New switch from Cannonkeys peaked my interest. New pet peeve, switch listings with no force curve or any details on the bump.
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The Tofu65 is getting a 2.0 version.
Color options are pretty neat this time around - one anodized grey, with all the others being electrophoresis coatings.
Seems like the trend right now isn’t some nuanced mounting style, but a selection of mounting styles (or one style with multiple material options, depending). Now that even the budget segment of budget boards has gasket mounting, customs are finding new ways to set their functionality apart. No longer do you have to choose a completely different board if you want a different mounting feel - you just need to pull out your driver set. I love it.
If I hadn’t already splurged on the Mode Envoy, I’d be seriously considering one of these >.>
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This is why my fomo quickly dies, the keyboard world is progressing exponentioaly in the last couple years.
The Tofu 2.0 needs a blocker and a little bit higher frame that would cover the keycaps properly and it would be amazing.
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There is that Tofu SE - it has blockers and at least appears to have a taller shoulder height - buuut it starts at $150 more. 
I tried some samples of these thanks to SwitchOddities - low-pro stuff generally isn’t my bag, but this does seem like a real step up from Outemu’s version.
Not mentioned on the Chosfox or SwitchOddities page, both the tactile and linear version of this Tecsee “Medium Switch” are dampened on the down-stroke. The up-stroke isn’t dampened per-se, but between the light springs, short travel, and soft HPE top, dampeners aren’t really needed to keep the top-out nice and quiet.
So far the weirdest thing I’ve noticed about these is a sort of tacky / slightly sticky feeling from the bottom dampener, which I’m pretty sure lives at the bottom of the central tube. It’s mild - just enough to feel (and hear if the room is quiet and the switch is close to your ear).
As far as I can tell, these are almost totally MX-compatible - that is, they should fit and function in MX switch slots, and mount MX caps without issues. Note: I’m not sure how they’d get along with standard stabs, though - a build with these might need lower profile versions of those, as well.
I don’t think there’s much particularly special about these besides their reduced height and travel, but they do represent an improvement in their vanishingly-small bracket.
Another bonus of these is that it shouldn’t matter what direction they are mounted in since they have a flat top housing.
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It’s a very slow day at work today, so I’m poking around on AliExpress.
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G•Square Rem & Ram switches - not to be confused with those other HaiMu switches with faceted diffusers based on characters from Re: Zero - I didn’t realize these ever came out, and hey maybe they didn’t - I feel like I can never tell if an Ali listing is truly legit until I have the item in-hand.
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TTC Neptune & Venus switches - some more that I’d heard about but didn’t know were available yet; TTC’s latest weird riff on the MX footprint. Quite pricy, but something for the early adopters to chew on and evaluate. I guess it remains to be seen if these are any good, but TTC says they’re extra smooth and stable.
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TTC sample tester - are there TTC switches you haven’t tried yet? Well - we can put a stop to that. This sampler doesn’t have every swith they’ve ever made, but it does have just about every kind.
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JWK Irene switches - nothing too fancy here; Nylon housing & UPE stem - I mainly mention them for being a nice match for the Matrix 0-1 blue-and-cream colorway.
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JWK PointWorks switches - again just for the color; it’s really purple.
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man, I am a fan of purple, but those PointWork switches are coming in at like $0.69/switch delivered to the US.
I have been loving the Black Lotus’ though. Have some keycaps (Domikey Ghost) coming in that should hopefully take advantage of it a little better than what I have on my QK60 right now.
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If you’ve been wanting an aluminum screw tray but aren’t keen on paying $30+ for it, Dangkeebs has one on sale for fifteen bucks today:
Available in anodized black, grey, and silver.
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Shift Happens (a book about keyboards) is available for early bird pricing on Kickstarter for the next 43 hours. It’s expensive at $125 + $25 for US shipping, but is an absolutely beautiful, gargantuan set. The book looks to be a great mix of current, vintage, and historical boards.
