Is it worth lubing a new HHKB?

[crj3012]

I just received a new HHKB and I am insure if I should lube it or not. Does anyone know if HHKB's come pre-lubed new? I am unsure whether I should lube it right away, let it break in then lube it, or use it heavily for ~6 months and then lube. I recently lubed my Novatouch and was very happy with the results.

So, what do you guys think?

[septamber]

There seems to be some sort of lube on the sliders from the factory as I have cleaned the sliders on one of my boards extensively with isopropyl alcohol and the keys felt harsh to push down afterwards. Personally, I would use it for a bit and break it in. If you still desire to lube it after a few weeks go for it. 

[crj3012]

There seems to be some sort of lube on the sliders from the factory as I have cleaned the sliders on one of my boards extensively with isopropyl alcohol and the keys felt harsh to push down afterwards. Personally, I would use it for a bit and break it in. If you still desire to lube it after a few weeks go for it. 

Thanks for the input. That's what I am leaning towards at this point. None of the keys are too, too scratchy right now, but after seeing what a huge difference the lube made on my Novatouch (I also dental banded it, so that also plays a part) part of me wanted to do it right now while I have the week off of work.

[keshley]

It makes a difference, but I just find it different, not better or worse. Its really just a preference thing.

[crj3012]

It makes a difference, but I just find it different, not better or worse. Its really just a preference thing.

Can you please describe the diference? Sound feel? Both?

[Bromono]

The stabilizers.

Huge improvement on the clanging.

but the actual stems of the switches? naaa.

Maybe in a year or so you could but honestly it doesn't make a huge difference.

[keshley]

It makes a difference, but I just find it different, not better or worse. Its really just a preference thing.

Can you please describe the diference? Sound feel? Both?

Some say its a bit quieter lubed, I haven't noticed that too much. It does smoothen out the feel, but it also adds a bit of friction. Kind of like a properly damped focusing ring on a nice camera lens.

I'd say unlubed sliders feel more precise. Not sure how else to put it.

[crj3012]

The stabilizers.

Huge improvement on the clanging.

but the actual stems of the switches? naaa.

Maybe in a year or so you could but honestly it doesn't make a huge difference.

Thanks. I think I will lube the stabs right away because I am having some noise issues with the spacebar and then wait until the 6 months to decide if I want to do the regular keys.

[Altis]

I'm going to be lubricating my HHKB now that it's getting to be broken-in. I find it pretty gritty/scratchy compared with my Realforce 87Us.

[demik]

no.

leave your hhkb alone, it's perfect and beautiful as it is

[Polymer]

Thanks. I think I will lube the stabs right away because I am having some noise issues with the spacebar and then wait until the 6 months to decide if I want to do the regular keys.

Sometimes you just have to re-seat the space bar because the stabilizers aren't perfectly set in the key....Every Topre keyboard I've had has had this issue where it starts to clank a bit...re-seating it tends to fix that issue at least for awhile (if not permanently). 

I'd also look at getting the PBT space bars...better sound and also, because the fit is rather tight, it has eliminated the clank problem on the boards where sometimes it came back..

[crj3012]

Thanks. I think I will lube the stabs right away because I am having some noise issues with the spacebar and then wait until the 6 months to decide if I want to do the regular keys.

Sometimes you just have to re-seat the space bar because the stabilizers aren't perfectly set in the key....Every Topre keyboard I've had has had this issue where it starts to clank a bit...re-seating it tends to fix that issue at least for awhile (if not permanently). 

I'd also look at getting the PBT space bars...better sound and also, because the fit is rather tight, it has eliminated the clank problem on the boards where sometimes it came back..

Thanks for the info. I actually bought a couple PBT spacebars over the weekend. Should be here by the end of the week.

[bocahgundul]

How do you guys get pbt spacebar so quick holy cow. I'm searching for it for so long

[crj3012]

How do you guys get pbt spacebar so quick holy cow. I'm searching for it for so long

Posting constantly and asking around. I was able to obtain 2 within 24 hours. I got really lucky.

[OTD]

There seems to be some sort of lube on the sliders from the factory as I have cleaned the sliders on one of my boards extensively with isopropyl alcohol and the keys felt harsh to push down afterwards. Personally, I would use it for a bit and break it in. If you still desire to lube it after a few weeks go for it. 

Using alcohol made it a bit rougher because rubbing alc. reacts with the plastic by drying it out. A similar larger scale example would be if one was to use rubbing alcohol on to an acrylic clear case. The case would react and dry up as well as fog up and become more brittle.

[illitirit]

As someone who has lubed a brand new HHKB, then hated the after effect of it and having to clean it all up I would say no it is not worth it at all to lube a HHKB up.  The spacebar stabs  maybe but everything else is magic as it is.

It took me about 5 hours to clean off all the lube.  The only thing the lube did for me was take away the magic thock of the HHKB.  It didnt at all make me feel like the keys were more smooth or gave a better typing feeling.

[bocahgundul]

As someone who has lubed a brand new HHKB, then hated the after effect of it and having to clean it all up I would say no it is not worth it at all to lube a HHKB up.  The spacebar stabs  maybe but everything else is magic as it is.

It took me about 5 hours to clean off all the lube.  The only thing the lube did for me was take away the magic thock of the HHKB.  It didnt at all make me feel like the keys were more smooth or gave a better typing feeling.

What lube did you use?

[OTD]

Maybe the type of lube and amount of lubed used were all factors in you not liking it?

[crj3012]

Just a quick update, I am going to apply some lube to all stabs and sliders. I'm going to be careful to only add a little. My Fn key and a few others are really scratchy compared to others, so hopefully this will fix it.

