Journal · Shop Notes
Cherry profile keycaps, explained
Cherry profile keycaps are low and sculpted, with a gently curved top that cradles your fingertip. They're one of the most popular keycap shapes among keyboard enthusiasts, mostly because they're comfortable and they look clean and understated on almost any keyboard.
What profile means
A keycap's profile is its shape: how tall it is, how its top is curved, and how that shape changes from row to row across a full keyboard. On a sculpted profile, each row is angled slightly differently so the whole board forms a gentle curve under your hands.
Profile changes more than looks. Taller caps travel further from your fingertip's resting position, and their sound tends to be deeper. Lower caps feel quicker and sound a little sharper.
Where Cherry fits
Cherry profile takes its name from Cherry, the German switch maker, whose original keycaps had this shape. It's low, with a cylindrical top, meaning the curve runs side to side like the inside of a pipe.
OEM profile, the shape on most stock keyboards, is a little taller. SA profile, from Signature Plastics, is tall with a rounded, spherical top and a distinctly retro look. Uniform profiles like DSA and XDA are flat across every row, which makes them easy to rearrange.
Cherry sits in a comfortable middle: lower than OEM, more sculpted than the flat profiles. If you've ever seen a high-end keyboard set from GMK, a German maker known for its doubleshot keycaps, you've seen Cherry profile.
Plastics: ABS and PBT
Most keycaps are ABS or PBT. ABS is smooth and takes very saturated color. Over time it can develop a shine where fingers rub it. PBT is harder, slightly textured, and resists that shine much longer.
Neither is better in every way. ABS doubleshot caps are prized for their colors and their deeper sound. PBT caps are prized for durability and texture. People who say one is objectively superior usually just own a lot of the other kind.
Legends: doubleshot and dye-sub
The legend is the symbol on the key. Doubleshot legends are molded from a second plastic, so the letter goes all the way through and can't wear off. Dye-sublimated legends are printed with ink that's absorbed into the plastic, which works beautifully on PBT and also lasts a very long time.
On our own printed prototypes we had a third problem. A one-color 3D print can't show a legend in a different color at all. Our fix was to engrave the 1K about half a millimeter deep, so it reads by shadow, and then run a paint marker over it. The paint stays in the engraving and wipes off everything else.
How the keycap changes the sound
Swap only the keycap on a keyboard and the sound changes more than most people expect. A thick cap muffles the high frequencies and sounds lower. A thin cap rings a little and sounds brighter. Taller profiles add a bit of depth, because there's more air inside the cap.
Material plays in too. In our experience, ABS caps tend to sound deeper and smoother, while PBT caps sound a little sharper and more textured, though the wall thickness often matters more than the plastic. On a single key you hear every one of these differences clearly, because nothing else is making noise.
The OneKey keycap
Every OneKey comes with a cream Cherry profile keycap with the 1K mark. It fits the standard MX cross stem, so if you'd rather use a keycap you already love, it'll fit too.
Quick answers
Are Cherry profile keycaps comfortable?
Most people find them very comfortable. The low height and curved top reduce how far your finger travels.
Will any keycap fit OneKey?
OneKey uses the standard cross-shaped MX stem, so most standard 1U keycaps fit.
What's the difference between doubleshot and dye-sub?
Doubleshot legends are a second molded plastic. Dye-sub legends are ink absorbed into the plastic. Both resist wear.
Is PBT better than ABS?
Each has strengths. PBT resists shine and wear; ABS takes richer color and often sounds deeper.