How are Artisan Keycaps made?
Handcrafted Sculpts
Every keycap starts here, as a handsculpted “master”. A rough idea of the sculpt is sketched up beforehand, but many of the details in the characters are shaped during, and throughout, this process. Crafted using traditional methods, sculpting on a 20x20mm canvas is a very intricate task. A finished sculpt can take up to 40 hours of work to complete.
Casting in resin
The sculpted cap is placed in a box, and silicone is poured on top. This creates an inversely shaped mold in which the cap can be cast.
The colors of the caps are mixed in several separate plastic batches, and carefully placed into the cavities of the mold with thin tools.
A final plastic fill of the caps main color, followed by pushing the back mold in, creates the stem used to place the cap on a keyboard.
The finished Artisan Keycap
Originating from the hobby of collecting mechanical keyboards, artisan keycaps emerged as a way for collectors to express themselves - a crown jewel on their beloved project in a sense.
What started of as just an extra piece on their boards; collecting, trading and displaying caps from their favorite makers has since developed into a hobby of itself.
