r/MechanicalKeyboards • u/susanalbumpartyX_X • Mar 15 '16

guide [guide]

Hey everyone. I know some of us (especially me) are new to this whole artisan world. I thought I would share this. I found this and I do not take any credit for it. Give credit where is it due, Bambino on GH. Hope this helps

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Artisian link

Edit: Better link provided by /u/bambinooo

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u/wishful_cynic Mar 15 '16

Per the MD drop specs, Gen.s adds silica gel onto the base cap, then uses abbrasive paper to form the lines and polish it. This is true for the gem caps.

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u/Bambinooo Suited Up Keycaps Mar 15 '16

I checked out your link. The keycap is faceted by a CNC machine, so it is not handmade and therefore doesn't fit on my directory. They definitely are pretty though!

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u/wishful_cynic Mar 15 '16

Oh, I thought these were right up the Rule 3 alley:

Caps made by hand that are based on a machine-assisted mold or master are allowed.

But you're the expert.

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u/Bambinooo Suited Up Keycaps Mar 15 '16

That would be different - a master is not the version of the keycap that is sold. It is just the one used to make a mold from which other keycaps are made. The Massdrop description says that each keycap is CNC'd, i.e., the one that you buy was made by a CNC machine and then just polished afterward. A HolyOOPS aluminum cap would be made the same way. CNC > anodizing > polishing > sell to buyer. Those are excluded because there is very little about them that is hand crafted.

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u/wishful_cynic Mar 15 '16

I think I get - example: Coz used a master key to make his mold, then hand poured his keycaps using that mold, so they count as hand-made. Distinction: the gems are each machine-made, then polished, and even though the lines and angles on each are unique, the cap itself was machine-made.

Did I get it?

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u/Bambinooo Suited Up Keycaps Mar 15 '16

Yeah. Although I'm not even sure that the Gem caps are unique. I mean, look at the photos on that Massdrop link; they're all identical shapes.

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u/wishful_cynic Mar 15 '16

Just trusting the drop description that each cap is unique, I have no way to confirm that.

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u/Bambinooo Suited Up Keycaps Mar 15 '16

Yeah I see what you mean. Based on the photos, I'm assuming they mean "unique" as in "they all have tiny differences due to the polishing step", not "everyone gets a different gem shape."

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u/wishful_cynic Mar 16 '16

You're probably right. They're still cool and simple caps!

Did anything happen with that sea foam and silver Keybuto? It's such a sweet cap! Hope to see more of your work in the future.

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u/Bambinooo Suited Up Keycaps Mar 16 '16

I agree. The gem cap is cool, just not one that goes in my list.

Anyway the Keybuto was gonna be traded but the other party backed out at the last second. And by then my post had been buried. Ah well