First, our biggest update in a long time: new black keycaps where the laser etching comes out white instead of brown! These new keys allow for much greater visibility and has more durable legends than our previous keys. Laser engraving is not affected by the new material. More pictures will be added to our Gallery with our new black keys.
Second, we have added TEXTURED keycaps. We laser engrave different patterns onto the surface of the keycap to create a textured feel. You can choose from four different patterns that we have created. At this time, it is not possible to add any lettering to these keys.
We will be receiving our new black keys with white laser etching around June 25th! However, all current orders containing black keys at the moment will not ship until around that time. Once they are in, we will also be updating our gallery and example pictures with the new keys as well.
Unfortunately, we did end up running into some issues with production our PBT keys. Currently, there are no estimates of when this project will get back on track.
In the meantime, we will look into possible getting more color variations for our ABS keys instead. Also, we will be making a switch in the material composition of our black ABS keys. Right now, laser etching on black creates a gold colored mark. Our new keys will turn white instead. This is not a filling process, but more of a chemical reaction process. This will, unfortunately, probably cause another shortage with our black keys in the coming weeks.
Availability of keyboards should stabilize after our next shipment arrives in a about a week from now and should be steady from here on out. We've been ramping up production on the factory side to meet demands, so thank you to everyone who has patiently waited for their keyboards.
Pre-orders for all backordered keyboards are now open! We highly suggest reserving your keyboards at this time due to limited quantities that will be arriving at the end of the month. The bulk of the keyboards will be arriving mid-May. Our out of stock keycaps (R1 1x1.25) will be restocked by the end of this month as well.
New Product: PBT Keys
One piece of unfortunate news, however, is that our white cases and additional keycap colors are going to be delayed. But, it is not without good cause. One of the most requested additions, other than a tenkeyless model, have been PBT keycaps. We are currently allocating most of our resources into developing our own line of PBT keycaps. Our PBT keycaps will keep the same profile as our current ABS keys, but will feature 1.3mm thick walls.
With PBT, you can expect a much more durable finish on the texture of the key. ABS plastic has poorer wear properties which is why they are known to "shine" after heavy use. PBT isn't indestructible, but has better wear properties and will resist "shine" much longer than ABS. Contrary to popular belief, the "roughness" or texture of the key has nothing to do with the material used. Texture is created by the injection mold used to create the product.
Barring any manufacturing issues, we hope to have our first batch by the end of May.
New YouTube Videos!
We have made several new videos demonstrating how to remove and install various keycap and stabilizer parts.
As many people may have noticed, we are currently out of stock on many popular items. This includes:
- Cherry MX Blue and Cherry MX Brown variants of the 104-Key V1 Keyboard
- Black and Dark Gray R1 1x1.25 Keycaps
Everything is due to come back in stock by late April. For now, the options for keyboards have been totally removed. We will make them available again early April for pre-orders of the backordered switch types.
Many new keycap products will be added this month. OS key sets, 10-key number row sets, HJKL sets, etc are already available for purchase.
With our next shipment, we will also begin offering white cases as an optional accessory. This can be purchased alone to replace the case on the keyboard you already own, or you can have it pre-installed with all new keyboard orders.
We apologize for the inconveniences and delays this causes and appreciate everyone's support as always.
Design and customize our WASD V1 mechanical keyboard to fit your needs. Choose from 4 different Cherry MX switch types, different keycap colors, and even change the key legends. Mechanical keyboards provide a superior typing and gaming experience over cheap rubber dome keyboards.
