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Guides
Practical reference: firmware, modding, switches, keycaps. Sectioned and freshness-stamped so the answers age honestly.
Section
Firmware
Section
Modding
Guides
Sound dampening, compared: case foam, plate foam, PE foam, and the tape mod
Four layers, four very different jobs. Here is what each sound mod actually changes, where it sits in the build stack, and the order to stack them in if you only have time for one or two.
thock8 min read
Guides
Mounting styles, compared: gasket, top-mount, tray, and integrated plate
A builder who has lubed switches and tuned stabilizers and chosen a keycap profile and still cannot place why their next board feels different from their last one is usually meeting the mount style. The plate's relationship to the case is the half of the typing feel that nobody discusses on a sound test.
thock12 min read
Section
Switches
Guides
A beginner's guide to picking your first switch
Switches are the single biggest factor in how a keyboard feels and sounds, and the catalog has grown overwhelming. This guide narrows the entire market into three families, explains who each one is for, and gives a three-step path from curiosity to a confident first purchase. By the end, the reader can pick a category without second-guessing.
thock6 min read
Guides
Switch housings, compared: nylon, polycarbonate, POM, and the rest
The housing line on a switch spec sheet is the second-most-important thing about a switch, after the type, and most buyers skim past it. Material decides how the switch rings, how the stem rails feel under a finger, and how much grace it gives a bad lube job. A 'PC top, nylon bottom' tag is doing more work than its three words suggest.
thock9 min read
Section
Keycaps
Guides
Keycap profiles, compared: Cherry, OEM, SA, and MT3
Most beginners agonize over switches for weeks, then drop any keycap set on top and discover the keycap was doing half the work all along. Profile shapes the sound, the typing angle, and the way a board reads on a desk — and the four profiles below cover almost every set on the market.
thock10 min read
Guides
Keycap materials, compared: ABS, PBT, and the rest
Most builders obsess over switches and quietly accept whatever keycaps came in the box, then wonder six months in why their board doesn't sound like the YouTube video. Half the answer is the plastic. Material decides how a cap rings, how it ages, and what it feels like under a fingertip on day one and day one thousand.
thock10 min read
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