#Gateron black ink Pc#

As with any other switch, batch variance is always at play and when purchasing 90-100 switches there are going to be outliers that throw out any sense of consistency. In terms of smoothness, I am unable to compare these with the original Gateron Inks that become the linear to have but I can say that they are remarkably smooth in spite of foregoing the factory lube that JWK swear by. Stem wobble is minute enough for my standards but I have a tendency to film every single switch that comes my way, even if it can’t close properly. They are sufficiently tight enough to have very little play when attempting to shift around the top housing with my fingers which translates to a more solid sounding switch when in the board. The housing is also quite good in terms of tolerances. The upstroke is particularly rattly but the downstroke is wonderfully muted when stock. Muted yes, not as clacky as JWK yes but the upstroke still remains a clack. Whatever it means, I can say that these still remain a clack.

Some associate it with muted, some others a dull thud, others the sound of 205G0. The word thock is thrown around so much nowadays that I no longer really know what it means. Despite being muted on the downstroke, the upstroke is a “plasticky” clack that is rather high pitched but is not particularly jarring nor loud as say the C3 Tangerines. It isn’t the first time manufacturers have kept mum on the housing materials and I can see why. The most intriguing facet of the Ink Blacks is that super sekrit housing material that translates to a satisfying muted sound on both the downstroke. The Ink Blacks feature a 70g colour matched spring as opposed to lighter weights used in the Ink Yellow and Ink Red.Ĭurrently priced at $10 a pack (at Australian vendor SwitchKeys at least) these are priced quite high but are in line with the usual offerings from JWK.

#Gateron black ink Pc#

A special proprietary blend of plastic that is not disclosed as being PC or nylon has been used to form transparent smokey housings for the Ink Blacks and various bright colours for other switches within the range and enclose a POM stem. The details of the Gateron Ink range are rather thin. The world of mechanical keyboards is hardly transparent and therefore I recommend you get involved in the community to inform yourself of current issues popping up and recommendations of what to do and where to go for particular facets of this hobby.Īs such, these new batch of Inks promise improved QC and the ironing out of issues previously encountered and appear to be a return to form for Gateron but have they achieved their goals and has the switch market already moved on and left them in the dust? These were purchased from SwitchKeys, an Australian keyboard retailer and I had the benefit of hearing from staff on their Discord that these were a batch that was a safe buy as previous QC issues had led to them no longer restocking the switch. The darling of the linear gang for many years, the Gateron Ink Blacks have enjoyed both popularity and notoriety for being an exceptionally smooth and muted sounding switch as well as being burdened with some curious quality control issues that have made them fall out of relevance in recent times. Very muted and deep sound signature once lubed