Author Topic: Filco keyboards - normal for matte key finish to start wearing after 1 month? (Read 54956 times)

msiegel · « **Reply #250 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 19:18:10 »

i think ibm oriented the parts in the mold such that the artifacts face *away* from the viewer when the keyboard is assembled.

my mini had one on every key too... *and* it had a dip in the space bar.

i still loved it though. maybe it will come back soon

AndrewZorn · « **Reply #251 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 19:52:10 »

ripster, like that on the front of the spacebar, but i was referring to along the front of the HOUSING...

(added to list of things to look at every day)

but the worst by far is this damned creaking
im serious
i push on the right of the casing
if i look really close the gap gets smaller and bounces back
i push on the left of the casing
gap closes same amount
but i get a nice GGHDHDHDDHGGHHHHH

msiegel · « **Reply #252 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 20:03:39 »

hmm, i'm starting to see a down side to expensive boards, for us picky people... higher expectations :-/

FourOhFour · « **Reply #253 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 20:10:02 »

Quote from: msiegel;127079

hmm, i'm starting to see a down side to expensive boards, for us picky people... higher expectations :-/

Insanely high expectations. I mean, so there's a dip in the spacebar. Sometimes there's a dip operating the spacebar, so it works out. :-P

Would it be nice if the keys were all perfectly made without a defect to be found? Of course. But unless it's a defect I feel in normal typing, or one I see without having to look for it... so what? Even at the prices we're paying, we aren't paying enough for perfection.

timw4mail · « **Reply #254 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 20:16:17 »

Quote from: FourOhFour;127080

Insanely high expectations. I mean, so there's a dip in the spacebar. Sometimes there's a dip operating the spacebar, so it works out. :-P

Would it be nice if the keys were all perfectly made without a defect to be found? Of course. But unless it's a defect I feel in normal typing, or one I see without having to look for it... so what? Even at the prices we're paying, we aren't paying enough for perfection.

Perfection isn't affordable for Bill Gates.

msiegel · « **Reply #255 on:** Mon, 19 October 2009, 20:30:55 »

Quote from: timw4mail;127082

Perfection isn't affordable for Bill Gates.

bill gates isn't that picky

ironcoder · « **Reply #256 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 02:52:51 »

Word!

TheSoulhunter · « **Reply #257 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 10:04:57 »

Quote from: majestouch;125781

I've talked to Diatec about options available, but we haven't come to a solution yet...

Maybe they should get in touch with TDK?

itlnstln · « **Reply #258 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 10:09:54 »

That might explain why Diatec said that the keys are coated after they had been mounted to the switches.

mike2h · « **Reply #259 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 17:08:44 »

that space bar looks like it doesnt belong there. different color & is of-centered from other keys.
soldering gun?
tho u have some other scratches/blemishes other than the obvious on top. you got in a fight with it trying to pull it off & you gnawed on it & then hit it with your soldering gun when it pinned you to the ground?

Special K · « **Reply #260 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 17:10:09 »

Quote from: mike2h;127275

that space bar looks like it doesnt belong there. different color & is of-centered from other keys.
soldering gun?

A soldering iron was my guess as well.

FourOhFour · « **Reply #261 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 17:29:24 »

I bet alcohol was involved... ;-)

msiegel · « **Reply #262 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 17:42:46 »

Quote from: FourOhFour;127281

I bet alcohol was involved... ;-)

...possibly flaming alcohol...

timw4mail · « **Reply #263 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 17:52:40 »

That's not the proper way to sanitize a Topre, Ripster.

MsKeyboard · « **Reply #264 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 18:13:10 »

My guess, either the Lego's or a Dog!

AndrewZorn · « **Reply #265 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 18:20:36 »

now see, i should have said something

i thought i remember you specifically saying you didnt have pets

but when i first saw that spacebar, the marks on the FRONT is what made it a dead giveaway... so i thought!

Rajagra · « **Reply #266 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 19:02:29 »

You spoil that dog. Mine only get cheap rubber bones and the like to play with.

AndrewZorn · « **Reply #267 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 19:37:11 »

serves you right for not cleaning up your toys at the end of the day

AndrewZorn · « **Reply #268 on:** Tue, 20 October 2009, 20:37:57 »

Quote from: ripster;127310

Actually it fell off my work table (too much junk) but yeah. Bad Ripster.

Quote from: ripster;127310

my work table

Quote from: ripster;127310

work

...

o2dazone · « **Reply #269 on:** Wed, 21 October 2009, 19:22:16 »

he's retired
at least..I hope he's retired

ironcoder · « **Reply #270 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 02:33:23 »

Aside from the wear on my spacebar which I thought was because of my use for a week or so, I am seeing a weird pattern which I have decided is from somebody resting their fingers over the arrow keys on the bottom right of the keyboard. I'm wondering if this is really a new unit I received.

