[Keyboards, Inclusive]

A beginner’s guide to world of mechanical keyboards

This article is what I wish I read before I went down the rabbit hole of mechanical keyboards. I curated the abundance of mechanical keyboard information available today and also simplified the steps for purchasing and/or building your first mechanical keyboard.

Contents

Article Intro

Mechanical keyboards are a joy to use. If you work or play at a computer, you could easily spend 2 hours per day actively typing. What would it be like if the feeling of typing was a positive experience from the moment you see your keyboard from across the room? It would be awesome! The mechanical keyboard world can be overwhelming, however. There is a lot of content out there, and it is bewildering to sift through the info as a beginner. As someone who LOVES learning about things others are passionate about, I always find it helpful to have a guide. This article is what I wish I read before I went down the rabbit hole of mechanical keyboards. Especially if you are not a PC or gaming enthusiast, I want to include you into the mechanical keyboard community. I will simplify the steps for purchasing and/or building your first mechanical keyboard. If you are a beginner, my goal is that spending 1 hour on this article will save you 8 hours of confusing searching. As my friend who introduced me to mechanical keyboards said, down the rabbit hole you go ;)

Background on the World of Mechanical Keyboards

Most keyboards today are “membrane” keyboards, which means they use a rubber dome under the keycap. When you press on a key, the dome deflects and touches the underlying PCB. This contact completes the circuit, which tells the computer which key you pressed. Mechanical keyboards have an individual switch under each keycap. When you press down a key on a mechanical keyboard, it gives a very satisfying tactile feel and sound. Mechanical keyboards are also highly customizable to your typing preferences and last longer than membrane keyboards. Once you start typing on mechanical keyboards, it is difficult to go back to membrane keyboards. The main downside to mechanical keyboards is that they can be loud and annoy office-mates or housemates. There are silent switches available, however, which are as quiet as membrane keyboards. If the most important things to you about a keyboard are that it is inexpensive and quiet, then membrane keyboards are perfectly fine for your use cases. If you only use your laptop keyboard, you probably don’t need a mechanical keyboard either. Mechanical keyboards were actually the original keyboards. Membrane keyboards were invented in the 1990s and became popular because they were inexpensive and easier to mass produce. Mechanical keyboards never really went away - partly because some of those keyboards from the 90s still work and partly because enthusiasts kept making them. In 2020, mechanical keyboards started having a major revival. In the mechanical keyboard community, there are a few prominent YouTubers, thousands of videos, and plenty of forums. The community includes many gaming enthusiasts, which is why you will see twitch streams of 2+ hour builds. There are also small local gatherings and conventions...when there is not a pandemic. Part of the appeal of mechanical keyboards is that they are highly customizable, so most mechanical keyboard content is focused around building your own keyboard. The most difficult part of building your own keyboard is all the confusing choices you need to make to order parts, not the building of the keyboard itself. This article exists to guide you through those choices. Like most products and hobbies, there is a wide range of quality and involvement. How much you spend depends entirely on which route you choose. To set expectations, plan on spending $100 for a basic keyboard and $300 for a keyboard with some higher quality components. The next tier is ~$600 - $800. Mechanical keyboards prices top out around $2000. As mentioned, I find learning about a new subculture absolutely fascinating. My favorite thing about the subculture of mechanical keyboards is its accessibility. For a tool that you use daily and will last you for years, $300 is really not that expensive. In terms of hobbies, keyboards are also a fun and easy thing to share with family and friends. Everyone uses them!

Basics of Mechanical Keyboards

This video (11 minutes) and this article (5 minutes) explain the main components of a mechanical keyboard. Keyboard University also has excellent introductory articles.

With these basics down, let’s start exploring how to go about acquiring a mechanical keyboard.

What are the Decisions I Need to Make?

Scroll down below "Final Comment" to see the Decisions Table. It has information about the decisions you will need to make in your journey of buying a mechanical keyboard, the options available, and tips for keeping it simple. I recommend to make the decisions in the order listed. It will help save you time during your research, and if you choose to do a full custom build, it will save you some time making sure all your parts fit together.

