Keycaps are the gateway drug of the mechanical keyboard hobby. Whether it’s your first keyset or some fancy schmancy artisan keycap you got from a fellow keebnerd as a gift, the moment you lay your eyes (and hands!) on your new keycap/keyset, you will undoubtedly be wanting more. I can remember my very first rubber gaming keycap set that I found cheap on Amazon and I couldn’t wait to have it sit on my Corsair K95. In my mind I was thinking, “Yup, this is all I need to start ranking in Overwatch.” Unfortunately, I still suck at Overwatch BUT at that same moment I thought to myself, “Why stop at W-A-S-D?”.
Soon enough, I went and purchased my first “real” keyset at KBDFans.cn, tore out all of the stock keycaps on that old Corsair, and looked down at my keyboard to experience the sheer bliss of having something no one else did (or so I thought at the time). Why is it that didn’t know this sooner? Is there anyone else that I know that has discovered this? Turns out, there’s a whole hobby and community around it.
At the time, I still didn’t know much about the mechanical keyboard hobby and realized that there isn’t much accessible information outside of Reddit’s r/mechanicalkeyboards. I had all sorts of questions like: What is GMK? DSA? PBT? What’s with all the fancy acronyms and why are some of these keycap sets over $200? Well after a few years of building, trial and error, and a big hole in my wallet I’d like to think that I know a bit more. Though I don’t claim to know it all, I hope I know enough, at least, to help you make an educated decision on purchasing your first keyset and having the nicest keyboard in the office.
Stay tuned for articles featuring the following: Colorways, Compatibility, Keycap Profiles, Artisan Keycaps, Store Features, and Group buys.