Mechanical keyboards that don't just die..?

[Solaris17]

@Shrek
None. You absolutely shouldn’t put mechanical boards into dishwashers, what the actual fuck. There ARE some ruggedized and rubberized membrane boards that can be cleaned like that, but no, doing it to a mechanical keyboard is a bad idea.
Before someone brings up the Linus video - they later pinned a comment under it saying that the keyboard died shortly after and that they do NOT recommend such a cleaning method.
Just pull the caps off, wash them by hand in running water, rub the case/body down with a wet cloth and blow or vacuum off the crud from the switches. Dry the caps overnight, replace, and you are done.

it is a legit terrible idea.

I had a DKS6 with MX blues get destroyed from a roof leak. It was wet for minutes. It strips alll of the oils and grease from it. You’re not out of the woods if you aren’t lubed though. I disassemble switches and make my own custom stuff now and rarely is it a non-corrosive like ALU. Most are tin, brass or copper. And getting them wet is a death sentence.

 

[azrael]

Have to admit I'm very happy with my original GMMK. I've had it for about three years now and the only negative is that, for my region, they only supply ABS keycaps. It's a standard layout, though, so other keycaps can be bought.

 

[Shrek]

it is a legit terrible idea.

I had a DKS6 with MX blues get destroyed from a roof leak. It was wet for minutes. It strips alll of the oils and grease from it. You’re not out of the woods if you aren’t lubed though. I disassemble switches and make my own custom stuff now and rarely is it a non-corrosive like ALU. Most are tin, brass or copper. And getting them wet is a death sentence.

Interesting in the sense that washing a circuit board is fine.

At least Linus didn't use detergent (a big no go)

 

[Solaris17]

Interesting in the sense that washing a circuit board is fine.

At least Linus didn't use detergent (a big no go)

the switch internals are not made of solder.

and I don’t watch that clowns videos and for good reason as @Onasi ssid apparently it failed soon after Lolol

 

[Shrek]

Which makes me wonder... if one could vacuum dry the units.

 

[Wirko]

Interesting in the sense that washing a circuit board is fine.

It's fine as long as it's dried thoroughly immediately after washing. But some non-sealed components won't let the water out easily. Relays, potentiometers, inductors, transformers are some examples - and switches too.

 

[Dr. Dro]

The title might be a little unclear. I learnt the hard way that most no-name keyboards as well as Razer and Logitech ones just love dying right away. Either switches go kaput or PCB goes, whatever, it's a PITA to use (if ever usable) anyway.

Is there a manufacturer that won't scam me as well? I just want a basic skeleton keyboard, I don't use it for any extremities, I don't even work as a writer anymore. I just wanna have a comfortable way to type. And yes, I am not a PEBCAK kinda guy, my keyboards DO NOT receive any damage from me. I do dry cleaning every once in a while. I never spill anything on them. Circuity had been checked multiple times, keyboards receive adequate voltage and current, it's just the build quality that unfortunately doesn't exist.

And yes, spending more than $100 on a BASIC keyboard is also scam. Do I have any option?

Filtered unwanted types out. Is there anything that's likely to last?

Man if only you had the luck I had scoring a Model M at a price that isn't absolutely stratospheric. Unfortunate that you could not even order a modern one from Unicomp or even from their Amazon store since, well, US and RU tensions will likely deadstop that. All the mechanical keyboards I ever had, from cheap white labels to the Logitech G Pro TKL developed issues with keys not working or chattering/bouncing.

The ones in your OP link all seem to be the cheap, white label variety, I just would not expect longevity out of any of them. I have one from Galax that is super cheap and very similar to the cheapest Outemu Blue one from Acer there, I would pretty much just buy that and replace it when it gets too much of a bother with the inevitable issues it will eventually have.

Which makes me wonder... if one could vacuum dry the units.

Contact cleaner spray tends to work wonders for switches that happen to be bouncing due to debris, although depending on the kind you might need to relube them after cleaning or they will feel funny.

It's fine as long as it's dried thoroughly immediately after washing. But some non-sealed components won't let the water out easily. Relays, potentiometers inductors, transformers are some examples - and switches too.

Well the problem is the minerals in running/tap or even drinking water. H2O by itself (distilled water) tends to be safe, but salts might accumulate especially in these hard to reach areas, which is why I strongly believe washing circuit boards is stupid and irresponsible, we have the right chemicals to do this safely like contact cleaner spray.

 

[Ruru]

I had the original Razer Blackwidow (MX Blue) which got several beerbaths but after every time, cleaning with isopropanol made it work like new. Probably still works, sold it years ago to a friend (and mentioned its beerish history as well).