Decisions:

1. Level of Involvement 2. Form Factor and Layout 3. Case 4. PCB 5. Switches 6. Lube 7. Plate 8. Foam 9. Keycaps 10. Stabilizers 11. Tools

Table of Example Keyboards

Please scroll down to the bottom of this article for the table of example keyboard and their associated costs.

Finding Parts

Now that you have spent some time thinking through what decisions you will need to make for your first keyboard and have looked at example keyboards, let’s talk about where to find parts to buy.

Shopping for keyboard parts is like shopping for clothes. There are a lot of different stores that all offer something slightly different. There is not one Amazon-like website where you can search for 90% of keyboard parts and easily compare your options. You will need to search around on separate websites.

An incomplete list of websites with parts:

• kbdfans - has full keyboards, kits, parts

• Keychron - has full keyboards

• Drop - has full keyboards and parts

• Ducky - has full keyboards, parts, peripherals. In the US, you can buy Ducky products at mechanicalkeyboards.com

• Iquinix - has full keyboards, kits, parts

• Amazon - has full keyboards and parts

• Wasd keyboards lets you customize colors and fonts for a full keyboard or a keycap set

• Kickstarter - specific for mechanical keyboard group buys

• MechGroupBuys for group buys

• NovelKeys - has kits and parts

• Alexotos also has a great list of vendors in different countries.

• Keyboard Builder’s Digest also has a list of shops.

I highly recommend using the filters when searching for keyboards or components. For example, if you are looking for fully-built TKL keyboards on Drop.com, you can select “keyboards” and “Tenkeyless (TKL) keyboards.” If you are looking for a 60% fully assembled keyboard on kbdfans, you can select the corresponding dropdown choice.

When you have narrowed down to 2-3 top choices for your keyboard, I recommend searching on YouTube and Reddit with the keyboard model name. You can read reviews of the keyboard and get ideas. If you plan to modify the keyboard, I also recommend searching for your keyboard model plus “modification” and “modding” and “disassembly” as well as for the specific components.

Another option for finding parts or deciding between keyboards is to post on forums and hope people respond. For example, you could post on the daily sticky of Reddit's r/MechanicalKeyboards with your desired form factor, budget, and a few other criteria and ask for recommendations. People might respond. If you ask the right question, people might also post things like this homemade list: Compilation of Prebuilt Hotswap Keyboards.

Forums:

• Reddit mechanical keyboards

• Reddit budget mechanical keyboards

• geekhack

• keebtalk

Assembling a Keyboard

Yay, you ordered all your parts and tools and are ready to start building! Fortunately, there are a ton of videos and blogs out there to help you. You probably already found some helpful videos when you searched for your keyboard model. This article lists out the steps of building a custom keyboard.

A few tips:

• Double check that you have all the parts and tools you will need

• Clear out a space about the size of a card table

• Especially if you are soldering, test your PCB before you start assembling. Finding a PCB defect 3 hours into your build is a bummer.

• Wire keycap pullers will be difficult to use on single rows of keycaps, i.e. the top row of TKL or full size keyboard. You will need to use a ring keycap puller. This article explains the types of keycap pullers.

• Keep your computer handy, so you can reference videos as you work.

Here is an example $100 build by a beginner from the Example Keyboards Table: I ordered a Keychron C1, popped open the case using a credit card, cut some of the foam that came in the box to fit the case, and laid the foam in the case below the PCB. (example in this video) I also removed all the keycaps and switches, lubed all the switches, reinstalled the switches, and installed a combo of the original and new keycaps. Total time: 6-7 hours.

If you are disassembling the switches and lubing them, these steps will be the most time consuming parts of the build. Lubing switches can take 4 hours. Soldering will be the next most time consuming part of the build. The soldering itself is fast, but the set-up and testing for soldering adds time. Set aside 2 hours for soldering. The steps of removing keycaps then switches and installing the switches (on a hot-swappable PCB) then keycaps will take about 30 minutes total.

Final Comment

If you have made it this far in this article, you are officially down the rabbit hole. Welcome again to the world of mechanical keyboards and good luck with your keyboard!

P.S. When having your friends demo your keyboard, monkeytype is a useful website for their type test.

