To kick off 2026, I finally did two things I had been postponing: some long overdue switch maintenance and a small but meaningful keycap upgrade.
The keyboard is a Pteron36 designed by Harshit Goel. It is a minimalist split build intended to work well with compact layouts like Miryoku, where layers + home row modifiers let ~36 keys cover the operations usually spread across an 87–112 key keyboard.
I also do not type on QWERTY — I use the Workman layout. I will do a separate post on why and how I transitioned. Workman Layout
Maintenance: Why and What?
After ~5 years of heavy use and dust + grime built up, the switches started feeling scratchy. The ideal fix is usually to open each switch and lube the stem + springs—but my switches are soldered to the PCB, and I did not have the bandwidth or the motivation to desolder and fully disassemble everything.
So I went with lazy lubing: pressed the stem down and apply lube to the inside walls of the housing and the exposed sides of the stem. It does not reach the springs, but it can still reduce friction and smooth out the keypress.
For lube, I used Krytox GPL 205g0, a common choice in the keyboard hobby.
The Upgrade: Keycaps That Fake a Key Well
I had originally planned a bigger upgrade: moving to a Dactyl Manuform style board with a concave “key well,” since that curvature can make finger travel feel more natural.
But after talking to a few folks in the ergonomic keyboard community, I pivoted to a lighter change: trying KLP Lamé keycaps. These are sculpted, curved keycaps designed to reduce vertical finger travel and create a pseudo key-well effect on flatter boards.
I found a 3D printing service that could print them in resin. The shape makes the rows feel “guided”, especially when reaching above/below the home row.
Result
After lubing, the board feels noticeably smoother and the scratchiness is largely gone. The keycaps are still an adjustment, but it is a good one—my fingers feel like they “land” sooner than they used to, especially on vertical reaches.
