Thoughts – 5 January, 2023 - First interactions with Kailh HUSH switches

Today I received my first silent switches that I’ve used since Cherry MX Silent Red (sometimes called Silent Pink). In this case they are Kailh HUSH switches. They have a royal blue semi-transparent top housing and a periwinkle-grey bottom housing. They also have a built in LED channel of transparent plastic. The stem is a Kailh circular box stem which is also transparent. The base is nylon, and the top housing is polycarbonate. The stem itself is transparent nylon. The slider is POM.

I, foolishly, decided to disassemble a switch to check on the stock lubrication and construction. I had also forgotten how finnicky box switches are for reassembly compared to other MX switch types and the long and the short of it is that I now have a non-functional switch and wasted a good 15 minutes or so of my time. On the plus side, I got pictures, and the stock lubrication is good. Not too heavy, and not lacking, the factory lubrication simply adds a lovely smoothness to the switches.

Silent switches are a bit of a divisive thing in the keyboard community. Some adore them and love having such a silent typing experience when not bottoming out the switches. Others utterly abhor them, hating the lack of sound or more importantly the feeling of bottoming out that they describe as mushy or too soft. As for me, I fall into the group that enjoys them. The quietness they bring is fun. In more intense situations, such as gaming, they become less silent with heavy key presses. Most keys are very quiet aside from stabilized keys, most especially noticeable with the spacebar.

For stabilized keys they go from being a gentle tapping sound to a soft popping sound. This is fun but can also easily be the source for frustration because poor stabilizers, and poorly tuned stabilizers, result in the only sounds coming from the keyboard being the sound of rattling. That, obviously, is completely unwanted behavior for a quiet keyboard build. On the other hand, it can help you narrow down the source for unwanted sounds in a keyboard as well which can be quite helpful.

In my case, I think I need to get some more lubrication for my stabilizers, something that I’ve been putting off for a while anyway and this is a good reminder to do that. Thankfully, the right tools can be had for relatively little money, such as dielectric grease for the stabilizer wires and a syringe of thinner lubricant for the stabilizer stems. A healthy quantity can be used for numerous keyboard builds and the shelf-life is measured in years so an investment today can bring continued results for years to come. And, when I say cheap, the combination of lubricants and a syringe is less than $20 which is great value for money when it comes to keyboard components.

Anyway, back to the feel and how I describe it as someone who actually enjoys the feeling. I don’t think of them as mushy in as much as they are pillowy feeling. I touch-type and don’t like to bottom out if I don’t have to and having that soft landing versus a hard landing of a typical switch is a fun change of tactility for me. I like changing things up frequently and with large variances. Though I now prefer linear switches now, I still will pop in tactile, and even clicky switches from time to time to just change things up. It’s also why I enjoy trying out different keycap profiles like MT3, SA, Cherry, and more. In the end, for me, variability is what makes this hobby so much fun for me.

I also admit that I’ve come to really enjoy quieter keyboard builds. Initially I kept seeking louder and louder, ending up with Kailh Box Navy switches that are, by far, the loudest switches I’ve used in the MX switch platform. I qualify that because growing up I did use IBM Model M keyboards with buckling springs that are still the loudest I’ve ever used. And, yes, I’m absolutely one of those mad lasses that wants a Model F with the solenoid for maximum loudness. Again, because that’s a part of what makes this hobby so much fun. I would turn it on, use it for a bit, then likely only use it again to show off just how loud a keyboard can be. It’s not about practicability so much as just a look back into the transitional era of keyboards when IBM was still building typewriters when they moved onto beam springs and solenoid banging into a sheet of metal to emulate the sounds that were familiar to typists of the era used to typing on machines like the IBM Selectric typewriter that were in themselves very loud pieces of kit.

Again, keyboards have a long and storied history and I find that history fascinating as they are, still, the most prolific method for writing down ideas to be shared with the world. Keyboards, in that regard, are the most powerful tool for the sharing of ideas and information since the printing press and for that they are one of the most important inventions in all of history. And that’s part of what is so much fun with customizing them is that they are a mirror to the person using them. A small piece of what makes them tick in a tangible, physical form. Whether it’s the aesthetics, their tactile nature, the nature of their sound profiles, or any number of variables that make up each keyboard, they are fully unique for every person who builds (or even just modifies) their keyboard. It’s a fascinating hobby and I’m happy to experience and experiment with all the various bits and bobs. I have no final build because it’s all about that process and that’s what makes it fun.

Anyway, expect a general review of these switches in the future along with other things, such as other switches, keycap sets, and more. Also, as I do have photos of the inside of the switch, expect pictures to be part of that review as well! I want to do more photos for future reviews as that’s important to review and brings them beyond simply my thoughts. So, I look forward to doing that!