P.P.S. If you want another beginner’s guide, check out this Reddit post, this article, and Keyboard University.

Decisions Table

1. Level of Involvement / Budget

2. Form Factor and Layout

3. Case

4. PCB

5. Switches

6. Lube

7. Plate

8. Foam

9. Keycaps

10. Stabilizers

11. Tools

12. Peripherals

Decision & Options (Make the decisions in this order)	Tips to Keep it Simple
Level of involvement Essentially, am I going to buy off the shelf or build my own? — Off-the-shelf — Some customization / building — Full build Budget See the second table below for examples of keyboards and the associated costs. Plan on spending ~$100 for a basic keyboard, ~$300 for a keyboard with some higher quality and/or custom components, and $$$ on this addictive hobby :)	Think about what is important to you. If you are excited about the feel of a mechanical keyboard and don’t want to deal with the hassle of building one, buy off-the-shelf. If you are excited to do some hands-on experience of modifying the keyboard but don’t want to spend hours and hours researching parts, it could work well to start with a completed keyboard and customize from there. If you are extremely particular about how you want your keyboard to look and feel or if you want the experience of choosing every item, do a full build. For doing a full build, check out this how-to article.
​Form factor and layout How big of a keyboard do I want and with which keys? Form factor is the size and shape of the keyboard, i.e. does it have a numpad or not. Layout is where the different keys are. ANSI is the US layout. There are also slight differences in the size and placement of the space bar, enter key, etc… Check out this video and this article for introductions to the available form factors. Choosing the form factor before proceeding will help narrow your choices, which is helpful.	If you are buying off the shelf, buy whatever suits you! Ergo form factors are available too. If you are going to build your own keyboard, I recommend choosing one of these two form factors for your first build: the Tenkeyless/TKL/80% (normal full size keyboard but without the numpad) or the 60% board. The TKL will be the most similar to a standard keyboard. 60% seems to be the most common form factor custom keyboards, so you will be able to find more parts and less expensive parts than other form factors. The biggest downside of 60% keyboards is they don’t have the arrow keys. The workaround is to hold down a “function” key to have 3 keys act as the arrow keys. If you want a small form factor but can’t live without the arrow keys, just know that finding parts for a 65% keyboard could be a little trickier and more expensive than a 60% keyboard. If you are building a custom keyboard, double check that all the parts fit your exact form factor. Buying parts from the same site makes this task simpler because parts will often have the model name and form factor, i.e. “Blade60.”
​Case What do I want the housing of my keyboard to look like? The main choices here are material (metal or plastic) and color.	Search by form factor and see what is available. Metal cases - typically Aluminum -, are heavier and typically higher quality than the plastic cases. There are higher quality acrylic cases, however. Plastic cases are less expensive. The case will also affect the sound.
PCB Are there any functional features that I really need my keyboard to have? — Wired/wireless — Hotswappable/soldered — N-Key Roll Over (nkro) — No backlighting / white / RGB — Programmable - setting keys to mean different things	Having a wired or wireless keyboard is a personal preference. Wired is much more common for fully custom keyboards. If you are concerned about potential lag from a wireless connection - during gaming, for example - read the reviews. For your first build, I definitely recommend getting a hot-swappable PCB rather than a PCB that requires soldering. You can just pop the switches in and out of the PCB, which means you can try out different switches and don’t need to deal with soldering/desoldering. If you do want to solder, check out this article and this video. N-key roll over is about if your keyboard can register multiple keys if you press them all at the same time. 6KRO is plenty for super fast typists and professional gamers. If you are a normal typer, even the inexpensive keyboards with 2KRO will work fine for you. Having backlighting is a personal preference. Gamers often want to customize the color to match their gaming setup. I always type in a light room, so I don’t really care if my keys are backlit or not. When looking at backlighting for a PCB, check if the backlighting is an underglow under the entire PCB or if it is per each key. Programmable - Usually not that important because there are workarounds. Most wired PCBs are designed to be programmed using an open source QMK firmware. An newer alternative that is more wireless-friendly is the open source ZMK firmware.
​Switches How do I want the keystroke to feel when I am typing? Different model switch types are named by color. Switches are covered by the keycaps, so the color of the switch itself won’t show. Most common types: — Blue (clicky = bump in middle of stroke for clear actuation point, and loud) — Brown (tactile = bump in middle of stroke for clear actuation point) — Red (linear = smooth for whole stroke) There are many more colors that correspond to variations on these styles. Also silent versions. Also speeds. Things that differ between different switch styles include the spring type and weight, the housing material, and the stem lengths, which all affect the switch feel and sound. “Red” switches always mean that the switch is linear regardless of brand, but be careful because non-standard colors and enthusiast switches don't follow the same naming scheme. Different switch manufacturers also might report the actuation weight or the bottom-out weight, so it is not an apples-to-apples comparison. This chart helps standardize the comparison. MX Cherry and Gateron are two of the most popular brands of switches.	The standard reds (linear) are the most popular in general. They are fast, have enough resistance, and aren’t too loud. I say “standard red” to distinguish between the “silent red” or “fast red” types. The second most popular type of switch is brown (tactile). People prefer brown for the clear bump during the keystroke. Blue is very loud. I would only choose blue if you have your own office. If you stop by Best Buy or equivalent, they will have some keyboards out for display and often a switch tester - a set of different switches, all labeled. The keyboards might not be clearly marked with which switch type, but you will be able to tell if they have a bump in the keystroke (tactile switches) or if they are super loud (blue). You can start to learn what style you like. You can also buy or borrow a switch tester. With a switch tester or Best Buy, it will still be difficult to get a true feel of what your final keyboard will feel like, but it might help you rule out things that you do not like. Remember that if you get a hotswappable PCB, you can swap out the switches easily if you don’t like the ones you have. Check out the 3 sections of this video to hear what different switches sound like on the same keyboard. This video also shows the difference between the switch types well. As a heads up, the strongest opinions on forums are about switches.
