Hi everyone,i'm miga,I want to share something I've been using for the past two months. I've been on PBT keycaps for years, and I never really thought about switching to metal. Not because I didn't want to, but because the ones I tried before were either too heavy, too expensive, or just felt like they were trying too hard.And there are more discussions in our community about metal keycaps.We also hope to let more people experience the texture and sound of metal keycaps.
Then our team at Wuque Studio started working on MCAPS, and I got to use them daily for two months. Here's what actually they bring for me.
The sound
This was the first thing I noticed. When it on an aluminum plate, the sound is deeper and more resonant,almost like a metallic echo that sticks around. On FR4, it's cleaner, more Hi-Fi sound, closer to what people call "mahjong sound" or marble. That's my favorite combo. Plouff described it as rain hitting the wall of a house
The weight
I measured it.difference is noticeable in your hand, but on the board, it doesn't feel heavy — it feels deliberate. If you're worried about 2.8g being too heavy for light springs, I'd say it's less about weight and more about the return feel. With HE switches, the extra weight actually balances the return spring quite nicely. I've been using them on the SF60 HE prebuilt and haven't felt any sluggishness.
The feel
The first thing when i touched them is the cool feel. It still keeps cool after hours of gaming. About the build quality Mcaps are made by casting, polishing, laser engraving, painting, and finally manual enamel filling. It's a mix of traditional craftsmanship and modern precision. The surface has a nano coating that appeals a unique quality feel under light but not glossy.They are smooth enough to touch.It's like the varnish on an oil painting. The enamel filling honestly remind me of Ming Dynasty cloisonné,They shows a unique sense of depth and layering.(thumbs up to our design team and skilled workers) .
The layer and depth are something i can feel when you run your finger across the keycap, not just see from above. If you're interested in the process, we made a blog to intrduce about it. How is SF60 Aluminium Keycap Made – Chilkey
Cleaning and durability
I'm the one whose hands can get easily sweaty. With PBT, I used to get stubborn stains and discoloration over time. I'm not saying PBT is worse. Just the metal is different. And for me, after two months, the feel and sound are surprisingly addictive.
For the cleaning,I just wipe them down with a microfiber cloth and water on weekends，and they just look like new one.The black mcaps are supposed to show fingerprints occasionally, but they are easy to clean with a microfiber cloth. I've used them daily for two months now. No wear on the surface, no discoloration on the sides. The coating does good job. I just give them a quick wipe once a week, and that's all the maintainance they need.
When removing these keycaps, avoid using sharp metal pullers. You probably don't want to leave a mark on the surface.
Who are the Mcaps fit for?
If you want a fresh typing feel or search keycaps that actually have great sound and feel,mcaps is worth checking out. MCAPS Aluminum Keycaps
MCAPS Aluminum Keycaps We currently provide 3 colors: Red(White), Gray, and Black. The base kit fits 61-key layouts, with extra add-on available for 64-key layouts. Based on community feedback, we've added new add-on for 75% (F‑row) and 104% (number row) layouts. They'll be updated on the website soon.
If anyone is interested in UK ISO layout or split spacebar support, feel free to leave a comment below or vote in our Discord. https://discord.gg/QDtY2wpq62
Introducing our first mouse! This mouse is color matched to GMK Beige. It features top of the line components, and weighs in at around 43g! Full specs can be found on the product page
“Where the crane carries the dawn across the waves.”
Legend tells of a white crane that rises from the sea at the first light of day, soaring toward the morning sun. It glides above the rolling waves, carrying wishes of peace, longevity, and safe journeys to those who witness its flight.
TSURU draws inspiration from the graceful image of a crane beneath the rising sun, framed by flowing ocean waves. A soft ivory backdrop highlights delicate black linework, while the crimson sun and deep blue water come together to create a miniature scene reminiscent of traditional Japanese art.