 

[Wirko]

As rubber dome keyboards are also "mechanical" in a broader sense, I have to say that my 30-year-old Key Tronic KT2000 just won't die.

 

[Dr. Dro]

As rubber dome keyboards are also "mechanical" in a broader sense, I have to say that my 30-year-old Key Tronic KT2000 just won't die.

Quick question, what did you end up binding a Windows key to? I chose to sacrifice the right Ctrl key, but can't help but wonder if there is something more efficient

 

[xu^]

had a Corsair K70 MkII SE , was a great keyboard up until it wasn't, after around 14 months old, the keys just kept coming off on there own, like wipe it with a cloth, not hard , and a couple of random keys would flick off on there own. Corsair PSU's, Ram, Cases etc are great, but not impressed with their keyboards or mice.

when the space bar kept lifting up at 1 end all the time was when i got rid, wouldn't buy another , put it that way.

 

[Wirko]

Quick question, what did you end up binding a Windows key to? I chose to sacrifice the right Ctrl key, but can't help but wonder if there is something more efficient

Nothing. All I need the Windows key for is:
Win alone = Ctrl-Esc
Win-E = Explorer = Ctrl-Alt-Shift-E
Win-R = Run = no shortcut (but thanks for reminding me, I'll somehow bind it to Ctrl-Alt-Shift-R)

 

[lexluthermiester]

An 8115?
View attachment 377598
Those were great, I wish Dell still made them...

That is not a mechanical keyboard.. It's a good one though.

 

[Scattergrunt]

Been using a steelseries apex pro for about 2 years now with no issues. Despite its age its quite a nice keyboard to this day but it sucks up muck and dirt like a vacuum I swear.. I plan on giving it the meanest deep clean soon.

Cherry mechnical keyboards seem pretty good too, I would recommend those imo

 

[DirtyDingusMcgee]

Adesso makes good keyboards. Lots of industrial keyboards, but they make mechanical ones too. Basically every rackmount keyboard i've ever owned was an Adesso.

$50 dollar Adesso mechanical

Keytronics are great, and are still around, but I don't think they make them anymore. Their website seems to indicate they are more of a white label company now.

I been using these Lenovo SK-8825s for a while, because they type nicely and I have a stack of them.

DasKeyboard makes really nice keyboards, but they are not cheap. Same for SteelSeries.

 

[QcRMoD]

Just about any I've bought?

One keyboard dying is not all of them. Unless you're talking about LEDs going wrong. That is a feat... of all crap with LEDs.

Let me recall...

Three Corsair (sold never got a problem from well known customer) (2012-2014)

Some Chinese brand I can't recall that I think has gone dead since (sold never heard back in two years on that now defunct Qc forum afterwards) (2015)

Vulcan 120 (got bought by Turtle but drivers still running as expected/still own it/RGB working great) (2017)

Ducky One 2.0 White LED (am typing on it as I post this, LEDs sort of half fucked up so I removed them still working and it's now without any, but otherwise working fine) (2018)

The punch is - I've spilled either coffee, soft drinks, or beer right into all of them... And I rinsed them under hottest water from the bath tap... and then I used a compressor air gun to blow the water out, let them dry a couple days (caps removed and washed aside) recapped them and ALL were working fine. If you really need to know, the Ducky One 2.0 LED started dying LONG before I spilled sticky stuff in it and rinsed it. I was just fed up with half the keys lighting. And a somewhat letdown internal engine for reassigning keys and overall lighting shades. But the thing in itself is the BEST most solid keyboard I ever owned.

All were retrolighted only the Ducky LEDs failed in my use / from what I heard of afterwards.

EDIT: uh I think I remember the Chinese brand now... something like G-Funk... Red retrolighted Red Mx switches.

EDIT 2: the Ducky One 2.0 LOCK LED indicators are still on and working fine. You know NUM Lock SCROLL Lock MAJ Lock. Just to be clear. Would be hard to remove them without dismantling the whole thing and only THESE never were a problem. The other sometimes working ones on all keys are the usual bulbs you get to see (and tear out of there live) when removing the key cap.

Love the plastic cover they sent with it. Will not prevent spills as you go but sure prevents dust getting in there when I am NOT there.

 

[AusWolf]

What do you do to your keyboards? I've had none die on me ever, noname or branded.

 

[Macro Device]

What do you do to your keyboards?

I just hit buttons with considerable enough force for them to activate but nothing more than that. It's just their build quality doesn't exist.