​Lube Am I going to lubricate the switches and stabilizers? — Yes — Yes, without removing the switches — No	Lubing switches involves painting the inside of the switches with lube. It is time consuming, but definitely worthwhile. It is the one modification that will make the biggest difference in how typing feels and will keep that feeling consistent over time. Here is a video about how to lube MX Cherry style switches. While you can lube switches without removing them - by using spray lube, for example - it is generally not advised. If you still want to go for it, however, here is a video about how to lube switches without removing them.
​Plate Do I want to keep tuning the sound of my keyboard? There are many different materials for the plates, i.e. Aluminum, polycarbonate, FR4, brass. It is also possible to have a plateless keyboard, which is where the PCB mounts to the case, and an extremely flexible “half-plate,” which is where there is a cutout around the alpha keys. The plate and mounting style will change how springy the keyboard feels when you type. Less flexible plates will make for a higher pitched sound when typing. More flexible plates will make for a deeper “thock” sounds while typing.	Choices around plates, foam, and mounting style get into the details of tuning how the keyboard feels and sounds. They also affect the price. The reddit community put together this spreadsheet of things that affect sound. This tab is about plates. If you don’t want to deal with this level of tuning, use whatever plate your keyboard comes with. If you need to choose a plate material, aluminum is a good middle ground.
Foam Foam can go in the case below the PCB and/or in between the PCB and the plate. Foam dampens the sound of the keyboard.	This video shows the difference in sound between different types of foam. In general, case foam will reduce reverberations or hollow sounds and plate foam will reduce the overall loudness of typing. The PE foam mod is quite popular.
Keycaps How do I want my keyboard to look? What texture do I want the keycaps to be? So many styles to choose from ranging from $25 to $150 and more... For materials, see note to the right. Thickness: Generally 1-1.5mm. Most people enjoy typing on the thicker 1.5mm keycaps. Low profile keycaps are available, but are less common. Here is a picture of the different profiles of keycaps from this article.	The main rule about keycaps is to make sure they fit your keyboard in terms of layout, size of any special keys, backlit or not, and switch style. Regular (not low profile) keycaps will all fit on standard switches. “Standard” switches have a cross on top. MX and Gateron switches meet this criteria. Materials: I recommend sticking to either of the top two materials: PBT and ABS. PBT is slightly higher quality and will resist shine slightly better than ABS. ABS retains color better and is less expensive. Two notes: PBT is harder to manufacture, so sometimes the space bars are warped. Cheap doubleshot PBT caps are a combo of AND and PBT and will wear down faster than 100% PBT caps. For your first keyboard, I strongly recommend to pick a keycap set that is available for purchase immediately. There are Kickstarter campaigns and other methods of doing a group buy for a new style of keycaps, but it could take 6 months to get your keycaps. GMK is the top brand preferred by enthusiasts. It is ABS and cherry profile. Most group buys seem to be for this style of keycap. The $25 keycap sets on Amazon might have some quality issues. Read reviews before deciding if you want to purchase them. Here are some recommended keycaps. If you want to deep dive more into keycap styles, read this article.
Stabilizers (aka "stabs") How much do I care about how even the larger keys feel? Stabilizers are what makes the larger keys press evenly because the switch is only in the center of the keycap. Here is an article about stabilizers. Here is a video about how to lube and tune stabilizer.	The most important thing is to double check that your stabs fit both your PCB and your keycaps. The main divide among stabilizers is PCB-mount or plate-mount. PCB-mount is preferred.
Tools What tools do I need? If you are not doing any customization, you don’t need any tools. If you are doing customization, you will need the tools to what you want to do: If changing keycaps: — Keycap puller If lubing switches — Keycap puller — Switch puller — Switch separator — Lube — Paintbrush for lube If soldering: — Keycap puller — Switch puller — Soldering iron + solder — PCB tester (tweezers work )	Lube: Krytok 205g0 is a good all around lube. If you decided to lube tactile switches, a thinner lube might be better, i.e. Tribosys 3204 or 3203. And for lubing stabilizer wires, people often use dielectric grease because it is cheaper. For the other tools, it is personal preference. Here are some example tools: Lube: example 1 Switch separator: example 1, example 2, example 3 Stem holder: example 1 Kit with beginner tools: ($12) [link] Soldering iron: example 1, example 2 Solder: example 1, example 2 Note: Some keyboards might come with tools. For example, the Keychron boards come with a keycap puller and switch puller.
Peripherals If your keyboard is wired, you will need a cable to plug it in. One peripheral that you will see somewhat often is a desk mat. Desk mats can help dampen the sound if the material of your desk amplifies the sound.	Off the shelf keyboards come with a cable. Sometimes people buy a custom cable to match their keyboard’s color scheme, such as these cables. Desk mats are a matter of personal preference. Desk mat examples are here and here.

