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RSS FeedsJWK Lubed Silent Linear Switch Review
Introduction:
The last switch review I wrote was the JWK Lubed Linear Switch Review where I returned to the JWK Unlubed Linear switches from 1Up Keyboards after having spent half a day or so lubricating them with Krytox 205g0, a process I documented in Mechanical Keyboard Switch Lubricating and Filming. Today it is the siblings to those switches, the JWK Unlubed Silent Linear switches, which are also sold by 1Up Keyboards, that I am returning to after having not only lubricated the switches but also the springs and installing switch films. One of the differences that stood out the most to me with the non-silent switches was how much quieter they were after lubricating them, so I was definitely interested in seeing how much quieter these already 'silent' switches could become. That is something for the Review section as first I want to talk about the lubricating experience with these.
Before getting too far, I purchased these switches from 1Up Keyboards, which did provide me with a discount to help me with reviewing them. The Krytox 205g0 lubricant was provided by 1Up Keyboards with the 1Up Keyboards 1UP 60 HSE 2-Plate Keyboard Kit Build, but I have been testing these switches in the NK65 - Entry Edition Build that was provided by NovelKeys_. (NovelKeys_ has recently gone to a new website design and location, so here is a link to the NK65 – Entry Edition, for those interested.) I should also say 1Up Keyboards sells bundles of these JWK switches with vials of Krytox 205g0, Durock switch films, a brush, and curved tweezers, for those interested. My switches are specifically the 62 g spring weight version, but you can get 67 g versions if you want a heavier action, and these are bundles of 110 switches.
This is the same image as from the original review of these switches.
Lubricating and Filming Process:
As I said above, it took me about half a day to lubricate 70 JWK Unlubed Linear switches, which I think was pretty good time. It took a full day to work with these switches though, because not only was I lubricating the switch stem and housing like I had before, but I was also lubricating the spring with different tools and installing the films. Placing the films between the top and bottom housings when re-assembling the switches did add some time to the process, but personally I think it was lubricating the springs that had the greater impact. This is because I had to switch tools and lubricants each time, and that always adds up.
My process was much the same as I documented in the switch lubricating and filming article above, where I used a hobby brush to apply the Krytox 205g0 to the bottom housing, the stem, and the top housing. Like before I was intentional with putting some lubricant on the rails of the bottom housing, put far more on the stem, and the application to the top housing was like I was cleaning off the brush. After lubricating the bottom housing this time is when I would set that down and aside to get a spring. I would then stab the spring onto the end of the tweezers I have, pick up a different brush and use the Permatex Dielectric Grease to lubricate the ends of the spring, on the inside and outside of the spring, before putting it into the bottom housing, the tweezers and brush down, to then pick up a different brush, a jewelers claw, and grabbing a stem to lubricate. I actually installed the switch film before moving on to the stem but I want the run on sentence to help impress how much time the changing of tools took.
Installing the switch films, which are NK Switch Films I purchased from NovelKeys_, was quite easy but a little tedious. The films need to be peeled off of the sheet they come on and then placed onto the bottom housing the correct way. It is not hard to tell which orientation is correct because they can really only go on one way, with the larger opening including the stem rails and contact leafs, while the small opening goes around the spot in-switch LEDs would be installed. What is a little trickier is to have the correct side up. NovelKeys_ recently changed its website and I do not see the information anymore, nor the exact films I purchased (the NK_ X Deskeys Switch Films appear to be comparable), but these films have one side polycarbonate and the other side nylon, I believe, and you want a specific side facing the top housing. For most of the switches I did this, but there were some where I forgot. I do not know what difference it really makes, if I am honest, but it did seem they stayed in place on the bottom housing a little easier when I had the correct side up.
