Just about a week ago, when I was mashing some keys on my keyboard for a lab report, something a little bit unexpected happened - a string of dust (really, it looks like that, and I don't know any other way to say that) floated to somewhere near my working table, and before I noticed it slipped into the space between the keys and the board itself. I'm not even sure how, but I guess this is what they call luck...
Because 1. My nose is very sensitive to dust, 2. I like to keep my stuff clean whenever possible, and 3. It is really uncomfortable knowing the fact that there's a notably large string of dust under the hands whenever I type, I messaged my friend and asked him if I can have his keycap puller for a day or two for me to dump that thing out. Although another friend told me that it is also possible to remove the keycaps of a mechanical keyboard by just pulling with bare hands, I think it's still safer to use a proper tool. Too many experiences proved that I can never trust my fingers especially when it comes to disassembling electronics, even it's just on the surface :P
The keycap puller is just something that looks like a plastic clipper with a ring on top. Normally, they come as free accessories when you purchase a mechanical keyboard, but the manufacturer for mine decided to not to. Probably because I'm too far down the low budget line...
Yep, just something like that. Hold the puller, push it down until you hear click sounds as it clips your keycap firmly on both sides, and pull it up gently. I heard that mechanical keyboards are easy to disassemble, but I'm not expecting it to be that easy. Anyway, easy means lesser chances to screw up and it's good!
I remember the string of dust being somewhere here. Let's pull a few more out.
Uh, yes, I dumped that long string of dust away before taking this picture. You wouldn't want to see a disgusting strand of dust, right?
After removing the keys we can see the switches under them. My keyboard has Kailh Brown switches, so you can indeed see...brown. Why they are called browns? No one knows why Cherry decided to name them so (Kailh are basically legal Cherry MX clones from China, and most keyboard switches from different manufacturers are following Cherry's names as well), but probably it will be weirder for them to be purple...I guess?
Took a look under the keycaps, and I just learned that there are absolutely no clips or any structure designed to lock the keys in their places, explains why they are so easily removed and installed back (you just press it back in place and it's done). This also explains why there are so many alternative keycaps for Cherry switches (and Kailh clones) so you can mix and match to make your keyboard look exactly how you want it to be. Of course, I don't really have the time to slowly shop online for those keycaps for now, but maybe I will one day :P
(I do hope that I will, haha)
...and that's all, the work of pulling up to 6 keycaps out just to remove one string of dust that doesn't really affect my daily workflow. But I feel better after doing it so maybe it's worth it. And hey, it isn't that high effort as well. I can't imagine if it happens to drop into my laptop or something...that would be disastrous. P/s: Do not in any circumstances try to remove they keycaps of a laptop keyboard, you have been warned.
That's all for now then, see you around :)
--Lilacse
