Keycult No. 1 TKL Rev. 2
The rise and fall of a giant
The Rise of Keycult
Let’s time travel back to 2017. Until the 2010s, I have never even heard of the term “mechanical keyboard”, much less seen, heard or type on a custom one. It was also in 2017 that I owned my first mechanical keyboard – the Logitech G613. It was also in the 2010s that the custom keyboard community started picking up momentum. GMK opened up orders for custom keycap designs. The expiration of the MX switch patent spurring a wave of custom switches. The first Keycon took place in 2013. One can say that the early 2010s are the beginnings of the Technological Revolution of keyboards.
2017 was also the year that Keycult shipped out its first keyboard – the Keycult No. 1. For starters, it was a great keyboard with superior finishing. B-stock boards were so close in quality to A-stock ones and you really had to squint to find any blemishes at all. Moreover, acoustics, though antiquated by today’s standards, appealed to many. They were excellent in their communications with the community, quick delivery times, frequent updates and livestreams so much so that, to the surprise of no one, Keycult literally grew a cult-like following. The final explosion came through social media with Taeha’s build of Tfue’s custom Keycult. And combined with the timely occurrence of COVID, the demand and supply got crazily skewed. The brand quickly became a mythical figure and everyone who heard of Keycult wanted one, flippers or not.
The Fall of Keycult
Without any exaggeration, beating around the bush nor sugar coating words, stagnation, in my opinion, caused the downfall of Keycult. If the early 2010s were the Technological Revolution, the late 2010s to early 2020s were the years of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Switches of all colors, finishing and material exist. GMK and Signature Plastics are no longer the crème of the crop brands for keycaps. Metallic keyboards, like the Neo65, can be found for as cheap as USD$100, if not cheaper.
On the other hand, the offerings by Keycult, remained largely unchanged. Apart from minor revisions and differences in form factor, there aren’t really major overhauls. The series literally stopped at No. 2 and instead chose to offer their keyboards in a multitude of finishings and color. One might even speculate that they are just cash grabbing. Moreover, while the rest of the community caught up with quality finishing, Keycult took a step back and even delivered subpar product, which can’t even touch the realms of a C-stock board. Chips in the keyboard case, anodization streaks, mismatches in anodization were all considered A-stock. To make matters worse, they were non-responsive and sometimes outright rude towards people who placed commissioned orders. In every other business, they would have be treated as VVIPs because they paid far more than what the average buyer did.
The cult following, ironically, didn’t turn on them, though some whose eyes were opened to the truth, did. Their reputation spiralled down ever since.
The Keyboard
And that brings me to this keyboard. This was produced probably at the peak of Keycult’s success. It was the second revision, making it the No. 1 Rev. 2. It was made ever popular by patina artists like @kneedeeppatinas and @wally_patina.
Personally, I like the design. Nice curves. A very nice backweight, which was what drew me to purchase it. Overall, a very classic looking keyboard. But for some classic means outdated. What this design speaks to you, I cannot and I won’t judge.
Moving onto the internals , all Keycults use WT boards, the ones designed by Wilba.Tech. Yes, the ex-RAMA guy who makes fantastic PCBs. WT PCBs have overcurrent protection, so in the event that your wire is faulty or your USB port short circuits and drives a huge current, your board is safe. It has ESD protection too, so safe from static buildup. These are pretty much the industrial standard, but probably not for all custom keyboards you see so far. The red on it looks really good too. Although, I’m not quite sure why PCBs need to look good since you won’t even see it after the keyboard is built. I guess it’s like, “you won’t see it but you know it’s there” kinda thing.
The acoustics, I have to say, aren’t anything to write home about. It was certainly good in 2017, but really, only mid today. It still has character though, doesn’t need foam to shine and that is sufficient for me.
All in all, it is a great keyboard still in 2023. But it certainly does not deserve the 4 figure price tag it commands in the aftermarket. And the No. 1 and 2 boards certainly does not deserve the price tag upwards of USD$500 in Keycult’s recent groupbuys. If anything, it should be around the USD$300-400 mid tier range.
But then again, who am I to say what you should or should not spend out of your wallet? Do you really need to spend thousands on a keyboard? Do you need to spend even a hundred on a keyboard? No one can answer this question except you. Me as an average buyer? I wouldn’t.