The punch is - I've spilled either coffee, soft drinks, or beer right into all of them... And I rinsed them under hottest water from the bath tap... and then I used a compressor air gun to blow the water out, let them dry a couple days (caps removed and washed aside) recapped them and ALL were working fine.

Wish I was as lucky as you.

 

[Chrispy_]

That is not a mechanical keyboard.. It's a good one though.

it was a direct response to Frick:

"Ditched it for the glorious chunky Dell membrane"

There are a handful of very old ones kicking around the office still and while the typing experience is good for a membrane keyboard, the thing I most like about them is the very clean, minimalist aesthetic and small footprint for a full-sized keyboard. Something about that lack of bezel and just enough styling to have style, without being garish or trying too hard...

 

[Apocalypsee]

I been using Cougar Attack 2 that using Cherry MX Black switch since 2022, before that I'm using Cooler Master that uses the same switch (I forgot the name of it). I replaced it because the WASD started to become insensitive.

 

[Chrispy_]

It's fine as long as it's dried thoroughly immediately after washing. But some non-sealed components won't let the water out easily. Relays, potentiometers, inductors, transformers are some examples - and switches too.

Years ago I used to dishwasher my 1995 Microsoft Natural Keyboard Elite, but I'd dismantle it and remove the membrane and PCB and trace sheet before dishwashering the plastic parts and rubber membrane.

That thing lasted years even though it started feeling like shit to type on every 12-18 months. The keycaps were held together in clusters in a plastic cage and I think this just got gummed up with dust and dirt, hence the regular cleaning. It's still my favourite keyboard ever, it's just a shame they never made an ISO-layout black USB one.

 

[Macro Device]

So the plan is:

1. Fix the money situation. Will prolly happen by late January.
2. Buy a genuine Cherry MX Blue keyboard.
3. (optional) Type "FUCK" as the first word on this bad boy.
4. Enjoy.

 

[Vayra86]

The title might be a little unclear. I learnt the hard way that most no-name keyboards as well as Razer and Logitech ones just love dying right away. Either switches go kaput or PCB goes, whatever, it's a PITA to use (if ever usable) anyway.

Is there a manufacturer that won't scam me as well? I just want a basic skeleton keyboard, I don't use it for any extremities, I don't even work as a writer anymore. I just wanna have a comfortable way to type. And yes, I am not a PEBCAK kinda guy, my keyboards DO NOT receive any damage from me. I do dry cleaning every once in a while. I never spill anything on them. Circuity had been checked multiple times, keyboards receive adequate voltage and current, it's just the build quality that unfortunately doesn't exist.

And yes, spending more than $100 on a BASIC keyboard is also scam. Do I have any option?

Filtered unwanted types out. Is there anything that's likely to last?

When I discovered and typed and gamed on these... I bought 3. Just in case the world ends and they stop making them, or the price gets inflated, which has already happened mind you, and the OG version has already been EOL'ed too, the new one is 20 bucks more pricy (and has wireless connectivity).

Its fucking heaven and I never will move to anything else. Even got used to the FN/CTRL switcharound entirely, I can alternate to a normal kb layout for those buttons fine (took me about a year though).

This right here offers a high quality scissor switch, tactile feedback, low keytravel, types like a laptop, games like a king, and you can even use it as an all in one for your HTPC as it has mouse functionality too. If you don't use the mouse, you can easily just pop off the red wart there and it won't get in your way anymore. I've already half-destroyed one of these Kbs (broke the chassis in one place from a bouncy fall from stairs) but it still keeps going and has done so for over a year since then. The only missing feature is N key rollover, but it still doesn't seem to miss my inputs anywhere in gaming. I haven't managed to kill a switch yet, even the WASD is still pristine. Another plus to me is the size, TKL but even for a TKL very compact.

If I ever buy a mech again, it must be a Wooting or something of noted high quality. But honestly? Mech to me seems like too much effort for no appreciable gain, after discovering the above / the perfect scissor switch kb. Mech is higher maintenance, higher cost, and yes you can choose different switches, but good is good, right? Mech boards kinda remind me of watercooling. Just why, it only costs money and effort.

 

[Macro Device]

scissor

This is why I'll never buy it. My keyboard must be loud. Must be big. Must be heavy. I couldn't care less for its mobility because first off, I virtually never move it and secondly, not like I'm a feeble wanker, I can take my whole PC setup with me and walk a dozen miles with it (yes, a full ATX PC + 27" display + kb + mouse + headphones). Mech keyboards are much easier for me to type on so won't go scissors.

 

[Vayra86]

Found it!