What is SpaceFN and why you should give it a try
The SpaceFN concept - setting up your space key as a layer switch when held - is probably one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby. Let me explain how it works. My SpaceFN article on kbd.news made some rounds recently - quite surprisingly given the age of this concept. This piece you're reading is a condensed version of the full post. If you're left with unanswered questions, you'll most likely find the info you're looking for in the original write-up. On my imaginary top list of the most useful keyboard features, tweaks and hacks, SpaceFN would deserve a podium finish for sure. But what makes it so special? In short: SpaceFN is easy to implement, easy to learn, costs nothing, can be used with any keyboard, and can improve your productivity instantly. I will list its benefits below, but can state right at this point that the SpaceFN concept, setting up your space key as a layer switch when held, is clearly one of the most useful tweaks in the keyboard hobby....
Apr 30, 2024
I don't know if it's the "floating" design of the keys but the sound the spacebar makes drives me absolutely nuts. I'm hoping with some use I'll get used to it and it won't bother me as much but it's a distracting "clonk clonk clonk" noise while the rest of the keys sounds great. Again, because I think it's just the way the keyboard is designed, I'm not sure if there's anything I can do about it to minimize/change the noise. I'm open to suggestions.
Aside from that though, I'm very pleased. The keycaps feel great, the sound/sensation of the Gateron Brown switches is exactly what I was looking for, and for the price of the drop, I'm very satisfied.
A few weeks later, after many hours of researching on the next mechanical keyboard to buy, I came across a solution. Apprently, lubricating the stabilizers worked miracles and completely changed the sound of the stabilized keys - turning the annoying high-pitched sound into a pleasant deep thocking sound. I couldn't find the usual lubricants suggested by the pros (like silicon grease, lithium grease or teflon grease) in my country so I used paraffin wax instead and it worked. I would suggest looking around a non-corrosive, non-runny, high-viscosity lubricant to do the job.
While the pros recommend taking apart the board to apply the lubricant, I couldn't figure out a way to take my keyboard apart (I'm new to mechanical keyboards too). So, (the pros would probably call this a blasphemous act) I lifted the cherry stabilizers (the plus-shaped black things that are not on the switches) up with a sharp object and shoved a couple of huge drops of the paraffin wax underneath each of them. And it worked.
I have been using this newfound love of the keyboard for a few weeks now and so far, I don't have any problems with it. Maybe, some time down in the future, I might start encountering problems with my act of lubrication (maybe dust might start collecting on the lubricant) but for now, it has been a miraculous temporary fix that has worked wonders.