The real trick with the films was when putting the top housing back on because sometimes the clips that hold the switch together would catch and pull the films out of place. Careful finger placement and observation can prevent or correct this easily enough, but I did kill one film because of this. (Perhaps it could still be used, but it had a significant crease in it.) Plenty of times the film was not aligned very well on the switch after I closed it, so part of it extended past the housing, but this was quite easy to address. I just used the NK_ Switch Opener I had purchased to unclip the switch enough to adjust the film, but not completely open the switch. Once adjusted, I could push the switch back together and it was ready to be installed into the keyboard. The films definitely added some time to the process, but were really not that hard to work with. The only really annoying part about them is because they came in a pack of 120 and I used 71, there are 49 left without a purpose. The logistics of only selling packs of 120 is probably better than different amounts, but until I decide to film switches for a 40% board, these are just going to sit around.
Though this is somewhat review-like, I will still say it here that I do not know how much these JWK Silent Linear switches needed the films. The housings were already tight together and I am not sure if I am sensitive enough to notice the sound difference between filmed and not filmed, so I question if this was necessary. Fortunately, there are sounds I was definitely able to distinguish between.
JWK Unlubed Linear switch shown with highlights identifying lubricated faces.
Review:
Before lubricating these switches, I did spend some time using them again, to get a feel for them and to make some notes on that feeling, since I do not have any spares for doing before-and-after comparisons with. Among my notes I point out these switches felt pretty smooth before lubricating them. At times it did feel like there was a scratch to the action, but I am most willing to attribute that to the springs crunching, rather than the plastic-on-plastic motion of a key process. Similarly, the action of the key press was very quiet thanks to the dampeners, but the spring noise was definitely noticeable. To be fair, it is likely the dampeners quieting the rest of the switch that makes the springs noticeable. That assumption is why I was definitely looking forward to lubricating these springs, to see what kind of difference it made.
After lubricating the switches I had the same experience as I did before, with the non-silent version in that there was some initial drag, but within a day of use, this was gone. I attribute this to the lubricant being too thick in some places, but with use it moves around, settles, and thins to remove the drag.
After the lubricant was broken in, I am not sure just how much smoother these switches are than they were before. Like I said, these were already pretty smooth to me, but it is also worth noting I am a fairly heavy typist, especially when typing at speed and am consistently bottoming out. This means I may not be as sensitive to subtle differences in smoothness as others. Still, these switches were pretty smooth before and still are quite smooth now.
As usual I have uploaded the recordings to GitHub so you can analyze them: GitHub.com/GuestJim/Custom-Keyboard-Files/@Switches/JWK Linear Silent – Lubed.
Those are the recordings I took from before lubricating the switches and you can see my MXL 990 microphone I use for recording did not really pick them up, but the Arctis 7 headset microphone did, but they were certainly not loud. Looking at the statistics, the recording microphone picked up my voice with a peak of -13.613 dB while my typing peaked at -37.539 dB. I should point out the peak could have come from a stabilizer making noise as well, because like spring noise, stabilizer sounds can stand out more with a dampened switch. The values from Audacity's Contrast tool, however, should average the results out enough to diminish the errant peaks of stabilizer rattle. According to that, my voice was at -35.55 RMS dB and my typing at -60.59 RMS dB for a difference of 25.03 RMS dB.
Turning to the headset microphone, my voice clipped so we do not have a true peak for it, but my typing peaked at -28.497 dB. With the Contrast tool my voice was at -17.58 RMS dB while my typing was at -57.88 RMS dB for a difference of 40.30 RMS dB.
These are the recordings I did after I finished lubricating all of the switches, and so the lubricant was not broken in. I did notice this impacting my typing some, as the drag made me a little slower than I was, and slower can suggest quieter. Still, it is clear from these images that when lubricated the switches were quieter. We can see the headset barely picked up the typing and I suspect the few blips we see were actually from my rapidly tapping Backspace to correct something, as that stabilizer does rattle some.
