Do I Need to Lube My Keyboard Switches?
Figure 1: Sometime around here is a good time to ask that question... If you’re new to the mechanical keyboard hobby, I have no doubt that planning your first keyboard build is a bit of a daunting task. To be entirely honest with you, it’s only a tiny bit less daunting for your second or even third keyboard builds should you stay around a little while longer. You’ve got the keyboard itself to worry about, stabilizers, keycaps, and even switches on top of all of the intangible marks you want your dream keyboard to hit. Switches are especially daunting right out of the gate as there’s just so many options out there to pick from – each with their own unique specifications, manufacturers, and more. Yet, in spite of all of these differences between switches, time and time again I find people always asking about lubing switches as one of their chief concerns when it comes to picking some up. With countless numbers of content creators talking about lubing switches, its no...
Apr 17, 2024
Also, I can't believe you accommodate all these funky keyboards, and not Corsair. /sulk
Edit: and the thing with Corsair is their weird spacebar. Signature Plastics literally doesn't have a mold for a spacebar that size.
As I think about it, if Corsair/Razer/Logitech were smart (not sure if anyone else has that space bar), they'd give SP money to offset that investment. They could get some free advertising out of it if they do some fancy announcement. Nice PR.
It would also likely improve sales, because I know of people that won't buy the keyboards solely because of their non-standard bottom row.
I especially can't see upgrading regular keyboards that are totally fine for what they are (non-ergonomic) when my Keyboard.io Model 01 is finally getting close to production. Since it uses proprietary keycaps, I'll be using the Corsair as one of my "keycap boards" for some time to come!
Unfortunately your Corsair won't be much for keycaps either way, as there aren't any solutions for it's unique length spacebar.
I hate to burst that bubble of omniscience you're rocking, but a lot of people who buy these keyboards actually USE them. LIKE them. Even LOVE them. They will never solder their own PCB, or buy a custom Korean board, or decide they can't live without a keyboard with at least 3 programmable layers. And they're HAPPY!
I already KNOW there's a dearth of spacebar options for my Corsair keyboard - I knew it when I bought it, and I bought it anyway. Tai Hao and Max Keyboard already know and benefit from the fact that many "heathen" people with non-standard, mainstream mechanical keyboards WANT to spend money on better/cooler keycaps. Further, people will actually choose NOT to buy keycap sets that won't accommodate their Corsair/Logitech/Razer keyboard's spacebar. Particularly when the set costs more than their actual keyboard. At this point, SP doesn't care (or market research says demand isn't there to make it profitable), but that hopefully will change.
SP will also never care. They are a much larger manufacturer of molded plastic goods that merely keeps their keycap presses running because they know they can always throw them on PMK to get rid of any spare inventory.