Why Would Anyone Want Blank Keycaps?

by

Disclosure: Content linked in this article may be affiliate links. All that means is that I may earn a few pennies if you use the link and make a purchase – it helps me keep this site up πŸ™‚ This post is not sponsored directly by these companies and only contains products that we genuinely love and recommend for any keyboard enthusiast. So thanks in advance if you choose to click!

Disclosure: There are like, so many links on this page to some really awesome stuff; let’s talk about them. Some of these links are affiliate links which means that if you click on them and buy something, The Keeblog may earn an itty bitty commission at no extra cost to you. That being said, you can rest assured that The Keeblog will never ever recommend something that is either untested or known to have issues. I’ll only recommend what, in my opinion, is good stuff. So thanks in advance if you choose to click!

Blank Keycap Community spotlight

Let’s start this one off with a quick community spotlight! Some fellow keeb friends from Reddit’s r/mechanicalkeyboards were kind enough to let me share their images.

Clean Cherry Profile by u/AsianMustard
u/AsianMustard; Clean Cherry Profile
Customized DSA Blank Setup by u/CargoElf
u/CargoElf; Customized DSA Blank Setup
A friendly keebro's Cotton Candy Blank set
A friendly keebro’s Cotton Candy Blank set
u/mesnigan's XDA Gray Blanks on Bamboo
u/mesnigan; XDA Gray Blanks on Bamboo
Colorful board from u/MightyJabba
u/MightyJabba; Please check out IG: @Mighty.Jabbas.Keylection for more awesome keyboard pics!
Another way to customize your mechanical keyboard is with blank keycaps. Hobbyists use blank keycaps to achieve a minimal aesthetic and also to show off their touch typing skills. When I had a blank keycap set on my work keyboard I had all sorts of comments like “how do you know what you are typing?” and “where did the letters go?!”. If you think about it though, how often do you actually look down to check which individual letters you are typing on? Especially if you are in this hobby, probably not so often.
Β 
Besides showing off your superior touch typing skills and just having an overall clean looking setup, blank keycaps can be purchased individually if you didn’t plan ahead and went and bought an incompatible keycap set for your keyboard. The most common issue with incompatible keycap sets is that the modifier keys (Shift, Enter, CTRL, ALT) don’t match the size on your keyboard. This is more common with compact layout keyboards like the 40%, 60%, and Ten-keyless (TKL) Layouts.Β 
Β 
You can see where some neutral keycaps come in handy when you don’t have the right one for the job. Here is a good example from my office setup:
Β 
Mechanical Keyboard Artisan Keycaps
Although they are artisan keycaps, they are neutral and help cover the modifiers that did not come with the rest of the keycap set I had.
Β 

HHKB (The Happy Hacking Keyboard)

Β 
The blank keycap look really gained it’s popularity around the hype of the HHKB. The HHKB, a.k.a. the Happy Hacking Keyboard, features a minimal aesthetic with its compact layout and usually blank keycap set. They do also produce HHKB with legends but in general, the blank HHKB is much more popular. It is a bigger spend currently at $241.20 on Amazon but if you are interested, please use my affiliate linked images below (and thank you for the support if you do!):

“Oh wow, that is like.. super cool. So where do I get this stuff?” -You, probably.

Where to buy Individual Keycaps

 
You can get individual blank keycaps by keycap profile (see: Overview of Keycap Profile Types) directly from several vendors. I personally have a lot of experience buying direct from Signature Plastics and would definitely recommend them if you are looking to either get a full blank set or fill in for mismatched modifiers.
 
  • Signature Plastics: Individual keycaps in packs of 2 or 4. Signature Plastics carries a ton of color options available (be sure to use their color guide!)Keycap profile compatibility:
    • DSA will be compatible with most (if not all) off-brand DSA sets.
    • DCS will be roughly compatible with standard OEM and GMK keycaps as they are slightly shorter.
    • SA will be compatible with most off-brand SA sets and roughly compatible with other high profiles such as MT3, MG Hi-profile, and KAT.
  • WASD Keyboards: Individual keycaps, fully customizeable sets. WASD keyboards gives options! They also have ready-to-ship keycaps both made by them and GMK with popular colorways.
  • MAXkeyboard: Individual keycaps, fully customizeable sets. Similar to WASD, MAXkeyboard offers several customization options but also offer novelty keys and neat peripherals like their Falcon-8 Macropad.

Where to buy Full Blank Keycap Sets

There are plenty of full blank keycap set options available online. Here are a few that you can buy right now:

    • Price: $62 for a full TKL set ($34 for the base kit, $28 for the TKL modifiers).
    • Features: more than 20 different color options to choose from with each kit. You can mix and match for your own custom made colorway. Signature Plastics’ excellent quality.
    • Price: $45 for a 61 key set.
    • Features: You have the option to change the legend fonts and keycap colors. They have a useful UI to customize your keycap set. You can also change each individual key to the color options available.
    • Price: $50 for a 60% set.
    • Features: MAXKey has a very thoughtful UI on their website that helps you choose the right keys for your layout. Useful keycap size charts.
Here are some Amazon affiliate linked images readily available under $30. Please click on any that catch your eye for more info! I appreciate your support.

Leave a Comment