62g, 65g or Vintage Black springs for MX Clear modding?

[MAR82]

Hi guys I'm having someone assemble a custom board for me and I wanted a lighter version of MX Clears since it will also be used for gaming.

I have a Keycool 87 with clears and like it, I also I have a G710+ with browns that I like. But what I think I'll really love is something that's in-between the two. I love the bump of the clears but the spring of the browns. I was planning on getting some 62g or 65g springs from Originative, but I have no idea when he'll be getting more in stock. Then the guy doing the work for me said that he had some vintage black springs that he could use for modding the clears (only springs will be changes no lubing).

I guess my biggest concerns are; I've heard of modded clears with springs that are too light and cause the stem to stick, and that when I tested a modern black spring in a clear switch I found it harder to push than a default clear.

So if anyone has any experience with this kind of stuff it will be very helpful, thanks

[Defect]

I've done 62g gold, 62g gold slider lube, 62g gold slider and leg lube,  45cherry, 45cherry slider and leg lube, 80cherry, 80cherry slider lube, 80cherry leg and slider lube,  and stock.

With 45cherry you will have sticking on the upstroke.   It's bad when unlubed, and makes you realize why browns were created.

62g full lubed was nice.  I would say it's "smooth and not sandy browns."  You lose a lot of tactility when you lube the legs

62g slider only was very snappy on the upstroke with slight stick.  Useable.

Panda clears gave me the most snap on the upstroke.  Use these in my Shine II at work.

Waiting on 68g to come to me.

Cap Material matters more for clear switches than for any other stem, imo.  Thick pbt all the way for this switch.  I prefer POM for linear and thin pbt/ds abs for click types)


My vote
While I've never tried 65g korean, I would recommend slider lubing those (not leg though) and combining with thick pbt caps.  Or 68 like I plan on doing for my next one

[CPTBadAss]

I did a review on this exact swap here. If I'm picking between these spring weights, I prefer Panda Clears or MX Clear Stems with MX Black springs. I've tried 65g Clears earlier this year that were better than my experience in the review but they weren't my favorite.

I've done 62g gold, 62g gold slider lube, 62g gold slider and leg lube,  45cherry, 45cherry slider and leg lube, 80cherry, 80cherry slider lube, 80cherry leg and slider lube,  and stock.

What do you mean by "leg"? And I'm assuming "45cherry" means the stock spring from a Red/Brown/Blue Cherry switch?

[Defect]

I did a review on this exact swap here. If I'm picking between these spring weights, I prefer Panda Clears or MX Clear Stems with MX Black springs. I've tried 65g Clears earlier this year that were better than my experience in the review but they weren't my favorite.

I've done 62g gold, 62g gold slider lube, 62g gold slider and leg lube,  45cherry, 45cherry slider and leg lube, 80cherry, 80cherry slider lube, 80cherry leg and slider lube,  and stock.

What do you mean by "leg"? And I'm assuming "45cherry" means the stock spring from a Red/Brown/Blue Cherry switch?

45cherry would be light cherry.  So yes, blue/red/brown.  Sometimes called 50cherry

Leg lube meaning the tactile leg.  The snap on the upstroke is AMAZING with thick pbt caps that I actually regret leg lubing my 62g ergo clears.  Should have used a thinner lube or none at all.  I used thick formula.


Btw 100% recommend lubing springs at least.  Then sliders.  Then leg is optional.  But spring lube is so important IMO

[CPTBadAss]

Ah I got it now. I tried lubing the springs but I didn't find it helped too much. On my Epsilon, I just lubed the slider and it works fine. Of course, the Blacks don't have the leg.

I've never heard it called "45cherry" or "50cherry". Typically I see it referred to MX Red Spring. TIL.

[Defect]

Ah I got it now. I tried lubing the springs but I didn't find it helped too much. On my Epsilon, I just lubed the slider and it works fine. Of course, the Blacks don't have the leg.

I've never heard it called "45cherry" or "50cherry". Typically I see it referred to MX Red Spring. TIL.

Unsure about other weights but the 62g gold korean springs were somewhat pingy without lube.  Also slightly scratchy depending on how they were placed.  Lube fixed them up real nice and now they're quiet.  More noticible on linear.

Also, I leg lube linear switches.  Doesn't do as much but whatever, switch is already open why not add extra.  Also they come out of the factory with a small amount on the legs (all switches).  Learned that from GH


As far as naming...When I say "they" call it 45 cherry I mean myself and my friends.  Makes it more clear now that there are way more MX switches being included (white/Green/clear are way more common than before).  Also to distinguish between 45 korean.

[MAR82]

I) Black spring with Clear Stem (Also called Panda clears) – I liked these. This was probably my favorite iteration of the Clear swaps. It wasn’t sticky at all. It was the right combination of springy and bumpy. Unlike the weak bump in Browns that felt almost mushy, the Clear bump was unmistakable. It’s lighter than the stock Clears obviously and I’m a huge fan of the weight/actuation force on MX Blacks.

The thing is when I tried a black spring with clear switch, and pushed it up against (like this ☐-><-☐ ) a non modded clear, the non modded mod would pass the tactile bump and bottom out first. And if I'm also going to do any gaming on it, I don't want to hold down heavy keys (springs) all day.

I've done 62g gold, 62g gold slider lube, 62g gold slider and leg lube,  45cherry, 45cherry slider and leg lube, 80cherry, 80cherry slider lube, 80cherry leg and slider lube,  and stock.

With 45cherry you will have sticking on the upstroke.   It's bad when unlubed, and makes you realize why browns were created.

62g full lubed was nice.  I would say it's "smooth and not sandy browns."  You lose a lot of tactility when you lube the legs

62g slider only was very snappy on the upstroke with slight stick.  Useable.

Panda clears gave me the most snap on the upstroke.  Use these in my Shine II at work.

Waiting on 68g to come to me.

Cap Material matters more for clear switches than for any other stem, imo.  Thick pbt all the way for this switch.  I prefer POM for linear and thin pbt/ds abs for click types)


My vote
While I've never tried 65g korean, I would recommend slider lubing those (not leg though) and combining with thick pbt caps.  Or 68 like I plan on doing for my next one

I didn't think that the caps would make such a big difference. I was thinking of getting some SP DSA blanks when I get use to the layout (ErgoDox).
As for the springs, the person doing the work for me is going to use the vintage blacks unless I tell him not to (he's waiting for the clears to be shipped to him). So unless someone here thinks I'll not like the vintage springs, I think I might just stick to that plan. Then if I really don't like them, I'll have to open the switches and change out the springs again, and at that point I'd also lube it all.


But I really want to know what the vintage blacks are rated at. Are they closer to modern blacks, are they 67g like I've seen some people say? Rknize said that he planned on testing the vintage black but I never saw a result   

[MAR82]

Also I the only experience I have with lubing a switch is when I did my white ALPS switches. They were on an old Apple Extended Keyboard II and all I could feel was the friction in the sliders. So much better now 

[Defect]

To address Panda Clear vs stock:

Panda takes more force to actuate, but less force to bottom out fully.  Stock clear takes less force than Panda Clear to actuate,  but more force to bottom out.

Stock clears felt a little mushy to me.  Prefer clear springs to be in black switches.  Panda clears plus thick pbt gives such a snappy feeling on the upstroke.  I love it and use it at work.  A bit heavy to me for late night use,  which is when I use my other boards.


Cannot comment on vintage blacks but I think you'll be fine.