Awekeys, makers of recycled metal keycaps, just unveiled its latest set, the Copper Eagle. Made in collaboration with fan and designer, Daniel Mitchell, this set is plated in real copper and is downright gorgeous. With coverage for many layouts, including Alice and Tsangan with their respective add-on kits, this is a set that provides a unique, and uniquely pretty, upgrade to your mechanical keyboard. It’s also a one-stop-shop for instant thock, so if sound enhancement is what you’re after, look no further.
Specifications
- Current Price:
- Base Kit: $179 (Kickstarter)
- All-in-One Kit: $339 (Kickstarter)
Awekeys Copper Eagle Metal Keycaps - Design and Highlights
Awekeys made a splash in the mechanical keyboard community with the launch of its line of recycled metal keycaps on Kickstarter last summer. It started with individual artisans inspired by the periodic table of elements and soon progressed to complete keycap sets in more than a dozen colors and finishes. At $209, these keycaps didn’t come cheap but they quickly gained a following for their uniqueness and great build quality.
As someone who follows the mechanical keyboard hobby closely, I followed Awekeys from the launch of their first Kickstarter and always found its sets appealing. There are very few all metal keycaps on the market and it offered more options than anyone else and very few complaints from buyers. When the company reached out about its latest set, my ears perked right up.
Awekeys has partnered with one of its fans to develop his passion project: the Copper Eagle keycap set. I’ll let Awekeys explain how this set came to be:
This project was born out of a deep connection between our team and one of our loyal supporters, Daniel Mitchell.
Daniel, a true aficionado of metal keycaps and a passionate lover of eagles, approached us with a heartfelt request to bring his unique design vision to life. Inspired by his unwavering love for these majestic creatures, Daniel shared with us his vision of creating keycaps that embody the spirit of freedom, vision, and power that the eagle represents.
After careful consideration and contemplation, we embarked on a designer collaboration with Daniel that would ultimately lead to the creation of the stunning Copper Eagle Keycaps. Each keycap in this set tells a story of dedication, passion, and the unbreakable bond between designer and creator.
The set itself is copper plated with a glossy finish. The legends are laser-etched and are crisp and durable. I especially like this even over the traditional colors of Awekeys normal sets. It can look downright gorgeous on a black keyboard or a complementary color. It’s also unlike any other keycap set I’ve seen, which immediately makes it more visually interesting.
The theme is also really neat. The set comes with a selection of novelties consisting of feathers, claws, and an eagle artisan. While I usually avoid these for my keyboards, something about the mirrored metallic finish makes it work. They’re not ostentatious at all and blend in very well.
The other thing I really appreciated about this set is that there weren’t problems with alignment like I ran into with the Cerakeys ceramic keycaps. Here, everything matched up well for the most part.
With that in mind, it’s important to remember that metal is much more rigid than plastic and different brands of switches and stabilizers have different tolerances. It’s possible that a keycap could fit loosely or too tightly depending on these tolerances. Thankfully, there’s a solution: since the stems are also made of metal, they’re made to offer a 0.1mm to 0.3mm of adjustment by bending them in or out. Awekeys even has a guide on how to do this without damaging your keycap.
Another thing to keep in mind is that these keycaps are quite a bit heavier than their plastic counterparts. I didn’t find this to be an issue on the alphas and other single-unit keys but Right Shift and Spacebar both had issues with returning using 63.5g linear switches. Unlike Cerakey, Awekeys doesn’t include any heavy switches in the box to help with this, so you should plan on picking up a set of heavy springs or a handful of heavy switches to swap in should you need them. I would also avoid using these keycaps with exceptionally light switches in general.
The base kit for the Copper Eagle Keycap set will launch to Kickstarter with VIP pricing of $179 for the base kit and $339 for the all-in-one package that includes the optional add-ons. These are definitely expensive keycaps but as a product that is pretty much wholly unique — a rarity in the keyboard world — it earns its keep. It’s also worth remembering that it wasn’t long ago single metal keycaps were selling for $20-40 and a full set was hundreds. Awekeys keycaps seem expensive but in comparison to the market standard, they’re actually surprisingly cheap for this type of product.
Awekeys Copper Eagle Metal Keycaps - Photos, Sound, and Feel
I tried these keycaps on two of my custom keyboards. With such a fancy set, putting them on a lower cost board just didn’t make sense. So, out came my Angry Miao AFA R2 (a.k.a. The Zelda Keyboard) and the Relic 80. Keyboards that cost upwards of $600 pre-built? Sounds like a perfect fit for the Copper Eagle if you ask me.
First up, we have the Relic 80. This keyboard shows what a great contrast it can create. Paired with some orange backlighting and they literally shine. I love the look here.
Next up, we have the AFA R2 and, again, it just works. You can see how well the artisans mesh together here. The glossy finish really highlights their metal construction. It just looks darned good.
I also wanted to highlight just how well these keycaps reflect RGB backlighting. It’s harder to tell with the orange backlight in the gallery above but this picture shows it very well. I was surprised at just how much glow they reflect. It looks great.
When it comes to sound and feel, the keycaps have a smooth finish that feels a little strange at first. Plastic keycaps have a light texturing that’s applied to provide more grip. Without that, these have a feel that matches their composition. And yes, they get cold if they’re in a cool area. One thing to note, though, is that, while you can see fingerprints if you look closely, the copper plating does a pretty good job of hiding them.
The sound is pretty unique. The density of the metal lends this set a deep thock by default. They adopt a foamed out sound very quickly, so you’ll want to be careful with which foams you use if that’s something you want to avoid. Their deepness sounds very nice to me, especially the spacebar, and each key has a hearty thunk to it. Some keys create a slight ring to remind you that you’re typing on metal but most do not, and I actually came to like this quality.
Final Thoughts
The Awekeys Copper Eagle, like all custom keycap sets, won’t be for everyone. It’s a boutique product for a very particular type of consumer that extends even beyond being a fan of mechanical keyboards. But there’s no mistaking the craftsmanship in their design and just how great they sound and feel. If you’re looking for an instant enhancement to your keyboard, something that is exceptionally unique but not garish or overstated, this is an exceptionally good option from a proven brand.
The product described in this article was provided by the manufacturer for evaluation purposes.