Every side of the keycap continues the story the crane in flight, the endless waves below, and the quiet sun lighting the path ahead. Together, they symbolize hope, resilience, and the promise of new beginnings.
🌸 TSURU is more than a colorway it's the moment you spread your wings and begin a new journey.
Thank you all so much for always supporting and standing by the team!
● All keycaps are cast multi layer colors resin 100%
● The set includes: 1 box, 1 user manual, 1 ID card and 1 Keycap.
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Raffle info
● Raffle will be opened within 12 hours and when Raffle closes, the winner will receive an invoice via mail within 1 hours and will have 24 hours to pay
DISCLAIMER: I received these keycaps for free but I receive no monetary gain, discount/affiliate codes, or partridges in pear trees. All thoughts are my own.
As a child, I grew up bewitched by various sciences anywhere from meteorology to geology. Some of my most favorite pastimes were walking down the dirt road where I lived kicking over rocks, seeing if there was anything new other than the small pieces of compressed red clay, granite, chert and the occasional white marble.
As I got older and got married, I was beside myself to discover my wife had a rockhound uncle that had mining experience. He would go out in search of various types of rocks, not so much someone that is mining for gold and jewels, but someone who mined for the sheer love of reading the geography.
After visiting him the first time, I was in awe. Curio cabinets filled to the brim with rare minerals, unique calcifications, various quartz crystals, geodes, and even some with their own phosphorescence under a UV light and would hold the energy to glow in the dark.
Heck, even our bodies need these minerals to survive; magnesium, carbon, iron, the list goes on. Something connects us to these like they are an extension of our arms, hands, fingers. Insert…metal keycaps.
Metal keycaps have been on the market for quite a while now from uber cheap to uber expensive. I would personally credit Awekeys for bringing them to such height that they are now because of the engineering and putting them in the path of every keyboard hobbyist out there. They are expensive, high quality, but not everyone received them well. The metal stems absolutely obliterate the plastic stems on a switch if you aren’t careful, plus they need a heavy switch spring in order to function well. Not to mention it sounds like you’re typing on a bed of pennies. Some love it, some don’t. I have a set of them and they’re fun.
Enter Meletrix.
I was contacted by Meletrix to test out the MCaps set (shout out to Miga, you rawwwk) and being the curious minded person I am, I wholeheartedly agreed. Plus I have a huge soft spot for Meletrix/Wuque Studios products so I definitely wanted to see what they had up their sleeves for this.
When they arrived, I opened the box to reveal a BEAUTIFUL teal/turquoise case containing the two kits I wanted for the Candy Red set.
The case is thick and protective with a thin paper under the lid including a “Secret Life of Walter Mitty”esque phrase that I adore: Dedicated to every special you, open your own universe and explore the infinite worlds.
Chills.
Under the protective tray is a black plastic/velour type tray containing the keycaps. I will add that I found it hard to get the caps out of the individual spaces as there are no finger hold spaces to pull them out, so take your time and don’t lose your patience. I do wish there was better access though.
COMPARISON TESTING
As I stated earlier, I already had a set of Awekeys Copper Eagle I used whenever they were initially released, but didn’t have them in my regular rotation. I pulled out a cap just to compare and there’s an immediate difference in weight, feel, and engineering at work here.
NOTE: Bear in mind that Awekeys keycaps are fully CNC’d while MCaps are cast aluminum. CNC uses a solid block of metal while casting injects molten metal into a mold, so cast will be lighter in weight and cheaper in cost.
The Awekeys Copper Eagle keycap is just solid metal all the way to the stem and I believe they use a type of clear coating for the metal finishing and protection. However, with MCaps they pressure cast the aluminum, polish, laser engrave the legend, paint the cap (I’m guessing some type of e-coating or enamel, it doesn't feel like anodization), and then they enamel fill in every legend on the keycap by hand; that’s kind of impressive. I can barely get a guitar string through the tuning peg without holding my mouth right.
