Keycaps with rare materials
I've fallen in love with ceramic keycaps and built two very heavy but very satisfying keyboards with them. But now I crave for more.
One thing that I find somewhat disappointing is the fact that I never found any other vendors besides cerakey for ceramic caps. It's not that I don't like them, but I could go for other styles and layouts given the opportunity.
The other thing is that I would like to explore other materials. I've found wooden caps, again only from exactly one vendor and stainless steel caps by yet another single vendor.
What I would much rather try out are aluminum and glass, both materials I could imagine being pretty great for typing.
And maybe there are other options I haven't even considered yet?
Give me your best shops/stores with rare materials caps, I'm really interested!
Pure, compressed, lead-lined asbestos.. You won't believe the thock I get!
I can vouch for lead-lined asbestos keycaps! They give a really nice, heavy metal response to your typing.
I'd go for enriched uranium. No need for a backlight
There is uranium glass that glows in the dark. It's also pretty safe, contrary to what it's made of.
Most plastic keycaps are ABS or PBT, also vintage ones. But there are some white on black double shot cherry profile POM vintage keycaps as far as I remember. You would have to find them on ebay or something or research on which boards they came in order to get em.
edit: I just look it up, it seems you can buy POM keycaps new. The vintage one just stuck in my head for some reason.
https://www.asymplex.xyz/ has unique keycaps
Now this is the kind of caps I'm looking for, thank you!
Make your own using metal clay!
I never had the opportunity to work with it when I was a smith, but it's supposed to be pretty easy to work with.
I saw these on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/1680997176/periodic-table-metal-element-keycaps-for although I'd doubt you'd make an entire keyboard out of them…
I have a full size keycap set in Walnut wood from Aliexpress which looks and feels really nice, not exactly a rare material though