Kinesis Advantage: Wiping keycap labels off?

[Biternk]

Hey everyone,

First post here; looks like a great forum.

Colemak user, thinking of getting a Kinesis Advantage. I don't want a QWERTY legend on my board... in fact, I don't want any legend, but I understand getting blank keycaps for this board isn't simple at all (already talked to Weyman from WASD).

So, how hard would it be to wipe the text off the existing keys? I don't mean sanding it off, but with some sort of a solvent. Looks like it's glued on rather than etched in... Is that right?

Any other advice for creating a blank Advantage without having to individually buy keys? (I wish Kinesis just allowed this as an option..)

[Rumudiez]

If they're doubleshot as I'm expecting (wish I could look it up for you... poor wiki), the legends will only come as soon as the top of the entire cap is gone. At best they could be pad printed and would just need a good scratching to remove them or maybe some other processes to make it cleaner, but otherwise they'd be engraved + ink filled, which would require a bit of sanding to clear down.

Of course someone will know exactly what the process is and have a more exact answer, but hopefully this will show what some potentialities are.

[bjarven]

I'm thinking about doing the same thing to my advantage. Colemak user here... I've replaced most of the keys for blanks, but I haven't found any good replacement for the blue spherical ones.

They seem to be pad printed right?

[natas206]

There are a limited amount of blank, black keycap sets available directly from Kinesis for $39.

Black, blank keys. Dark blue, blank home row keys.

[thebeargentile]

If they're doubleshot as I'm expecting (wish I could look it up for you... poor wiki), the legends will only come as soon as the top of the entire cap is gone. At best they could be pad printed and would just need a good scratching to remove them or maybe some other processes to make it cleaner, but otherwise they'd be engraved + ink filled, which would require a bit of sanding to clear down.

Of course someone will know exactly what the process is and have a more exact answer, but hopefully this will show what some potentialities are.

They are pad printed, not doubleshot (on my Pro, at least).  I would be careful with what kind of solvent you choose if you decide to try blanking some caps that way, as I've heard that acetone and the like will discolor and do other weird things to ABS caps.  As someone else said I think that Kinesis produced a set of blanks, though they may be hard to find.  FWIW, I'm an avid touch-typist, but there is no way in the world I could have gotten used to my Advantage without any legends.  After using it for a few months, I could probably get by without legends now, but the layout is just different enough that you WILL make mistakes when learning to use it, and it would be very frustrating and time consuming to try and figure out how to make corrections.  Just my two cents. 

[Biternk]

There are a limited amount of blank, black keycap sets available directly from Kinesis for $39.

Black, blank keys. Dark blue, blank home row keys.

Interesting: I was just talking to Bethany from Kinesis about this, asking if I could order the board with blank keycaps, and she said no and didn't say anything about the blank keycap sets (even though I said I'd be willing to pay extra). I guess maybe the limited run is all sold out?

BTW, as a general follow-up for the thread: Trying to file the lettering off _will_ void the warranty. Specifically, this is from Bethany (Kinesis sales):

We unfortunately do not have keyboards in the Colemak layout. We also do not have blank keycaps.
 
In regards to filing the keycaps, this is not something we would recommend. We design our keycaps so that the letters do not easily ware off. It may be more beneficial to make some sort of label and place it over the existing legends.
 
If you choose to file the keycaps, this could have an effect on your warranty. If any damage is caused to the keycaps or key switches from the filing, you would be responsible for the cost of those repairs/replacement. Also, if you experience issues with a broken  keycap or switch in the future, it is likely that we would attribute that to the extra ware caused by the filing and you would be responsible for any cost of repairs or replacement.
 
It would not affect the warranty in regards to issues not related to the keycap or key switches.

[natas206]

The sales people likely won't know about the blank keycaps. You would have to order the key cap set separately from the keyboard though. Contact tech@kinesis.com

[natas206]

regarding the warranty, I wouldn't worry about it. The only time the 2 year warranty is voided is if any damage to the keyboard is caused by the user, like spilling a Caramel Frappuccino in the keyboard.

I've personally seen tons of keyboards sent in with all sorts of custom keys and it's never voided the warranty. She isn't saying the warranty would be voided if you customize the keys, she's saying it could be voided if you somehow damaged the keyboard in the process (which seems unlikely since most people would remove the keycaps to do any type of filing).

[dorkvader]

regarding the warranty, I wouldn't worry about it. The only time the 2 year warranty is voided is if any damage to the keyboard is caused by the user, like spilling a Caramel Frappuccino in the keyboard.

Has this actually happened?

[natas206]

Yes! You'd be surprised what we've found in keyboards over the years. Once we even found a scorpion (fortunately it was dead).