Example Keyboards Table

Level of Involvement	Example 1 (Less Expensive)	Example 2	Example 3 (More Expensive)
I want to buy an off the shelf keyboard	Keychron C1 (TKL), hotswappable ($60) HyperX Alloy keyboard ($80)	Wired calls this Filco Majestouch TKL a timeless classic ($130)	Kbdfans sells fully assembled keyboards. The Black Blade60 hot-swap with EnjoyPBT keycaps is ($250)
​I want to do some customization / building myself, but not have it be too difficult or have an overwhelming number of choices	The Keychron C1 above plus tools, lube, and inexpensive keycaps Total: <$100	GMMK Pro ($170) Switches: ($30) Keycaps ($50) Total: ~$250 Another example: D60 DIY kit ($300)	Case, PCB, plate, stabs: Mekanisk Fjell hot swap bundle ($420) Switches: Zealios ($65) Keycaps: GMK night runner bought through a group buy + novelty keys ($180) Total: $665
I want all in and will do a full build	An example build is in this video. The parts below are based on the video, but are not exactly what is shown. TMK680 - wired ($80) Switches ($15) Keycaps ($35) Tools (~$30) Total: ~$160	Case: Geonworks Frog TKL that was available for purchase on Swagkeys as referenced in this geekhacks post ($285) PCB: hot-swap (~$55) Plate: POM (included with case, or is $20 separately) Switches: Alpaca V2 linears (~$50) Keycaps: ePBT GOK ($90) Stabs: Durock V2 (~$20) Total: ~$500	Dream big and customize everything to your liking! Total: $$?