TR Forums

Yup, it's another mechanical keyboard thread! This one is less serious than the previous ones though.

Keycaps on Cherry MX 'boards are standardized, which it means it is easy to get replacements or custom keycaps. I ordered some custom caps for my Rosewill RK-9000s (home and office) from WASD Keyboards.

Replacement Esc key (with a cameo by a bottle of Bell's Expedition Stout):


No more Windows keys:


I thought about getting replacement Backspace keys that said something like "Oops!" on them instead of "Backspace", but decided not to bother. The larger key caps can be a bit of a PITA to replace anyway, since they've got extra stabilizer springs underneath them.

We'll see how well the printing holds up, they're laser etched (not just printed on the surface), so they should be reasonably durable. They also had an option for laser engraving (where the laser cuts deeper instead of just roughening the surface and there's no paint used) but I wanted the Linux ones to to match the existing keys.

You should get one that's labeled "Any".

bthylafh wrote:

You should get one that's labeled "Any".

Oh I wish I could +1 on the forums...

But very nice JBI. It's quite tempting to get a few myself. I like the "Panic" Esc. I would probably try to get a "BILLY MAYS" cap for my Caps Lock if I got anything.

bthylafh wrote:

You should get one that's labeled "Any".

Yes, I actually thought about doing that for the Esc key. But "Panic" seemed more appropriate (for the keyboard at work, anyway), and the red keycap matches the RK-9000's baseplate.

Edit: They actually use "ANY KEY" as one of the examples on their custom printed keycap ordering page: http://www.wasdkeyboards.com/index.php/ ... eycap.html

Now if they'd only do the same for Model M keycovers.

Captain Ned wrote:

Now if they'd only do the same for Model M keycovers.

Given that there's only one company making 'boards based on the buckling spring design (so the physical keycaps are specific to Unicomp), the fact that they're probably a small percentage of the reviving mechanical keyboard market, and the unusual production process used (AFAIK nobody else makes keycaps using dye sublimation any more) I imagine it would need to come from Unicomp. Probably not likely to happen...

Unicomp used to do something like that. They've still got some Kentucky State-themed keyboards on clearance, IIRC, but that was mainly just changing the color of the housing and keys.

This is really cool -- do y'all know if they sell metal keycaps for Cherry MX switches anywhere? I'm very, very interested in this, and would pay a pretty penny for such a thing.