I don't rest my hand there at all, I rest it on my mouse gel pad. Trying to figure out what those marks were, I found they lined up with what fingers would do if they used that part of the kb for a rest.

I tried cleaning it with windex, nothing happened. It's either a flaw from finishing or actual wear from somebody.

timw4mail · « **Reply #271 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 07:11:33 »

What's weird there?

ironcoder · « **Reply #272 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 07:32:45 »

If you see it from the right angle, it really jumps out. Take another look for 3 dark spots where fingers would be over the arrow keys. I mean on the keyboard itself, not on the keys.

If you can't see it I'll take a pic from a better angle.

timw4mail · « **Reply #273 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 07:38:48 »

Now I see it. I'm not sure that's anything more than inconsistent plastic, though.

ironcoder · « **Reply #274 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:06:38 »

I didn't even see it until 2 days ago because of how I'm sitting. But now that I look at it, it's definitely where fingers would sit if someone rested their hands on the keyboard. It's perfectly in that sortof triangular shape of your 2nd thu 4th fingers. What doesn't show up in the pic is that it looks like fingerprints, so I wonder if somebody smudged it while it was being finished or handled it too soon after it came out of the spray booth. Like I said, cleaning it didn't do anything, it's in the finish.

itlnstln · « **Reply #275 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:24:24 »

That is weird. I am with tim. From the pics, it just looks like a molding inconsistency. I didn't really see it in the pic until you pointed it out, though. I don't see it on my Filco. You may want to get in touch with majestouch to see about a possible exchange if there is a problem.

ironcoder · « **Reply #276 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:28:34 »

I'm too damn far, it would cost us both too much money to do an exchange.

It looks like fingerprints, it can't be a molding problem. It's either used or more likely not handled properly during manufacture. Just the bad luck of the draw, I guess.

timw4mail · « **Reply #277 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:33:13 »

My Scorpius wasn't perfect either. That's just the way it goes, it seems.

ironcoder · « **Reply #278 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:35:23 »

I'll drown my sorrows in my box of Lexmarks coming in the next day or two.

itlnstln · « **Reply #279 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 08:41:13 »

Does your other Filco have the same marks? Maybe you have someone messing with your stuff.

Who would rest their fingers in that spot, anyway? I guess maybe if you play a game that requires the arrow keys, but I normally rest my fingers on the keys not around them.

ironcoder · « **Reply #280 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 09:05:04 »

I don't know, I didn't take it out of the box yet. I'm pretty sure this is a one time deal.

I think it's a natural position to rest your hand, if you rested your hand on the keyboard. I don't, but some people do. Also it would be a place for someone to grab it during inspection when it was made, etc. Who knows?

ironcoder · « **Reply #281 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 09:25:10 »

No, I don't put my fingers there at all and the keyboard is only a week and half old.

Are you saying you touched that spot once and you smeared your finish permanently? That's hard to believe, acid-handed chemosabe!

Now it's up to you, great Ripster....

itlnstln · « **Reply #282 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 09:34:32 »

I don't think you could put a spot like that on the case in just a week in a half. It had to come from the factory like that. If it were used, you would know, because if a previous user could put spots on the case like that, your keys would have a mirror finish.

itlnstln · « **Reply #283 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 09:36:00 »

All of my fingers have prints of the arch variety except for my right thumb which is a whorl. Weird.

itlnstln · « **Reply #284 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 09:53:12 »

Don't break out the gas can.

*resists the urge*

d2v · « **Reply #285 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 10:18:17 »

Quote from: ripster;127596

Oh why not. We just exceeded the "N-key rollover test" post count. It'll take 173 more to exceed the "Favorite Switch Poll".

Blue Cherries won that BTW. I am a fanboy of the Blue Cherries.

Bwahahahah!

I propose 'fanboy' as the word that must not be mentioned, for you. :smile:

timw4mail · « **Reply #286 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 10:25:39 »

Anymore, I feel that I'm pretty ambivalent on the topic of what my favorite switch is. For the most part, I just use whatever switch that I feel most comfortable on at the moment.

Rajagra · « **Reply #287 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 11:44:55 »

Quote from: ironcoder;127562

If you see it from the right angle, it really jumps out.

I snuck in and took another photo for you. I'm afraid I left a few more prints on it too; sorry!:spy:

They could be where someone picked up the keyboard with their thumb around there. Does seem odd it won't clean off though.

ds26gte · « **Reply #288 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 12:12:04 »

Quote from: ripster;127596

Oh why not. We just exceeded the "N-key rollover test" post count. It'll take 173 more to exceed the "Favorite Switch Poll".

