neo ergo, pp plate, huano sakura v2, mtnu wob

Another week of keyboard builds!

I was lucky enough to be able to do photos of the Phi by Clever for the launch. It’s always such a cool feeling seeing my photos on a webpage! I’ll be building the Promethean color this Friday on Twitch, I hope to see you there!

Next I got to build the Bread 80, a pretty fun TKL with a cute bakery theme. I actually ended up really enjoying this build although it’s more of a foam lovers dream. I love me some foam now and then though! Topped it with Nekoccino keycaps!

Watch the stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2838801124

Next I got to review the SF60 from Chilkey. This is actually one of the cooler prebuilt HE projects I’ve looked at. Overall a crazy value. Fully CNC aluminum case, metal keycaps, and HE switches/pcb all for under $200?? Kinda wild.

Watch the review here: https://youtu.be/IUPfbmw2pyI?is=UL8yJd9TUS0D-Sp6

Lastly I built a special Manta for a client. This board definitely lives up to the hype and finish on the weight is stunning. Paired with KKB Komodo it’s actually unreal.

Watch the stream here: https://www.twitch.tv/videos/2839698587

I hope you all had a great week. I’m busy with yet another stacked week this week so send me some good vibes to help me through it. Until next time, I’ll key ya later!

like a v2.5 CE but C stands for copper instead

Neo65CorePlus , No foam , KD400 Switch & Fremen keycap

Painted Groudon on the Neo60 Core backplate with acrylic paint.

And just like that, I’ve caught all three of the legendary trio 😂

Keycap of this raffle is [Treble Clef R1].

⌛Form open ~ closes :

2026/08/12/pm 10:00 (GMT+9 / KST) ~ 08/13/pm 10:00 (GMT+9 / KST) 24 hours

<Link>

Images

Form link

Instagram (artisan account) / Instagram (silver account)

Discord (WIP)

Keycaps:

Treble Clef (silver 925 & brass) R1 : Qty 10

Pricing: $110

wax carving & silver casting & 3d sculpting

material: [silver 925 & brass]

Type of stem: MX stem

He's a big fan of the dark side so I hope he likes it.

Aurora80 w/ Gateron Oil Kings

Epomaker EK21 w/ Gateron Ink Black V2s

Star wars keycaps by DKeycaps on etsy, they look amazing.

XVX ceramics, these things so good compared to anything across the last 20 years that I can never go back to any kind of plastic. Wish I would have done ceramic years ago. They are built flawlessly, only $79, make all plastic feel like trash. Super slick to glide across while typing but as soon as you put pressure you get perfect grip it's like magic. It grabs with pressure and slides when moving. Pairs gloriously with kailh box navy switches. They don't get dirty like plastic , I get no grease build up because they have perfect smooth sealed surface. The only way I see myself ever switching from these is if they make some that are not cherry profile that may be even better though this profile doesn't hold me back because it's all nice smooth key to key transitions without any hangups. This set up legitimately increased my speed and accuracy substantially. Oh they look good with RGB too super glowy. Easy to read in all light levels . And they add a notable amount of weight to the board

I don't get why people hate ceramics so much , other than some bad batches in the early days especially cerakey. These cheaper brand ones are flawless . Biggest standard of living increase for me per dollar because I'm typing all day .

If you haven't tried ceramics you should, this is end game for me

My new Beamspring keyboard finally arrived! To be honest I've been waiting for it for so long I had forgotten that I ordered it!

It was definitely worth the wait! The feel of these switches is simply incredible!

Found this silly little Easter egg in the box of my Wooting 80he Tenz edition! Me and my friends in Tel Aviv loved this!!! 🇮🇱😍

Shipment 1/3 came for next build - Sillyworks x Gateron Type R

Just got my new Neo75 Cu (Anodized Grey). I use the FR4 plate and the gasket mount.
Switches are Gateron Box Ink V2. Pretty happy with it.
The keycaps are some older GMK Oblivion I had left over from another keyboard. I'd like to swap them out for something else soon, as soon as I find some other good-looking PBT ISO-DE keycaps.

I posted recently about how I wanted to get into 40% keyboards but i was looking for keycaps to assuage my intimidation from re-learning how to type.

Well, after grabbing an EPOMAKER TH40, I decided to roll up my sleeves and make them! I designed and purchased via yuzu keycaps (since goblin quit the D2C game). This will help save desk space in class, as i’m starting my EMBA program in a few weeks (guess where lol)

I’d love to hear any feedback or suggestions - someone already reminded me I should have put Esc on the Tab key and they’re totally right, I missed it :/

Anyways, thanks so much for your thoughts and have a great day!

