Ice Kachang Linear Switches (Hand Lubed or Unlubed)

My first 'pretty' switch, handlubed experience, and DIY switch repair.

I love the transparent stem, the rosy housing, and the copper-coloured contact leaves. Look was important to me here because these switches were going in a see-through keyboard case. Handlubing, to me, is a lot of work for only a minor improvement. So I bought these to get the handlubing experience without the work. It's the cheap and lazy person's answer. I love the sound and feel of these on an acrylic plate...! Makes me excited to type. After three weeks of intense daily driving, two switches failed on me. Not a problem: they were suuuper easy to take apart and fix. Literally my first ever switch fix and it was still easier than handlubing.

They feel great, but have longevity issues.

I tried these out on one board, and I liked them so much that I replaced the switches on my other two boards with these. Unfortunately, the switches seem to start dying rather quickly. On each keyboard, it's been about 4-5 months before some switches start missing inputs. Often the more high use keys (like E and R), but then also some that see much less use. I have Ice Kachang Tactile V2s for the modifiers, and I haven't noticed issues with them, although that could just be because they get used less often + you tend to hold modifiers for a bit rather than just tap them.

Ice Kachang Linear Switches (Hand Lubed or Unlubed)