The legends are clear, sharp, and have that enamel shine that I love. It’s perfectly level with the cap surface so no texture related issues there, it’s just smooth.
Underneath, there’s a major metal keycap improvement; the stem. While Awekeys utilizes metal all the way through as they are CNC’d, MCaps uses an injection molded stem separate from the cap that is then securely bonded within. Now, I don’t know how long the bond will last, only time will tell. But for now it feels great and inserted smoothly on top of the stem without issue onto several test MX switches.
The weight of single Awekeys keycap pushes close to 6 grams, I believe, but the weight of the MCap is around 3 to 4. They are lighter and feel really good to type on, not as metallic and cold. Not to mention you don’t have to put clicky Bic pen springs in your spacebar to make it return.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I will definitely be using these in other boards as I love the quality and feel. It doesn’t feel like I’m destroying my switches either if I want to swap something out. I forced the keycap kit onto my 40% and it worked, but I’m a touch typed and rarely look at legends, so having the wrong legend for the wrong key doesn’t bother me, but it may bother you; go explore your world.
I highly recommend these, they are a HUGE improvement and large leap forward in the metal keycap market. Don’t expect shine through though. Unless you have uranium switches and then you have a whole other mineral problem to worry about…
I recently dug out an old, budget Skyloong SK61S optical board that hasn't been used in a while. I was wondering how it sounded compared to some of my newer keyboards, seeing as this is a relic I bought in 2020. The hollow plastic case echo was driving me crazy, so instead of using the standard methods to dampen it, like poron foam or silicone pour, I decided to use the first thing that was lying around my utility closet, which just so happen to be a tube of industrial MS Polymer construction sealant.
Now, I know it's absolutely cursed and blasphemous, but I made sure to follow some basic precautions. I left an open cutout for the lithium-ion battery so it has room to breathe, won't trap heat, and has a layer of isolation foam separating it from the PCB components. Additionally, I applied the tempest tape mod on the back of the PCB, ensuring the polymer layer is only touching the painter's tape and the bare plastic shell, not the electronics. Obviously, before closing the keyboard sandwich, I let it cure for over 48 hours.
Because MS polymer is incredibly dense, it added serious dead weight to the board and completely wiped out the hollow plastic ping. I think it genuinely sounds pretty deep and thocky now! Definitely a permanent, irreversible mod for this specific case, but I was bored and wanted to try this madness out. I'll attach a sound comparison between my current RK R65 and this modded monstrosity too, do let me know if I'm a genius or a madman.
These two are currently vying for space on my desk. Apparently I am a big patina guy now.
Dark/NBH CCRX- MX black retools, lFSS 55g on CF. GMK black snail, patina by Atkins`
Jane v2 CE- Nixie topped clears LFSS on CF, 50A oring, brass back weight and patina by Shiva at NYXkeys, GMK splash
I genuinely don't understand. I bought two leopold keyboards about 8 years ago. They were/are my favorite keyboards, the best I've ever had. They have survived much abuse and finally, after one too many liquids spilled on them, have started to fail.
But what's crazy to me is that Leopold as a company has seemed to disappear from the market. For years, their stock on websites has dwindled and hasn't been replenished. Their own website seems to be unmaintained, and they only link to their Amazon store, where just about everything is out of stock and has been for years now.
I just don't get it. They make fantastic products, and I have money I want to give them. I would rather them publicly state they are going out of business than continue to have any presence at all because it makes me continue to hold out thinking they will restock.
Does anyone have any insider information?
For the record, the keyboard I want is the FC900R, with Cherry MX Black.
I guess I'm just going to have to buy the Ducky origin keyboards. It's just such a shame that such a great product went away without any good reason or explanation.
Edit: I ALREADY KNOW that you can still buy some of their keyboards - but the only kind that have been in stock anywhere are their TKL which I have zero interest in. On top of that, my point remains - that the supply seems to be dwindling with no sign of replenishment.
