Learn
How mechanical keyboards actually work, in the order that makes sense.
18 articles in 3 tracks
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Orientation, and the decisions you make before buying anything.
Intro to Mechanical Keyboards
What makes a keyboard mechanical, what is actually inside one, why people spend money on them, and the three ways to get your first one.
→Keyboard Sizes and Layouts
What the percentages actually mean, why layers replace the keys you lose, and the bottom-row differences that decide whether keycaps will fit.
→Choosing a Keyboard Size
Every common size, what you give up at each step down, and which one to buy based on what you actually do at your desk.
→ANSI vs ISO Keyboard Layouts: What Actually Changes?
ANSI and ISO keyboards differ in Enter shape, Shift size and key placement. Learn how to identify your layout and choose compatible keycaps.
→How Group Buys Work
Why most custom keyboard parts are sold as pre-orders, what IC, MOQ and extras mean, and how to decide whether to join one.
→The parts
What each component does, and what its specification means.
Switches
What a mechanical switch does, the three feels, and how to read the specification sheet so you can pick one without pressing it first.
→Linear vs Tactile Switches
Linear switches move without a tactile bump. Tactile switches add resistance partway through the press. Compare the mechanisms and real indexed specifications.
→Switch Anatomy
The five parts inside a mechanical switch, what each one does to the sound and the feel, and which ones you can change.
→Keycaps
Profiles, plastics and printing methods, plus how to work out which keycap set will actually fit the keyboard you own.
→North-Facing vs South-Facing LEDs: Which Is Better?
Learn how north-facing and south-facing keyboard LEDs affect shine-through legends, Cherry-profile keycap compatibility and your next keyboard.
→Stabilizers
What stabilizers do, the three mounting types, how many your layout needs, and why a rattling spacebar is the most common fault on a new board.
→Keyboard Latency Explained: Polling Rate, Scan Rate and Input Lag
Understand where keyboard input lag comes from, how polling and scan rates differ, and what actually matters when choosing a gaming keyboard.
→Keyboard Mounting Styles
How the plate is held in the case, what each mount does to flex and sound, and why the label alone does not predict how a board feels.
→Plate Materials and Sizes
What the plate does, how each material changes the sound and the flex, and what thickness, flex cuts and half plates actually alter.
→Switch Lubes
Which lubricant to use on switches, stabilizers and springs, what the viscosity numbers mean, and what lubing does and does not fix.
→Sound and feel
The vocabulary, explained by cause and tied back to the index.
What Makes a Switch Thocky
Thock is a low, short, dead sound with no ring after it. Here is what causes it, and which indexed switches have the properties that produce it.
→What Makes a Switch Clacky
Clack is high, sharp and slightly ringing. It is a deliberate design outcome, not a fault, and two specification lines tell you whether a switch has it.
→What Makes a Switch Creamy
Creamy describes how a switch feels going down, not how it sounds. It comes from materials and lubricant, and it is the one property you can add yourself.
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