It probably is pretty obvious that I am on a roll with mechanical keyboards, switches, and keycaps. I can’t deny that I am, and I can’t admit that I will stop. I might carry on like this over the next several months, spending a quarter of my salary on keycaps and switches. Would I buy another keyboard?

Well, that remains to be seen. In the meantime, I would like to talk about this.

Blue. Tactile. And clicky.

What are the JWICKs about?

The JWICK or JWK switches are part of a more budget-oriented lineup, where similar moulds are used compared to their higher-end offerings but with an opaque black full nylon housing instead.

JWICK/JWK T1 Full Nylon blue switches

These switches share the exact same stem as in the ‘regular’ T1s. offering a strong tactile bump much like in the original but with a full nylon sound signature, due to the housing material composition. They come lightly lubed from the factory and have with an incredible value, especially for those who prefer an affordable switch option.

The specifications for the JWKs are as such:

  • Tactile
  • 5-pin
  • Fully nylon housing
  • T1 stem (POM)
  • 67g bottom out
  • Lightly factory lubed

When I first began my exploration into mechanical keyboards, I was always under the impression that red switches were the way to go. They were. They still are. Linear as they were, soft to press, and easy to register a key press because of how little friction they had compared to brown switches or the blues.

My first keyboard was the RK87 by Royal Kludge. Not too long after I got the RK87, I bought myself two packs of Gateron Milky Browns. I wanted to level up from using the Outemu red switches which were then attached to my RK87. And found myself enjoying the brown tactile switches. Typing on them gave me slight feedback – a certain pushback because of the slight bump on the stem of each brown switch. My husband has taken over the RK87 for the time being, enjoying it the most while he was gaming.

JWK T1 Full Nylon blue switches on the DK68 mechanical keyboard.

And then I bought the DK68 barebone mechanical keyboard.

Customising the DK68

The box came with the metal body of the keyboard, the stabilisers, and the plate, as well as the accessories like the keycap/switch puller, a charging cable, and the Bluetooth 2.4 receiver. You only needed to add in the switches (the JWK T1s were for the DK68) and the keycaps (which I am still awaiting its arrival).

The DK68 keyboard has room for 68 keys and is an RGB-backlit keyboard. Unfortunately for me, I forgot that it was an RGB-backlit thing and I bought the JWK T1s that had black casing, which meant that the RGB lighting was subdued by the cashing. I may end up buying the Gateron Milky or something a lot more transparent.

So, now I have three colour switches at home – the Outemu reds, the Gateron Milky browns, and the JWK T1 blues. Out of all the switches that I’ve used so far, the blue switches gave me the most amazing typing experience. It is tactile and clicky and has this wonderfully deep thocky sound that reminds me of Il Divo’s Carlos Marin (may he rest in peace). Have you heard how deep and baritone his voice was? Typing using the blue switches is like listening to Carlos sing ‘Regresa a Mi‘.

Naturally, I would like to slowly move into building my own mechanical keyboard but that would cost more money than I care to have. So, it will be this for the time being.