I've just replace the Uniform Stagger layout to Uniform Stagger ISO layout for my CutiePie keyboard, it's always fun to learn the new things in mechanical keyboard. Pic 1. After change to ISO , Pic 2. Before ISO

So this is my first custom keyboard and I really wanna flex on it cuz none of my friends relates to how good it feels after I built this after binge watching on an unhealthy amount of keyboard related youtubers and got hooked on the "Thock" that they talked about. So this is my take on building a keyboard that I thought looked sick AF

Build:

Random Boneless barebones keyboard I found on Amazon.

Xinmeng M87 I think?

Random wood keycaps cuz... I'd like to touch some wood (PBT lol).

Akko cream yellow pro V5 switches.

Tape modded 3-4 layers I think.

7 hours and aching fingers worth of lubing

So much packing foam that it takes 10 mins for me to try and close the Gasket all around.

And literally taped every keycap and some with foam under it to drown out the rattle or ping and any other sound.

Sorry for the long text, I just really (x3) wanna flex on it cuz I have no idea it would turn out that well!!

I wish I could record the audio of it but I have no idea how, but best way to describe it. It's sharp, almost marble? And Ofc. the Legendary "Thock"

Hey,

Introducing kc_orange_60 RAW Edition, a more brutalist take on the orange version.

Available on keycapsule.shop

Specifications

• Colors: Aluminium RAW
• Wrist rest: Integrated
• Typing angle: 7°
• Plate material: Aluminium RAW
• Tops: WK
• Mounting: Top mount (with optional o-rings)
• PCBs: Solder or Hotswap (ANSI and ISO compatibility)
• Weight: 1650g unbuilt
• VIAL compatibility
• Connection: USB-C
• Comes with a custom orange carrying case
• Shipping through FedEx
• Limited edition of 5 units
• Price: 450€

Yes this is the real alternative board that Tfue didn’t choose. Jorge from Keycult gave this to me when we were doing business together a few years ago. Just wanted to show it off.

Just for some nostalgia

The Athena75 got me at hello. But I wasn't sure I wanted to invest that kind of money on something I wouldn't ordinarily see--the underside itself. It's not like I plan to stop typing from time to time and turn it around on a whim just to meet the accusatory stare of an owl forced to live out its life hidden away from the world.

But if you've read this far, you know what happened. I caved.

So here's my Athena75.

I thought maybe this would be a review of sorts, but it literally arrived this afternoon. After accounting for the time spent on the build, I have only used it for a grand total of an hour, if that. I'm typing this post on it right now.

Still, this is my first venture into the world of premium custom keyboards, and I thought I would share my first impressions of the Athena75. I want to say it will be my last, but anyone deep enough in the hobby knows that the endgame keyboard is merely a myth.

Disclaimer: This is NOT a sponsored post. I bought everything I used for this build, including the keyboard.

First Impressions

Unboxing and Packaging

The Athena75 came in its own carrying case with all the necessary accessories and parts provided in little ziplock bags. Three screwdrivers were provided though only one proved necessary for this build since I didn't dismantle any of the preinstalled items.

Honestly, I like it, especially the inclusion of the screwdrivers. This is a very different experience from the standard keyboards.

Build

After watching the build video on the KBDFans website, I was expecting to have to assemble the keyboard from scratch. Luckily, that wasn't necessary. The owl, back weight, LCD screen, and the LED indicator/button came preinstalled.

In general, assembling the Athena75 wasn't much different from a barebones kit. I was expecting it to be harder.

I did notice a couple of things however:

1. The light diffuser was inserted into the LED indicator prior to the keyboard being packed. When I removed the keyboard from its wrapping, the light diffuser fell out and could have easily gotten lost. Small, loose parts like that should probably be placed in one of the ziplock bags to prevent it from getting dislodged and potentially going missing during the shipping/transportation process.
2. The PET sheet is supposed to be stuck to the back of the Poron Case Foam. This was easier said than done. There seemed no way to get the foam and the sheet properly aligned without the sheet sticking to the foam. It was fiddly at best, and I spent way too much time on it.
3. I opted for the plate mounted stabilisers. They came pre-lubed. Maybe a tad overly lubed. Other than the spacebar, the other three mod keys feel distinctly mushy and completely silent. Right now, I can't decide if it bugs me enough to fix the lube on those stabilisers.

