Breaking in new boards?

[Kacee]

Do you notice different between a new keyboard and a well used one? In the last few months I went on a shopping spree and bought over 10 keyboards and finally decided to keep 3, maybe 4. All Filcos, only 1 Cherry...

But none of them have the same comfortable feeling when typing on compare to my (now sold) 104-key Filco with brown switchs which has been used for like 8 months. It's the new keycaps, or maybe it's the grainy key travel or maybe it's something else, I don't really know.

Do you feel the same? How long does it take you to "break in" you keyboards?

[canon.tk]

I think the feeling of boards change a little bit.  Like the new one I got yesterday with browns, my friend tried it at work and said it felt different than his with browns, both Filco.

But I think most of it is just the user getting used to the way the board feels.

[keyb_gr]

It has been noted that tactile MX switches have a break-in period. The tactility also wears down eventually, so that a well-used MX11800 may be almost linear.

ALPS switches like to collect dust, so that after a number of years they are likely to develop off-center friction and enjoy a good cleaning and lubrication.

[Kacee]

I'm typing on a two days old blue now, sometimes I miss the key which I use pinkies to press, I guess I have weak pinkies but it's really doesn't feel as good as on my friend's same board which is about 3 months or more in use.

[BucklingSpring]

Do you notice different between a new keyboard and a well used one? In the last few months I went on a shopping spree and bought over 10 keyboards and finally decided to keep 3, maybe 4. All Filcos, only 1 Cherry...

Do you feel the same? How long does it take you to "break in" you keyboards?

"Break in" few days if you use them alot. But depends on the board.
My TVS Gold felt cheap out of the box. Now it just feel cheaper.
Tactile MXs feel a bit crunchy at first, then smoother after couple days of heavy use. Then as mentionned above, the tactile feel fades off over time.

[pitashen]

Do you notice different between a new keyboard and a well used one? In the last few months I went on a shopping spree and bought over 10 keyboards and finally decided to keep 3, maybe 4. All Filcos, only 1 Cherry...

But none of them have the same comfortable feeling when typing on compare to my (now sold) 104-key Filco with brown switchs which has been used for like 8 months. It's the new keycaps, or maybe it's the grainy key travel or maybe it's something else, I don't really know.

Do you feel the same? How long does it take you to "break in" you keyboards?

Are you looking to replace your "old" board?

[gore]

With my ML boards there is quite a noticeable difference between a broken in one and a new one, broken in ones tend to be a bit smoother.

[muchadoaboutnothing]

Blues definitely break in.

Browns may do so to a less noticeable degree. I bought my two brown boards around the same time and they have pretty comparable usage so I can't really judge that - they seem equal.

[godly_music]

The thing making an MX switch tactile is a more or less pronounced little plastic bump. Of course it'll wear down. And then you end up with plastic shavings in your switches. It doesn't sound too pretty does it?

[Brodie337]

The thing I noticed is that my Browns felt less frictiony and gritty after a few days, and they don't make the sliding noise they used to if you press them down slowly.

[BucklingSpring]

The thing I noticed is that my Browns felt less frictiony and gritty after a few days, and they don't make the sliding noise they used to if you press them down slowly.

+1 I prefer your choice of words over my "crunchy", this is exactly what I was refering tool as well.

[Surly73]

I already notice my new browns are less gritty, crunchy, whatever than they were a couple of days ago and they haven't even been heavily used.

When testing a heavily used 12 year old Kinesis, they seem super-smooth and pretty much linear, as perhaps one would expect.

[Kacee]

Are you looking to replace your "old" board?

yeah, I found the numpad useless and I was trying to buy a 'Tenkeyless' to replace it... ended up replace 2 with 14 (IIRC) lol...

and actually I bought almost all of the 'replacements' after I signed up for geekhack... now I know what is bad...

[Tony]

I bought a new Filco Majestouch brown a few days ago and I feel that the tactile bump is quite new, a bit tougher than a wellused one. After a few months of heavy use, perhaps they will be the same as the old ones.

[Surly73]

I bought a new Filco Majestouch brown a few days ago and I feel that the tactile bump is quite new, a bit tougher than a wellused one. After a few months of heavy use, perhaps they will be the same as the old ones.

When typing I don't feel the bump at all.  I can only really feel it when I slow way down and play with a key just for the purpose of feeling the bump.  That's not to say that I think my browns feel like blacks, just that there's nowhere near the tactility from browns as from ivory ALPS, BS, Logitech Perfectstroke (or most other scissors, for that matter) or Keytronic 360x.