Overheard a guy at a keyboard meetup say lube is overrated

I was at a meetup in Portland last weekend, checking out some builds, and this dude next to me said 'lube is overrated, just build it dry and let it break in.' I almost choked on my coffee. I've been lubing every switch for two years now, spending like 3 hours per board. But he had a point about vintage blacks feeling fine after years of use. Has anyone actually tried skipping lube on a fresh build and seen good results?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileygonzalez1mo ago

I used to be in the "lube everything or it's garbage" camp for about a year. Built a full board with Gateron Yellows bone dry just to test his theory, and after about two weeks of heavy typing they actually smoothed out a lot. Not as quiet as lubed switches, but the feel was way better than I expected. Still lube my linears now, but I don't stress over getting every single stem.

richard_west51mo ago

Wait, you're telling me there's a chance I can just stop lubing switches and they'll fix themselves? Been spending my Saturday nights hunched over a desk like a weirdo for nothing.