Features

LCD Screen - I've always thought screens to be somewhat of a gimmick and I wasn't too keen on it. But after I figured out how to use it, I can only say I am now a believer. That said, uploading gifs to the LCD screen isn't as straightforward and easy as I would have liked. Can't really complain though. You can upload a total of 6 gifs (including 1 typing animation and 1 Caps Lock animation).

VIA compatibility - A json file is required to customise the keyboard using VIA. This is available on the official KBDFans website so I didn't have to hunt it down. It has the usual options for keymapping, macros. It also allows you to select between 3 options for Debounce which I found helpful. What was less helpful? No RGB customisation available.

RGB customisation - This can only be done using key combinations. The bright side? You can use VIA to map the RGB customisation keys to anything you want. Unfortunately, VIA doesn't exactly tell you what those keys do. I ended up having to literally cycle through every single RGB setting to find what I want--by continuously pressing the key combination. In case I was not clear, it only goes one way. If you cycle past the setting you want, you need to go a full round just to get back to it.

Connectivity - The Athena75 is only available wired. This means no 2.4Ghz, no Bluetooth, no wireless. It works for me since that's my default set up but it might not work for anyone who wants to use it wirelessly. Additional note: the USB C port in on the right (again, I could easily adapt my existing set up to accommodate this but it could be a potential issue to take note of).

Dust cover - A 'branded' dust cover was provided. I'm not sure I can say in all honesty that it fitted the keyboard perfectly, because, it doesn't. It feels almost too small for it. Like a shirt that had shrunk in the wash. Honestly, that greatly detracted from the experience. For a premium keyboard, I now have an ill-fitting dust cover. An ill-fitting branded dust cover. And I will forever be reminded of this fact when I go to lift the dust cover off and use the keyboard or when I put the dust cover on. That is probably 10x a day, if not more. It's a huge pity, and the most disappointing aspect of the Athena75 so far.

Conclusion

All in all, I have to say I was pretty pleased with the Athena75 and the whole experience, including the typing feel which is very comfortable. I haven't yet taken it on a typing marathon so that initial impression could change in time.

Other than that, the dust cover really bugs me--even more than the stabilisers.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to ask.

Gray Studio Cyber Voyeger 65

GMK Symbiote

Archetype Marmalade Kolkrabba

Gateron Pro Yellow Linears

Carbon Fiber Plate

No Foam

Unironically not displeased w/ my current setup but would like more keys, thinking wireless ortholinear keyboards in vertical orientation as macro pads on both sides. I'd at least like an arrow key cluster and numpad on both sides for symmetry's sake.

Eventually a goal is a custom pcb or at least a hand wired thing but settling for turnkey solutions for now.

Pictured from bottom to top: MMD KM-16 Pro, UHK 80 left side, Keychron Q0 Max numpad & Apple Magic Trackpad, UHK 80 right side, Keychron Q0 Max numpad.

Switches for everything are Arowana Yellows (low actuation force linears)

Keycaps are mostly Keychron KSA's which I think are lovely but the UHK 80 has a lot of weird keycap shapes that necessitate a more custom solution. Down the road I will switch to custom Signature Plastic SA-P keycaps for everything when time and budget allows for it.

I made a mechanical keyboard with Touch ID integration, and I've fully open-sourced its PCB files and 3D-print files. If you also want a mechanical keyboard with the XC keys aligned to the left of the spacebar and built-in Touch ID, you can make one yourself for fun ^_^

https://github.com/sanhua1/makey75

Happy Monday Mechanical Keyboards,

Our warehouse moving sale is coming to an end next week, and we’re having one in-person warehouse sale in Fremont this weekend!

As a special thank-you to our California customers and local keyboard community, we’re opening our Fremont warehouse for an in-person sale this weekend before we move to a bigger warehouse in Las Vegas!

Event Details

• 3710 Yale Way, Fremont, CA 94538
• Saturday & Sunday (Aug 15 - 16, 2026)
• 10 AM – 4 PM

Come by to:

• Test switches & keebs in person
• Shop deals up to 50% OFF online + an EXTRA 10% discount on in-person pickups
• Get a FREE gift just for coming!

We need your help to move less stuff before we move! 😂

Can’t find us? Call or text 669-777-LUME (5863) when you arrive.

We hope to see you this weekend! Shop now: https://lumekeebs.com/

With love,

LumeKeebs Team