QK101 Custom Mechanical Keyboard

QK101 Custom Mechanical Keyboard

Amazing quality and finish with great build guides and integration for software.

you deserve to treat yourself. don't think on it too much, just get yourself the coolest full-size keyboard ever :o

i've been loving this keyboard so much! it was my first build and thanks to the build guide, it was a very streamlined experience that even my newbie self had no problems setting it up!

its only downside (which may be a pro if that's what you're looking for) is that it's heavier than a hurricane. you could use this as a weapon in a pinch.

customer service was wonderful, too. my box arrived a bit damaged, so i sent them a picture of it to ask if it was okay to open or if i should return it, but the qwerty keys team assured me that because of the padded carrying case it came in, that wouldn't be necessary. and they weren't kidding! this thing is just as hefty as the keyboard it houses - fabulous piece of gear, this is!

overall, 10/10. would def buy another keeb from these folks. keep doing what y'all are doing! and thanks for this incredible keyboard that's probably going to outlive me!

This is my first serious mechanical keyboard after many years of suffering through low quality junk, the entire process of putting it together was incredibly enjoyable, and the feel of the finished product is fantastic!

QK101 Custom Mechanical Keyboard

TLDR: Great quality board, easy assembly, amazing value, great customer service, not a board for everybody but certainly a board for me.

Unlike the qk80mk2, the ribbon cable for the screen is shorter. This makes it less likely for the magnetic connectors to flip inside out like the 80mk2 would, which means I don't have to bother making sure it's facing the right way when I put the board back together when try to screw everything together.

I got the fr4 plate with cushion and it's definitely an experience. I do wish that the foam was black so that it's 'invisible' when I put keycaps on but that's okay, not that big of a deal, just my self diagnosed ocd. the foams on the edge is super thin so it comes off easily with a switch puller when you pulled out a switch so that's kind of expected but not a big deal. I can't really tell if it isolate the switches sound as the product page says but I'm just glad there's no flex cuts on the cushioned plate.

Okay for cons, I chose non RGB pcb and the '101' logo lights up, sure whatever, no problem. I tinkered with via through their notion (no need to load JSON yipee) YET I still CANNNOOTTTTT turn off the damn lights. I know i'm not the only one having this issue since the people in their discord having the same issue. Then again, not a big deal for me to deduct a star.

This board is worth every penny (to me) and I'm glad QK listens to the feedback of their customers because goddamn I was so happy to see the screen ribbon cable improvement on qk101.

Edit: I am able to edit the lights on the '101' badge after updating the firmware but PLEASE BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU DO THIS!

My only issue is that the color didn't look exactly like the picture but that is fine. Otherwise, the entire kit is outstanding. I absolutely love this setup and can't stop finding reasons to type things.

Great build quality overall. But:
-Stock stabilizers not pre-lubed, quite some rattle as is.
-The colour "sandgold" is definitely more "rose gold" and quite a bit more pink than the images.

This is my first build, but not without a lot of research. I'm impressed with the build quality, attention to detail, and included extras. The QK101 is one of the few full size keyboards in the custom build keeb market. I wanted the full size to have extra, dedicated keys for macros/media functions on the number pad.

QwertyKeys shipped this out much faster than expected, thank you! Like another reviewer stated, my case did smell of cigarette smoke, but just slightly, so I'll wash it. The keyboard itself was fine, and the package's contents were well protected. It traveled a long way to reach me via DHL.

I'm using all of the provided foam and TTC Forzen Silent v2 switches. No mods except just some electrical tape on the metal case where the top is screwed to the bottom. I opted for the foam plate as well. It's quiet and a joy to use! Works great with VIA. For the RGB PCB, the Fn key lights up even brighter when you're not at the root layer 0, as does the CapsLock and NumLock keys when toggled on.

The sound from the keyboard is nice and deep. When you use all of the foam it's very muted, which I love! I do enjoy some subtle thock tones, which are easily achieved with different switches. It's exactly what I wanted for sound and feel.

I opted for the firm-orientation of a gasket mount. I was worried that the 1.2mm flex-cut PCB to get per-key RGB would be too bouncy, but it's not. With firm gaskets it was perfect for me.

Even though I love the QK101, I do have some gripes...

1.) The RGB PCB has south-facing LEDs which is great, but not on all keys. So if you're planning to use this with shine-through key caps, buyer beware. The Enter and CapsLock key have them facing on the side, while the Down Arrow and all bottom row modifier keys have north-facing LEDs except for Right Alt. They obviously did this as a design choice to make room for multiple layouts. But I want ALL of my LEDs to be south-facing.

2.) The protective plastic over the round badges is a royal PITA to remove. Needed to use a razor blade to get them off.

3.) I don't like having the navigation keys one row higher than a standard layout. I have muscle memory trained from decades of keyboard use to go to the standard rows for Home and End when programming. I have to retrain myself for this keyboard, which will be a bit of frustration over time. I keep tapping the screen when I want to hit End to get to the end of a line. QK, since this isn't a standard layout anyways, why not move the screen and LCD matrix down a little more, to make room for these two navigation key rows? Just half a row down would help so much.

4.) I love having foam on the plate, but it does making it more difficult to insert switches, especially the first couple dozen keys.

5.) The options for different key layouts cause issues. Some switches are not clipped in very well to the top plate. Also, I discovered that the image QK provides for aligning switch pins is wrong for the standard CapsLock key. Most key caps will have the mounting stem in the middle, but QK listed it as north-facing pins. I'm glad I checked before stabbing my switch blindly through the foam on the top, as it really needs to be south-facing. And that brings me to...

6.) The QK101 build guide is fine for experienced keyboard builders, but as someone new to this I had to research a lot more beyond the guide. For example, no directions/link to lubing your stabs, no mention of putting the stab clips into smaller holes and hook into larger holes, etc.

7.) I really like the magnetic connection for the USB-C port to PCB and screen to PCB. However, having the flexible cable on the PCB was annoying. It should really be on the screen side (top plate). When mounting switches I often had to turn the PCB a lot, hold it sideways, turn it over to reference where the hotswaps are, etc. As such, that flexible screen cable was just flapping around, being annoying.

8.) I understand that this is a heavy case, and having a magnetic mounted top frame might not be the best way to hold it all together if someone picks up the keyboard by the top frame. But having screws on the bottom is a pain. I have to flip over a HEAVY frame with the batteries to open and service it, which means I'm resting it on my key caps/switches. That's no good. Instead, please have top-mounted screws, then cover them with a magnetically-mounted plat to hide the screws.

9.) I can't find a way to control each LED individually. I'd really like to make my character keys different colors from modifier, symbol, and number keys.

I do appreciate all of the customization, though, such as the screen, LCD matrix, and badge lighting on/off toggles.

I typed this review on my new QK101 and will be ordering a second one to use at work. And I love the TTC Frozen Silent V2 switches with the QK101 keyboard... it's a match made in heaven!

The QK101 is a wonderful keyboard. The internal parts are well designed and the manufacturing quality is excellent. I appreciate the many options for pate, PCB and colorways on the case. The case is a CNC'd aluminum work of art from the back weight to he top of the case. Also, I really like the screen and badging on the front they give the board a unique look, feel and set of functionality that separate it form other boards. Well done!