[illitirit]

As someone who has lubed a brand new HHKB, then hated the after effect of it and having to clean it all up I would say no it is not worth it at all to lube a HHKB up.  The spacebar stabs  maybe but everything else is magic as it is.

It took me about 5 hours to clean off all the lube.  The only thing the lube did for me was take away the magic thock of the HHKB.  It didnt at all make me feel like the keys were more smooth or gave a better typing feeling.

What lube did you use?

I used techkeys mix Krytox GPL 206/1506 Thick

[illitirit]

Maybe the type of lube and amount of lubed used were all factors in you not liking it?

i originally thought that the amount I used might be why I did not like it.  So I actually lubed it AGAIN after cleaning it.  The first time I lubed I did use a fair amount.  I used a thin painters brush and really did use a good amount on each slider / slider housing.  It felt horrible.

The second time I lubed only the slider housing using probably 1/4 the amount of the first time.  It felt alot better than the first time but honestly not much different than stock.  I personally think stock is the best in terms of feeling and thock.  Lube just takes away something magical from HHKB.

[bocahgundul]

I think its best to use not too thick lube or just low viscosity lube for topre, like the kyrtox 103, or superlube that hypersphere use and ro 59.

[crj3012]

Final update. Thanks for everyone's input. I decided I definitely wanted to relube some of the stabs (especially the spacebar), so I figured while it was apart I might as well do the whole thing. I used this lube (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XBH9HI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00). I used a q-tip to apply the lube to the housings and I put just enough on each side so that you could see a greasy texture on the plastic(a very small amount in comparison to what was on the stabs). I am more than happy that I did it. The switches went from smooth as a baby's bottom to smoother than butter. You may think, "which is smoother", IMO the butter (but barely). The tactility has not changed at all, but I believe the board has gotten quieter. I am not sure if that change in sound will stay over time as the lube "wears in". As of right (this is the first thing I have typed since lubing) the switches feel the same in every way, but they're slightly more smooth. MY FINAL CONCLUSION: After taking the ~1.5 hours  to do this, I would say that it wasn't worth my time to lube a brand new board. It changed for the better, but only slightly. If I were to buy another new HHKB, I would wait until the stabs were in need of desperate relubing before I did the whole board.

[OTD]

Final update. Thanks for everyone's input. I decided I definitely wanted to relube some of the stabs (especially the spacebar), so I figured while it was apart I might as well do the whole thing. I used this lube (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XBH9HI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00). I used a q-tip to apply the lube to the housings and I put just enough on each side so that you could see a greasy texture on the plastic(a very small amount in comparison to what was on the stabs). I am more than happy that I did it. The switches went from smooth as a baby's bottom to smoother than butter. You may think, "which is smoother", IMO the butter (but barely). The tactility has not changed at all, but I believe the board has gotten quieter. I am not sure if that change in sound will stay over time as the lube "wears in". As of right (this is the first thing I have typed since lubing) the switches feel the same in every way, but they're slightly more smooth. MY FINAL CONCLUSION: After taking the ~1.5 hours  to do this, I would say that it wasn't worth my time to lube a brand new board. It changed for the better, but only slightly. If I were to buy another new HHKB, I would wait until the stabs were in need of desperate relubing before I did the whole board.

Completely agree with this. Lubing might be something nice to do if you are already opening up and modding your hhkb like replacing the sliders to novatouch sliders or replacing the dome weights for example.

[bocahgundul]

Final update. Thanks for everyone's input. I decided I definitely wanted to relube some of the stabs (especially the spacebar), so I figured while it was apart I might as well do the whole thing. I used this lube (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000XBH9HI?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00). I used a q-tip to apply the lube to the housings and I put just enough on each side so that you could see a greasy texture on the plastic(a very small amount in comparison to what was on the stabs). I am more than happy that I did it. The switches went from smooth as a baby's bottom to smoother than butter. You may think, "which is smoother", IMO the butter (but barely). The tactility has not changed at all, but I believe the board has gotten quieter. I am not sure if that change in sound will stay over time as the lube "wears in". As of right (this is the first thing I have typed since lubing) the switches feel the same in every way, but they're slightly more smooth. MY FINAL CONCLUSION: After taking the ~1.5 hours  to do this, I would say that it wasn't worth my time to lube a brand new board. It changed for the better, but only slightly. If I were to buy another new HHKB, I would wait until the stabs were in need of desperate relubing before I did the whole board.

I think you use the wrong one bro that one is the thick one and don't have ptfe the one I refer to is the superlube 51010

[OTD]

You should use something with PTFE because Teflon is inert so it will last for a very long time without drying out or reacting to anything.

[axtran]

I lubed my brand new HHKB--totally worth it. Used EK MechLube 2.

[Bucake]

i used thick lube (krytox 205), but ended up removing it again..
even a small amount slowed down the strokes too much, and it ruined the typing feel.
can imagine that thinner lube (oil?) could be good. because all you really want is lessen that gritty feel that the strokes have.

but definitely keep stabilizers lubed up! mine came with a fairly sloppy lube-job, re-doing it made the sound and feel so much better.
thick lube here, is king. lube generously, for more points

edit: some audio clips imply that a good lube job makes the keyboard way more quiet. so i guess there's another good reason to lube your hhkb. i'm certainly gonna try it again, when i get some thinner lube : )

[crj3012]

Some people are worried about the lube I used, but fret not. It is a PTFE lube (says so on Amazon). Also, it is not super thick like the lube that came pre-installed on the stabs, but it is not extremely thin. It is just the right thickness IMO. I guess we'll see how it holds over time.