deskthority

I got a few of these today, and they do seem to be genuine.

Every detail seems to be precise, with one exception: the writing on them is fairly faint. That is, the "A" on the top, and the mould numbering and "A" on the bottom along with the diode symbol. The exact size of the diode symbol and writing seems to vary, but no other Cherry MX switch has it so faint. The moulding is very high grade, far above that of 2nd generation SMK and maybe even superior to Alps, equivalent to real Cherry or some of the modern Chinese series that have precision mould making and precision injection techniques (some Far East series switches like SMK seem to have been slurped out of the mould). The yellow switches also had very good moulds, even the ones that were obviously fake, which is curious as the switches attributed to Aristotle are quite rough and ready.

Markings aside, I can't find anything to suggest that they're anything other than entirely genuine. They're fairly smooth (not grinding like the yellow switches) but they barely click at all. As usual, I haven't a clue where they came from.

I have about 4 bondwell laptop keyboards that I was hoping would be the dark blues, but none were. All feel smooth though and each board feels different than the others. Some with louder click and some with less of a click. Part of me wonders if there really is a difference in the dark blue compared to just regular vintage blues. Don't have a dark blue to compare against though.

This thread needs pics

Well, they're like MX Blue, but, like, dark, man …

Daniel Beardsmore wrote: Well, they're like MX Blue, but, like, dark, man …

Right we have pictures of these they're less obscure than old tactile Key Tronics.

orihalcon wrote: I have about 4 bondwell laptop keyboards that I was hoping would be the dark blues, but none were. All feel smooth though and each board feels different than the others. Some with louder click and some with less of a click.

I have a few Dark Blue switches They're healthy-looking, but they barely click. If I open one up, I can hear a distinct click, but not when the shell is closed.

MX Dark Blue seems to be in the middle between MX Blue and MX White. Blue and White feel very similar; Dark Blue is a bit heavier than Blue and a bit lighter than Dark Blue. What click there is, is high pitched like Blue instead of deep like White.

If this is true for everyone else (i.e. mine are not broken) then this could explain the change in colour. One of the points of confusion with vintage MX White is that you can interpret sixty as claiming that one of the vintage MX White types behaves in this manner: same weight as blue but doesn't click. In which case, Dark Blue may be the same as one of the MX White types.

All evidence so far seems to suggest that they're real. The mould numbering on the back of the slider is the same as for MX Green, and the stationary contact prism matches what Michael Schmid showed me an older prism should appear as (essentially a cylinder).

Curious ... according the wiki, my dark blue switches (and they are navy blue) have characteristics corresponding not to dark blue, but to [wiki]Cherry MX Pale Blue[/wiki].
The blue switch I used has the 2007-and-earlier prism design, which is odd as I bought it in 2013. I didn't realise until I noticed the difference in the photo above — I thought I'd got the parts around the wrong way, and maybe I did, but I doubt it, as the copper in the centre switch is much duller.