My Shift Happens books finally arrived.
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Stabilizers new mold. But the shape and principle of operation are the same as OWlab V2 or V3.
Only they are cheaper and the wire is simple and has no memory effect.
SPEC
- Linear Switch
- POM+SL stem
- Modified POM top housing
- Nylong bottom housing
- 22mm 2-stage spring
- Operating force 37+/-5gf
- Bottom force 45+/-5gf
- Pre-travel 1.8+/-0.4mm
- Total Travel 3.5+/-0.3mm
Lubricated very very well from the factory. Can be used straight out of the box.
But here in the specifications it is written as 3.5mm pressing stroke.
I measured it as 3.2mm
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A semi-random collection of two dozen tactile switches from https://www.mechbox.co.uk. The Halo/Hako set, the Cherrys, the Pandas, are all for examining family resemblances and differences. The Gateron CAP milky brown is because I liked the non-clicky parts of the sound of the Zeal Clickiez (which are anchoring the corners of this board) - the Clickiez are based on the CAP design. The rest are mostly random.
I slung them into an incomplete keybird69, and put the GMK MTNU PBT colour sample keycaps on top for some basic testing. I need to do some tests using a more complete board, because there are too many edge effects with this setup!
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NovelKeys Corkies and Felties arrived. I had ordered both Corkie and Feltie in Small size thinking they’d make keyboards sound different. To my surprise, keyboards sounded the same because they are just rubber pads with very thin skin made of respective material either glued (Corkie) or stitched (Feltie) on top.
I did expand the Specification section to check dimensions of sizes but I did not see anything other than rubber bottom that suggested they’d be made mostly out of rubber.
It was partly my fault for not double-checking so I feel embarrassed and cheated at the same time. I won’t be returning these. But I won’t be buying from NovelKeys again because bad surprises are not what I expect from trusted vendors.
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My desk mat is 800x400 mm of solid felt from China via Amazon for the princely sum of £10. I got it 2.5 years ago, before I was really aware that desk mats could be objects of desire. Tho tbh according to my personal aesthetic, its utilitarian simplicity is hard to beat.
Like, this hyperfuse deskmat is great and also not available to buy 
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I mean deskmats really don’t change the sound of keyboards too much beyond muting them a little bit IME. Also as an owner of many deskmats I personally am very happy with my Feltie & don’t think it performs any less than the bigger mats usually sold alongside keysets. I get that you are not happy with yours which is understandable given your preconceived notions of them. Although you would really let something so small put you off from buying from arguably the best vendor in the hobby?
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There are vendors that sell case pads made fully out of felt or cork. The same except intended for use under the keyboard is what I thought was ordering.
Keyboard sound is my primary focus and I’ve found that what’s below the keyboard can change the sound drastically. It’s true that my bias and experience may have formed a preconceived notion that differs from the actual product. That’s why I was embarrassed.
Re NK being the best vendor in the hobby, I disagree. They were among the best. Now, 
. Who in the right mind places extruding vendor name into part of stabilizer stems that could interfere with operation depending on orientation? That alone tells me NK is no longer paying enough attention to products they sell.
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Mine arrived today and it’s just as exhaustive and glorious as I imagined 
- it’s a 3-volume set! (With extras!)
- I tried to pair my modern model F repro with the correct page on the book (or as close as I could get)
- Marcin spent a lot of time getting the lacquer on the covers Just Right and it shows
My only lament is that I will need a vacation from my new job in order to digest it all properly 
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@kimslawson
Kishsaver (repro if I remember) looking amazing with those caps, in back, I might add.
@donpark
I have a bunch of felt Keebmats that are rubber bottom with thick felt on top. I feel like the felt is more dominant there than the rubber. I don’t know how the felt thickness of these compares, though I am interested in getting a Corkie at some point. Would be nice to have something that’s thicker cork, but I doubt I will follow through on that project.
I will say I’ve been very happy with my NovelKeys purchases and interactions, recently, but I’m sorry these were a letdown for you.
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Cork layer of Corkie is paper thin. Felt layer of Feltie is slightly thicker but not enough to make observable change to the sound.
Getting one of the deskmats made of 100% cork and cutting it down to desired size may be the better option. Same with felt except someone will need to stitch the sides.
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My felt desk mat is about 2.5 mm thick and it has simple cut edges without stitching. The edges are still sharp after more than two years.
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I snipped off a corner of each pad to compare thickness. I didn’t really have to clip-off Corkie but my OCD kicked in and it was done before common sense caught up.
Cork layer of Corkie was indeed thin, not paper thin but mostly rubber nonetheless.
Felt layer of Feltie was thicker than it felt (sorry), ~60% felt and ~40% rubber. I now suspect the rubber layer may be overwhelming any impact on sound by felt.
So:
- Avoid Corkie unless what you want is a keyboard-sized deskpad with cork surface.
- As to Feltie, bc sound perception vary. It’s the better option if you must purchase one of the two.
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Thanks for the visuals. I think the Keebmat felt is thicker than the Feltie…it’s about 4mm 3mm with 1-2mm below that of rubber…but the felt/rubber proportion may be the same.
Instead of the outside piping, the Keebmats have stitching through the rubber and felt about 1cm from the outer edge. They are well bonded together, so it’s more for aesthetics. The fabric Keebmats have piping.
EDIT: Whoops. Measured it again and it seems the Keebmat felt is 3mm. And actually they send you a coaster when you order a mat, and these are extremely thin cork bottom and felt top. It seems like an inverted Corkie with felt instead of rubber. I actually think I’d like it. Guess it stays on the list.
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Ahh, that explains a lot, thanks for the sacrifice to keeb science! Being honest if I would’ve went with a corkie instead of the feltie I got I too would’ve been disappointed with it. That is a super thin layer of cork & while probably made that way to keep it in line with the feeling of normal deskmats it also makes it look (& probably feel) pretty cheap. Really glad I just went with the feltie now seeing this.
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All-POM Gaterons from Chosfox, whatever they are called.
Seems like Gateron will see a trend, decide to do it, but then take as much time as it takes to absolutely nail it - meaning their version comes out behind the trend, sometimes by a year or more, but also gently puts to shame most of its peers.
IMO these Smoothies or Creameroos or whatnot are no exception - I agree with @ventamora that these are the most successfully “creamy” all-POMs I’ve tried.
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I tried them side by side with some launch edition creams from NK today. Hands down, all around, better switch. Have you tried lubing them yet? I imagine they would sound even more exceptional.
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I’ll be honest in that I think competent factory lubing is most of what makes these so good - I haven’t opened any yet, though I’m sure I will at some point.
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ROLLER LINEAR SWITCHES
Linear
Pre-Travel: 2.0±0.3mm
Total Travel: 3.5±0.3mm
Actuation: 45g±5gf
Bottom-Out: 60g±5gf
Stem: POM
Top Housing: Transparent Ink PC
Bottom Housing: PA66
Durability: > 50 million actuations
PCB Mount, 5-Pin
MX Style
Factory Lubed
Features: Each switch stem and base have four ball bearings.
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Certainly fascinating, and honestly better than I was expecting so far. The samples I have feel very stable - I wonder how that will hold up over time.
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They sold out so fast I didn’t get to buy any. Hoping someone restocks. I’ve gotta try these switches!
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