Should we continue to recommend MX Blue switches?

[jaffers]

To be honest, I don't think that the lightness of the blue switch warrants the click. The click feels like it belongs in a heavier switch

[KHAANNN]

PCB-mount greens were perfect last time I tried them, but I also experienced a bad batch of blues recently, actually 2 batches, so I will also stay away from blues forever, they are tainted

Out of 110 greens, most of them clicked, I managed to select 60 that clicked uniformly, which is impressive, the others were ok too, likely 20 were weak clickers, but at least they all clicked

[Eszett]

The issues with Cherry switches are logical. After patent expiry Cherry had to cut on production costs. Could it be that they moved the manufaction site to another country? Or omit some of the quality control now?

[fohat.digs]

IBM Model F > IBM Model M > NMB Hi-Tek black > Alps blue > SMK blue (aka Monterey) > SMK white > Acer > Alps white > etc, etc

Damn, you rank SMKs that low?

"Low" is a relative term on that rarefied list.

Note that Cherry and most everything else did not even rate a mention.

This morning I would probably move Model M to below Hi-Tek black and Alps blue, but maybe it's my mood.

[KHAANNN]

The issues with Cherry switches are logical. After patent expiry Cherry had to cut on production costs. Could it be that they moved the manufaction site to another country? Or omit some of the quality control now?

It's not logical at all, after patent expiry, and with a re-igniting and growing mech market, it would have been logical to innovate further, increase QC

We're living in a world where people spend even thousands on computing a year, they could even get away with $1/switch if they produced a pre-lubed special switch for example, yet all they do is lower the quality, not logical at all

[PrinsPils]

How come blue's suffer from quality and greens not? its the same switch but stronger spring (or am i wrong?)

[Melvang]

So a recent run-in with a blue switch on a brand new, high-quality keyboard that failed to click has gotten me thinking...

How much longer before we hit the point where we have to start telling people to consider equivalent switches from MX-compatible manufacturers instead?

Now, I'm not saying that we're necessarily at that point yet-- I would want a lot more data about the alternatives, especially Gateron, Greetech, and Outemu (Gaote), before recommending them over Cherry-- but I can't help but feel like, in the absence of some corrective action from Cherry, the days when the MX Blue switch can be recommended in good faith to a prospective keyboard buyer will draw to a close in the not too distant future. What say ye?

So you got stuck with a dodgey keyboard and now it looks like all of Cherry Manufacturing has collapsed in quality - Time to wake up sunshine because every Blue, Green, Clear, White, Tactile Grey and Brown switch Made by Cherry Corp is alive and clicking beautifully at my home in a variety of keyboards.  Mind you I still love Filcos (TKLs and Fullsized) over most other mechanical keyboards but all of them still work nicely as my Wife can attest, down the hall when she hears my claw tapping at night.

Never go down that route of blaming a whole company because you received a dud keyboard, simply RMA it also don't go into believing that buying a cheap-arse keyboard off someone on Ebay, constitutes a valid assessment of all Blue switches either.  Geekhack is notorious in spreading false information as definitive fact, so those that complain suddenly represent 99% of owners on this planet.

Time to get real and not follow blindly into believing that clicky Cherry switches have failed, because you have to dig deeper as to why is it that suddenly no-name Chinese Made cheap copies are now better in "QUALITY"?

 It's about Cherry employees going onto Reddit to complain that the machines for making MX Blue switches don't work properly.

That falls on Cherry's maint department.  Unless the machines are in such a state of disrepair, that they do need replacing.  I will have you know that every manufacturing line, except for discreet ics, go down every shift for one reason note another.  It could simply be that they need new molds, or have their tool and die department do some repair work.

Though if they are getting to many orders in for these switches, they may not be able to budget the time to take the machines down for that level of repair work.

I work on production machinery in facilities ranging from nuclear power houses, to grain processing facilities.  Down time for machines costs money at alarming rates.  While I was at the John Deere Foundry in Waterloo, IA working for an outside contractor, it was nothing for the line to go down for 2 hours plus.

Thhose Olds are muchore expensive than what people realize.  If you ask SP to make a new mold for a different cap size for a specific row that they don't have a mold for, that will CST you in excess of $3,000.

[derb2k2]

I agree on this issue to some extent but I never really recommend blues anyways.

Most of the issues I've had with mechanicals is mostly with blues. From total inconsistency in sound and feel to just non-functionality with some. This doesn't just include Razer boards either.

The inconsistency annoys the bejesus out of me. Is this due to quality control issues in manufacturing or just plain old design issues? idk

These days, I would say Clear MX is the way to go.

[Shaussman]

To be honest, I don't think that the lightness of the blue switch warrants the click. The click feels like it belongs in a heavier switch

This is actually why I prefer the Kailh blues in my Poseidon Z to the MX blues in my Blackwidow 2013. The switches are slightly lighter, which is nice, but the reduced amount of click means that I can use the keyboard for way longer without feeling fatigued, while the Blackwidow had me a bit tired after a couple of hours.

These days, I would say Clear MX is the way to go.

I've been shopping around for one of these for a while, but they're just so expensive compared to something with blues, especially if you're willing to consider clones...