HHKB lube or not lube?

[donnghia]

Hi guys, is there anyone who choose to lube their HHKB?

I think the best important things of HHKB (Topre) is the Tactile, and most of the time when we lube the keyboard it will lost a little travel/tactile so it is worth to lube the HHKB or just keep it stock and put silence ring in?

Thanks you very much for your opinions !

[actualglacier]

Absolutely. Unlubed topre is pretty underwhelming in my opinion. They benefit a LOT from a proper lube job.

[donnghia]

Absolutely. Unlubed topre is pretty underwhelming in my opinion. They benefit a LOT from a proper lube job.

do you have any guide for a proper lube job like you said?

I'm afraid I will be Over-Lube or Under-Lube my HHKB, thank you ! 

[regionfree]

from personal experience (i have 2x BT HHKB, one of which is stock, other is lubed thinly, 1 USB HHKB stock 2 years of daily use), freshly lubed HHKB is horrible, maybe unless you use thin lube. The problem is that it changes the sound profile and this sound has the effect of making the HHKB feel mushy. It will improve if you wait it out, and wait for the lube to settle, or you can open it all up again after a few days of use to "try" to wipe off the lube from the sliders. After that, then the smoothness is there, without the farty/mushy sound.

OR

you can just keep using your stock HHKB, and wear the sliders out. you can still open and lube the stabilizers, but for the slider housings, just wear them out. my best sounding/feeling HHKB is my USB one, which I use almost everyday at the office.

[nelamvr6]

My personal philosophy is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have not encountered any topre switches that give even the faintest indication that it would benefit from lube.

Let's face it, this hobby is populated with a lot of tinkerers. They really can't be happy if they're not opening the case. If they were to come into possession of a Faberge Egg they'd be posting asking what's the first mod they should do...

And really there's nothing wrong with that, a lot of advancements in this hobby have come about because of these guys and their incessant tinkering.

But that doesn't mean that everything benefits from tinkering.

Topres switches don't need lubing.

Now, having said that, I wouldn't be philosophically opposed to a little greasing of those stabs...

[shadowku]

Topres don't need lubing.

My first Topre was lubed and hypersphere'd (got it that way) and I loved it.
I got another brand new one when I went to Japan last year and I used it stock for half a year but it just felt so rough and it had a higher pitch thock than I was used to. I eventually threw purple sliders and lubed it. Much better.

I do wonder how it would have felt if I had just lubed it instead, but I can't stand a stock HHKB. Maybe it needed more break-in time?

[nelamvr6]

Topres don't need lubing.

My first Topre was lubed and hypersphere'd (got it that way) and I loved it.
I got another brand new one when I went to Japan last year and I used it stock for half a year but it just felt so rough and it had a higher pitch thock than I was used to. I eventually threw purple sliders and lubed it. Much better.

I do wonder how it would have felt if I had just lubed it instead, but I can't stand a stock HHKB. Maybe it needed more break-in time?

There are bound to be the occasional exceptions to any guideline. But your post suggests that you were lubing as much to change the sound as to fight any friction. I am frankly skeptical that topre switches ever feel rough.

[shadowku]

There are bound to be the occasional exceptions to any guideline. But your post suggests that you were lubing as much to change the sound as to fight any friction. I am frankly skeptical that topre switches ever feel rough.

There's definitely friction with Topre, albeit, some more than others. Sure, it's driven by the dome, but the slider is still going to rub against the housing. I didn't find it a problem on my RF, but my new HHKB had more than I could tolerate. My FC660C was noticeable too. I just pulled out my Novatouch to test and it's pretty smooth, but key travel is noticeably less than other Topre boards.

My ideal config so far is my HHKB with Hypersphere rings (I'm probably the only person who prefers Hyperspheres) with BKE Redux light.
Will be trying my other HHKB with purple sliders and BKE Redux Light soon, too.