Some specs from the product page:
- 1,216 full-color pages split across two volumes
- 1,300+ high-quality photographs, including over 500 photos taken exclusively for this book
- 42 chapters covering 150 years of keyboard history
- 4 photos of keyboards using Comic Sans (the answer might surprise you)
I was a little hesitant to plunk down this much for a book, but there is a lot of in-depth information provided about the book regarding design, printing, materials, etc. on the Kickstarter page and the book’s website. The author also sounds like he has the design, research, and writing experience to make this a success. I’m excited for this one!
Edit: there’s a dedicated thread about this book here.
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A peoples’ PCB - nineteen bucks. Not bad!
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Dude, that’s an amazing deal. I had to pickup all three and with the WEENG discount, it was just shy of $50. That’s less than the cost of the raw material I figure.
Next week starting Feb. 13th through the 19th, Drop is going to be having a DCX BOGO sale.
*Generally speaking, this means a hundred bucks will get you two really solid Cherry-like keysets. Edit: thanks @luluna for pointing out the BOGO is conditional on the first set being WoB or BoW.
An early-access version of the sale for Keycap Club members starts today, and ends on the 13th when the open-to-the-public sale begins.
This includes most of the DCX colorways out right now, but here’s some highlights:
- WoB & BoW* ← BOGO pair must include either one of these
- Cyber
- Dolch
- Dusk
- Hyperfuse
- Jasmine
Edit: Also Camilio, Genesis, Keyman, Magnolia, Permafrost, and Violac.
9009 and Deep Space are excluded.
(some gushing about how much I like DCX)
As someone who has purchased a strange amount of BoW & WoB keysets all the way from discount dyesub to GMK, I can tell you DCX are my favorites. After some months of use, they’ve retained their positive first impression: they look how I want them to look, feel how I want them to feel, and I think the prices are fair.
When it comes to doubleshot ABS in a familiar profile, I think DCX is the closest to perfection anyone has gotten so far. Not only do I think Dorp got things right with the design of DCX, I think they killed it. The edges slightly softer than Cherry - the injection marks better hidden than GMK - the plastic feel right on-par with MT3… they’re just a pleasure to use. Now that a patient person can pick them up for around $50 a set, I really can’t think of a hemispherical option I’d recommend before them unless someone’s budget is very austere.
I’m often first in line to give Dorp some friendly criticism (usually about their marketing goofery) - but when it comes to DCX, I’m happy to say they got it very right.
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Is permafrost included?
hopefully this means we have some new DCX colorways coming out soon
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I was really impressed with how well Hyperfuse turned out. Quality in the legends improved even from the Dolch set that I have, and I thought that one was almost on par with GMK quality.
Wasn’t a fan of the Violac colorway, as once in hand, it reminded me more of a raw steak than lush purples.
I am considering Booper’s Deep Space set as well, but it looks like that is the one set that is still going for $140…
If anyone is looking for JTK keycaps with amazing kitting (“With 227 keycaps the set can transform itself to any size keyboard, including ANSI, ISO, full size, TKL, 60%, and more.”), Kono has the double/triple-shot Shuten-dōji from OUTVA up for pre-order. It will come in JTK’s keycap storage cases (and a couple of beefy blister packs) for under $100.
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Also, Drop has pre-orders up for the Planck V7…
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Yes.
Looks like not Deep Space, maybe not 9009.
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It’s a BOGO with restrictions - the first set has to be BoW or WoB, which isn’t the best (especially if you already own BoW or WoB):
Our first DCX BOGO is here—and we’re making it a monochrome event to remember. This week, buy a DCX White-on-Black or DCX Black-on-White keycap set and get a second eligible DCX set, free.
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I’m fairly sure that a new Mito set Cyanolet (basically an inversion of the colors in GMK Mitolet) is imminent as he’s been teasing it on his Discord.
Dream DCX set for me is Skull Squadron. Matt3o mentioned it once during the drama with MT2 but I doubt it’s close if they even do it. My guess is that lthe lack of custom legends or novelties might be holding back some of the more popular color-ways from being produced.
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NK_ having a flash sale on GMK Bento R2:
Also HSA caps in limited stock!
I’m holding out for brown myself, but man these have been a long time coming.
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Agreed. Brown is where it’s at. I’ll wait, too. Plus, the long wait was for molds to be made, so hopefully (if they’re good caps) they can turn more out now without having to wait as long.
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