchy it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

[Mattr567]

I gotta lube my browns. They so scratchy it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

My worn in G80-11800 MX Browns were very smooth but my friends new Coolermaster's ones are very scratchy. Since I swapped in MX Blues into that board without soldering, they feel smoother since the contacts are worn in. Plus they came from a well used Ducky Shine 2, so the combo makes for a very clicky MX Blue. I had to put in a few new ones to have enough and they feel and sound much different.

[n0rvig]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

[j0hnny]

Thanks all for your thoughts. Why not about the vintage blacks? I figured that these are ~30 years old and I'd probably never lube them once I put them into another board. I figured it was now or never.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

[chyros]

Why would you lube them? Do they feel scratchy?

[iLLucionist]

I gotta lube my browns. They so scratchy it is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

My worn in G80-11800 MX Browns were very smooth but my friends new Coolermaster's ones are very scratchy. Since I swapped in MX Blues into that board without soldering, they feel smoother since the contacts are worn in. Plus they came from a well used Ducky Shine 2, so the combo makes for a very clicky MX Blue. I had to put in a few new ones to have enough and they feel and sound much different.

Yeah I don't really like my browns because of them scratchiness. Have it over four years now. It was my main driver for two years but never really got better. I only noticed the scratchiness when I got myself some Topre. THEN I knew what people all were saying about Browns.

[iLLucionist]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

[iLLucionist]

Thanks all for your thoughts. Why not about the vintage blacks? I figured that these are ~30 years old and I'd probably never lube them once I put them into another board. I figured it was now or never.

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps lube the stabilizers and so in a board, but I don't really think that lubing the switches themselves would be necessary. I might be wrong though, I've never lubed so far. Only dreaming about it mmmm.

[GeorgeK]

I have a board with lubed vintage blacks and I'd wholeheartedly suggest it.  I've done my own tests and in terms of smoothness I have found that Blacks < Vintage Blacks < Lubed Blacks < Lubed Vintage Blacks.  Go for it!

[chyros]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

[iLLucionist]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

[chyros]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

I don't know Zealios, I only know old stuff pretty much xD . The difference is very pronounced though.

[iLLucionist]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

I don't know Zealios, I only know old stuff pretty much xD . The difference is very pronounced though.

Nice! My ultimate gaming board would be blacks + lube + o-rings + thick PBT caps + foam in the case.

Curious if I can find vintage blacks for sale or that I just have to buy a really old board and desolder them myself.

[rm-rf]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

i have a lot of boards with vintage black switches on them.
and not all of them are nice.
i have two boards that are a joy to type on.
just because they are vintage doesn't mean they will always be good.
some of the vintage switches i have are scratchy as hell, just like the stock switches... but those are NOS NIB boards.
if you want a good switch, don't go down the rabbit hole trying to get some vintage switches.
the contact leafs don't age well... and often have corrosion and pitting.
your best bet is getting some new cherry and lubing them heavily, or getting gaterons. or even some zeal linear switches.

but seriously...
IMO... vintage mx black switches are bogus hype.
if you harvest a board with vintage black switches...
not all of them will have the same feel as the next.
and that is no fun to type on.

[iLLucionist]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

i have a lot of boards with vintage black switches on them.
and not all of them are nice.
i have two boards that are a joy to type on.
just because they are vintage doesn't mean they will always be good.
some of the vintage switches i have are scratchy as hell, just like the stock switches... but those are NOS NIB boards.
if you want a good switch, don't go down the rabbit hole trying to get some vintage switches.
the contact leafs don't age well... and often have corrosion and pitting.
your best bet is getting some new cherry and lubing them heavily, or getting gaterons. or even some zeal linear switches.

but seriously...
IMO... vintage mx black switches are bogus hype.
if you harvest a board with vintage black switches...
not all of them will have the same feel as the next.
and that is no fun to type on.

Good to know. I guess I'll probably stick with new modern blacks and lube the cr*p out of them.

Brittle / worn out contact points would be not so nice. Also not really something you can fix other than replacing the entire switch I suppose.

[chyros]

Nope. Nope. Nope. Why you lube vintage blacks? Mine are so smooth I don't think lube would make them any better.

Perhaps vintage blacks are really smooth then.

Oh they are. The difference with modern ones is pretty ridiculous Oo .

Interesting. Can you describe the difference? Is it like Zealios vs stock MX?

i have a lot of boards with vintage black switches on them.
and not all of them are nice.
i have two boards that are a joy to type on.
just because they are vintage doesn't mean they will always be good.
some of the vintage switches i have are scratchy as hell, just like the stock switches... but those are NOS NIB boards.
if you want a good switch, don't go down the rabbit hole trying to get some vintage switches.
the contact leafs don't age well... and often have corrosion and pitting.
your best bet is getting some new cherry and lubing them heavily, or getting gaterons. or even some zeal linear switches.

but seriously...
IMO... vintage mx black switches are bogus hype.
if you harvest a board with vintage black switches...
not all of them will have the same feel as the next.
and that is no fun to type on.

I agree, just linearise some black Alps for $20 and you'll be better off xD .

[Crossfire]

I'm loving my lubed 55g mx vintage blacks, they feel really uniform as a whole. Lubing them slighty with thin lube has made them even better..it's such an elegant switch, fingers really dance around the board, no fatigue, no effort while pressed, just pure joy...and they're pretty fast to type on, at least it feels like it

[pr0ximity]

Lube them lightly with Krytox and enjoy them. If you want different springs put them in too while they're open.

Best Cherry switch, only one worth anything in Cherry's line.

[Khers]

.

[Keycap]

Vintage MX Black switches may feel scratchy because they're actually not vintage! A lot of Wyse boards would use a mix of old and new MX Blacks. This was due to the transition from old to new and the availability of vintage MX after the transition.

[j0hnny]

Awesome thanks for the replies guys. I think i'll go with lubing them after all. At this point, i'm considering swapping the springs as well (maybe go +80gs), but i'm not sure if that's kosher, haha.

I plan to put these into my ergodox mmmmmhhmmmm. I saw that there was a bluetooth/wireless keyboard, not sure if I should get the one that's wired or not. we'll see.