Now that I have a pile of dirty old M8 switches to hand, I can see that the Hirose-style ones (only one of which is actually Hirose-branded) are all tactile.
This is the difference:
In the tactile version, the front face of the actuator is vertical, with a notch at the top that causes the slider to get a "kick" when the contact reaches it. The linear actuator on the other hand is angled.
The difference is surprisingly simple.
Note that this is only a rough drawing, made without actually taking apart a switch.
Cherry M8 tactile
- Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
- Elrick
- Location: Swan View, AUSTRALIA
- Main keyboard: Alps - As much as Possible.
- Main mouse: MX518
- Favorite switch: Navy Switch, ALPs, Model-M
- DT Pro Member: -
WE all want to see the Switch AUTOPSY here, with all the graphic details

Remember, this is DT - the home for mechanical keyboard dismemberment and that includes ALL of their switches as well

- Daniel Beardsmore
- Location: Hertfordshire, England
- Main keyboard: Filco Majestouch 1 (home)/Poker II backlit (work)
- Main mouse: MS IMO 1.1
- Favorite switch: Probably not whatever I wrote here
- DT Pro Member: -
- Contact:
- Techno Trousers
- 100,000,000 actuations
- Location: California
- Main keyboard: IBM Model F-122
- Main mouse: Mionix Naos
- Favorite switch: Capacitive Buckling Spring (Model F)
- DT Pro Member: 0159
Some of us like the switch autopsies, for sure.