My Kingdom for Smooth ABS SA Keycaps
Every time I build a new keyboard, I go hunting for keycaps. And every time I go hunting, it eventually devolves into a desperate search for SA (or equivalent) profile keycaps with a smooth finish. SA is the ultimate profile, IMHO, and they're relatively hard to come by. Signature Plastics, which is where a lot of SA sets come from like the T0mb3ry SA Carbon set (they might actually hold the trademark on the SA profile if I'm not mistaken), is reportedly going through some management/ownership struggles (last I heard, they're looking for new ownership), and along with apparently the rest of the industry, they seem to be neglecting this superior keycap profile in their own stocks. If you order direct from them, they have a couple themed sets in stock (maybe), but generally you can have any color you want, as long as it's black or white. Drop carries a fair number of MT3 profile sets, which are very similar to SA. But just like SP's SA-P profile, they're made with a different...
Apr 10, 2024
Seems like these are easily available elsewhere for lower than the lowest drop price.
That link is pointing to the silver variation (the reflection between the keys makes it look gold). Silver is about $10 cheaper across the board but unfortunately we need to focus this buy on one color because we cant mix and match colors to reach the maximum price drop level.
I'm using the keys on a poker II on red switches right now and I'm uploading a pic so you can see the difference I mentioned. Everything left of the E, D, and C is silver, everything right of R, F, and V is gold.
Hopefully that makes it more clear,
On reds they make the actuation force quite low. I don't have anything to measure it with but reds with the metal caps are very easy to deal with. Keeping that in mind, I find myself having less accidental actuations than I did on the 45g topre I was using previously.
On the browns, the effect is a little more interesting IMO. The tactile feedback is still noticeable for sure, but I find it much less annoying than I normally do. The additional weight of the metal and the momentum created through the key press makes for a smoother experience that's enjoyable without becoming linear.
Hopefully that helps!