HHKB vs Type-S vs JTK sliders

[Hordak]

I wanted to move the silencing rings from my Type-S over to my black HHKB, so I opened up both cases and was expecting to find the same sliders in both boards. To my surprise though, the Type-S sliders are actually longer than the standard sliders in the HHKB, so I suppose it's not enough to just move the silencing rings over; the sliders must go along.

This came as a surprise, because I read multiple times on various forums, that the HHKB and Type-S share the same sliders. But apart from the difference in length, they actually also look a bit different (though that might just be for easier identification in the factory). Does anyone know what then is the difference to the purple sliders?  I though they were supposed to be the longer ones.

Also what I don't understand is that on the PFU website, the Type-S is stated to have 2mm less travel, but why then are the sliders longer? As far as I can see with the naked eye, the stems stick the same amount on both boards (on the keycap side), so they should have the same travel distance.

On a side note, I also ordered some of the JTK sliders: I suppose these are the same as the ones from the standard HHKB and so will reduce travel when placed in a Type-S or with Hypersphere's rings (which I also ordered).

[Geroximo]

What Model is your Type S? Production Date? Do you have comparison photos?
I'm extremely interested in this topic since some people say the sliders are different and some say they are the same.

[Hordak]

Sorry, don't have pictures. I already put the sliders back in. I'll do them the next time. But the stems on the HHKB where definitely longer. I couldn't make out another difference, abart from the bottom, which is a bit more rectangular on the Type-S sliders, but no functional difference as far as I could tell. They have the same profile when looking from the side.

About the model number, that could be a factor. My Type-S is model is A1 2014-08 while my HHKB is an A2 2014-06.

[Hordak]

I forgot I also have a new Type-S incoming, freshly ordered from PFU that should be the newest model. I'll see if I get time to compare the sliders.

[hking0036]

That's interesting for sure, on the silenced realforces I know the stems are purple which helps to indicate, but if they didn't change the colors on the type-s it might be harder to tell. Hopefully someone else will be able to compare as well and get pictures.

[exdurisgloria]

Please shed some light on this! As much as I love the hypersphere rings, I am really starting to miss the unmodified key travel. Also, I was wondering - if JTK is able to make custom sliders, is there any chance we could possibly get custom topre sliders that are slightly longer to compensate for the reduced travel of the silenced sliders? I for one would never want to buy a donor Realforce silenced board just to do a slider swap. So this would appear to be the most viable option for me.

[Tactile]

I just pulled a couple of caps (for the first time) from the type S I'm typing on now. The sliders appear black to me. This one is dated 2015-07.

[Hordak]

Yeah they are black on mine too. Same as the standard HHKB.

[Hordak]

Made a pic of the sliders. You can see that the ones from the Type-S are a bit longer.
Other than that, I could not make out a difference between the case of a standard HHKB and the Type-S with the naked eye.

Also, my new Type-S has arrived and it's also a revision A1, 2016-08. So it seems that there is no revision A2 for the Type-S.

[Geroximo]

Thank you Hordak, that was very informative.

[Hordak]

Don't mention it, Geroximo. Wish I had a better cam and photo skills.

One more observation: I've noticed that there is quite a bit of difference in typing feel between my new and the old Type-S. I got the first one 2 years ago, and you can definitely feel that this Type-S has worn down a bit, though I'm not sure which board I prefer tbh. The new Type-S feels smoother but at the same time less defined. It's hard to describe. I'll have to report back once I got more typing done.

Note that I've used my first Type-S for the past 2 years at work as my daily driver, and I pretty much type all day long.

[KylieIG]

Here I took these pics of the stem on the HHKB Pro2 type-s 2016

[sony]

Bumping this since someone linked it in another thread. Are the old type s sliders the same height and shape as the new ones? Also is the picture you took of the 2 sliders with the new type s slider?

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