As for the statistics, the microphone has my voice peaking at -16.18 dB and my typing at -37.539 dB. With the Contrast tool my voice was at -38.16 RMS dB and my typing at -63.35 RMS dB, for a difference of 25.19 RMS dB. Sadly it seems the microphone did not notice much of a difference, but the headset definitely appeared to. With my voice clipping, my typing peaked at -31.927 dB, which is a few decibels quieter. The Contrast tool has my voice at -14.48 RMS dB and my typing at -58.44 RMS dB for a difference of 43.97 RMS dB, which is again a few decibels quieter than we had before, and that would be noticeable.
Before getting to the final recordings, I do want to say that even if the recording microphone failed to pick up the difference, at least according to the statistics, the difference was very clear to me. These switches are far closer to truly being silent after having lubricated them, and I personally place the emphasis on the lubricating of the springs. As far as the microphone is concerned, I have placed it such that keyboard noises should be harder to pick up, but ultimately it is always the personal experience that matters, not what can be captured electronically. The recordings can still be good for hearing the difference in characteristics though.
After a little more than three weeks of use, which included a lot of writing and editing of a book and two articles, along with several other items, this is what the recording microphone and headset picked up. It looks a little worse than right after I lubricated the switches, but still better than when they were dry.
Looking at the statistics, with my voice peaking at -12.36 dB on the recording microphone my typing peaked at -40.623 dB. According to the Contrast tool, my voice was at -34.97 RMS dB and my typing at -62.09 RMS dB, which makes a difference of 27.12 RMS dB. That is quieter than we saw before, which is interesting as I was almost certainly typing faster than after I lubricated the switches, because the drag was gone and I was typing at my usual speed again. As for the headset, my voice clipped but my typing was at -31.927 dB. As for the Contrast tool, my voice was at -15.66 RMS dB and my typing at -56.72 RMS dB, for a difference of 41.06 RMS dB, which puts it pretty near where it was when these were still dry. This could be because I was typing faster, more like I was when the switches were dry, but it still says they were about a decibel quieter.
Just the typing portions from the recordings shown above for easier comparison. The "Mic" recordings have been amplified so that my voice (cropped out of recording) peaked at -3 dB. Images shown previously were without such amplification.
Conclusion:
In the end, would I invest the time lubricating these switches again, knowing what I know now? Not completely is my answer. I was already quite happy with the action of the JWK Unlubed Silent Linear switches, so if I had to do this over again, I might not bother lubricating the housing and stem. The springs, however, I definitely would spend the time on. In fact, I am intending to do exactly that with the Gazzew Boba U4 Silent Tactile switches. Those remain my favorite switches but there is some spring noise I am hoping to get rid of.
Coming back to these switches, easily they are the best linear switches in my collection. It is true I am biased towards a quieter typing experience and that helps them, but they are still really good. The lubricated JWK Linears are behind them, and actually are quite close because they are very quiet now, but not quite at the same level of these. If I had a preference for the plastic-on-plastic feeling when bottoming out with those, they would be ahead, but the plastic-on-rubber of these, caused by the dampeners on the stems, does not bother me and I can even enjoy it. If that is something you do not like, then the lubricated JWK Linears are an easy decision, even if it will take time to lubricate them. These two are close enough that it can come to such things as that to decide between them.
Though my preference is for tactile switches, I think I will keep these lubricated JWK Silent Linear switches in the NK65 for the long term. The TECSEE Purple Panda switches I definitely enjoyed using and completely intend to use them in a future build, but these are good enough that I will keep them where they are. They are also good enough that I am looking forward to finishing this review so I can change out the stabilizers to ones that I hope will be quieter. The stock ones work well but even after lubricating them, they can still rattle noticeably, so hopefully the ones I purchased will do the trick.
For the time being, this will be my final mechanical keyboard switch review as I do not have any more to work with and do not really have room to get more. I also do not have any definite plans for what I might do next with custom mechanical keyboard builds. There are some layouts I would like to try and will share the experience if I do get to use them, but I do not know when that might be. For now, I hope at least some of you have found these articles and reviews interesting and enjoyable.