Blue Cherries won that BTW. I am a fanboy of the Blue Cherries.

Bwahahahah!

The correct spelling is "fanboi" -- it's a gender-neutral term.

By the way, I quietly (!) started using my blue Cherry keyboard in my shared office, meaning to use it primarily when I was alone, which is a moderate spell of time. Haven't heard any complaints, and my coworker is not one to be shy about protesting. After a while, I asked if my keyboard was possibly too loud and offered to use a quieter board, and he said he didn't notice any difference. I guess the sound only bugs some people, or there is too much ambient noise anyway hereabouts.

timw4mail · « **Reply #289 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 12:18:59 »

Quote from: ds26gte;127622

The correct spelling is "fanboi" -- it's a gender-neutral term.

By the way, I quietly (!) started using my blue Cherry keyboard in my shared office, meaning to use it primarily when I was alone, which is a moderate spell of time. Haven't heard any complaints, and my coworker is not one to be shy about protesting. After a while, I asked if my keyboard was possibly too loud and offered to use a quieter board, and he said he didn't notice any difference. I guess the sound only bugs some people, or there is too much ambient noise anyway hereabouts.

I've only ever had one person complain about my Scorpius at work...and I don't think he was every very serious about it. Considering what I knew about keyboards at the time, I would have been rather disappointed if it were too noisy, because it was definitely the most affordable new mechanical keyboard I could find.

(As a side note, I think I need to go back to using some heavier keyboards, I never noticed fatigue until I went to using lighter keyboards.)

itlnstln · « **Reply #290 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 12:40:36 »

I used my Northgate at work for awhile. I suprised nobody tried to kill me. It has to be, by far, the loudest keyboard I have ever heard. Now that I have been using Cherry browns for awhile, the Northgate is absolutely annoying.

ironcoder · « **Reply #291 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 12:49:32 »

Quote from: Rajagra;127613

I snuck in and took another photo for you. I'm afraid I left a few more prints on it too; sorry!:spy:

They could be where someone picked up the keyboard with their thumb around there. Does seem odd it won't clean off though.

Thanks, excellent editing job. That shows it pretty well, although it really looks bad when the light catches it just right.

I also notice circular depressions in the top qwerty row of keys, almost looks like the caps are so thin that you can see the mounting printing through from the back.

This keyboard types good but it's not going to win any beauty contests.

timw4mail · « **Reply #292 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 12:51:25 »

I don't know, the IBM Model F AT is a pretty noisy keyboard.

I never have bothered to really find out if and how the Filco keys have changed the sound of my Scorpius.

Key-wear on these keys is getting to the point of annoyingly inconsistent. The 8 "resting" home row keys are very shiny, the top row is starting to really shine, especially e, r, t, i, and o. The bottom row is just staring to shine on b and n. I guess if nothing else, it should show how much each letter tends to be used. u is the only vowel that isn't really shiny. Oddly enough, the spacebar doesn't seem to have gained shine yet. I guess it might have to do with having more texture than most of the other keys.

Maybe I could do with a tenkey-less keyboard... all the original texture is still on the tenkey.

elbowglue · « **Reply #293 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 16:40:46 »

Ripster, what camera are you shooting with? Seems you are using a macro lens for sure, is that the Canon 100mm f2.8?

o2dazone · « **Reply #294 on:** Thu, 22 October 2009, 22:38:24 »

haha that filco key

timw4mail · « **Reply #295 on:** Fri, 23 October 2009, 07:02:42 »

You soak that in acetone a little to long, Ripster?

itlnstln · « **Reply #296 on:** Fri, 23 October 2009, 10:14:55 »

Nah, it's a new keycap made from fiberglass.

timw4mail · « **Reply #297 on:** Fri, 23 October 2009, 11:01:46 »

Quote from: itlnstln;127806

Nah, it's a new keycap made from fiberglass.

That sounds...possibly painful.

texteur · « **Reply #298 on:** Fri, 23 October 2009, 18:54:58 »

Quote from: ironcoder;127544

Show Image

I tried cleaning it with windex, nothing happened. It's either a flaw from finishing or actual wear from somebody.

Hi Ironcoder,

Just a question: where did you buy such a nice wrist rest? Do you know if it can be bought on the web?

Thanks

JBert · « **Reply #299 on:** Fri, 23 October 2009, 19:04:07 »

Looks like the Filco palm rest to me.

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Author Topic: Filco keyboards - normal for matte key finish to start wearing after 1 month? (Read 54956 times)