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
This is my keyboard:
You can see it in action here:
https://youtu.be/GHlgqIOg6_0
At the end of the day, you have to figure out if you want a 60%, TKL, full-size... Or maybe a 65%, even a 40%. It’s all personal preference.
Notable exceptions are Topre, Matias and Logitech Romer G keyboards. With these you have a much smaller range of options for keycaps.
To my mind, the best of all are Cherry MX compatible keyboards which allow you to replace both the keycaps and the switches - such as the Massdrop ALT or the GMMK. Then you can play with over 100 different types of switches as well as many dozens of keycaps.
It's worth a bit of googling to learn about keycap profiles, materials and so on before going too wild. It can save you a lot of money.