In my multi-part series articles covering mechanical keyboards, I said that I was out of the mech keyboard hobby. New switches, group buys, and the hobby in general weren’t as exciting as I once found them. I gradually lost interest in keyboards and cut down on my collection.
Recently though, I made a purchase that slightly changed my mind. For about two years, I was using a D60 from KBDFans with Box White switches. This is a solid keyboard and the switches are among my favourites, but I was getting a little tired of using clicky switches for two years.
I bought some Gateron Oil Kings (great name) to replace the Box Whites because I was in the mood for some linears. The Oil Kings are well regarded, medium weight, pre-lubed linears. I’ve used manually lubed Gateron Blacks before and enjoyed them, but the lube wore off over time and I didn’t want to re-lube.
The Oil Kings are very impressive. They are exceptionally smooth; pushing the stems with my fingers was enough to tell how smooth they were. They feel like typing on butter and sound muted, there is no scratchiness or spring crunching. Typing feels completely new and different. And best of all, they are fairly affordable and come like this out of the box. There is no need to spend time lubing them.
I think I finally understood why the people on r/mk go so deep trying to find good linears. The Oil Kings are good enough that they revived my interest in keyboards. Not enough that to start joining group buys or building new boards, but this was a wonderful reminder of the benefits of a solid keyboard. For anyone that needs good linears without going to far into the extremes, I can vouch for Gateron Oil Kings.