Mechanical Keyboard Sound Isn't That Simple
Figure 1: I couldn't think of a more literal way to represent this article if I tried... Looking back just a few years ago, there’s no doubt that the huge influx of people that joined the hobby at the peak of the COVID pandemic were drawn to keyboards by way of YouTube, TikTok, and other audio-visual content platforms. Even as the output from these content creators has waned in recent months, their collective impact and legacy on the keyboard hobby is rather firmly etched in the history books. As a result of all of their sound tests, build logs, and opinion videos, the message is clear to any new person joining the hobby: mechanical keyboards are all about the sound. Thock this, clack that. Whether it’s keyboards, keycaps, or even singular switches, seemingly everyone new to the hobby meticulously pores over each component of their keyboard not in an attempt to figure out how it will feel in hand, but how it will sound as they’re furiously grinding their way out from...
Mar 27, 2024
Both of these keycap sets are CNC milled and coated.
With those sets as my reference point, I would think your price could come down.
However, I would seriously consider a set of CNC-milled metal keycaps like you're describing, at a high price point, if they solve the problems of existing metal keycaps like mine:
- They must be durable and not tarnish or corrode with wear and oils from fingers. Aluminum, anodized or otherwise, should do just fine.
- They must have a good, rough, grippy texture. The earlier MKC 2nd-gen keycaps I use now have a subtle matte texture of the coating, and that _works_, but it's still not textured enough. The newer MKC 2nd-gen keycaps, from the 37-key set, are slick and smooth, and downright unpleasant to type on. A "mirror finish" is a disaster once you've touched it for more than a few minutes -- it becomes slick. We don't tolerate this of ABS keycaps, and we shouldn't tolerate it of metal ones.
For reference, these are the MKC sets (neither photo is my own):
UPDATE: Added photos