A Complete Introduction to Keycap Puller and Its Advantages

The Keycap Puller-Why do All Mechanical Keyboard Owners Have It?

Mechanical keyboard owners love and recommend a keycap puller because of the ease it offers when removing keycaps of your keyboard. The key casing on the keyboard is called a keycap. Hence the tool used to remove the keycap is the keycap puller.

There are lots of instances when you might need to remove the keycaps of your keyboard. For example, when you want to clean the keyboard if you’ve dropped food or spilled a drink on it. If your keyboard needs repairing or you want to replace the keys, are a few of these instances.

What Is a Keycap Puller?

A keycap puller is a tool that mechanical keyboard owners use to remove keys from their keyboard. It works by adjusting itself beneath the keys and removing them once you pull it slightly.

Most people who buy mechanical keyboards wonder if they really need a keycap puller. Can't they use a good old butter knife or a fork to pull the keys off their keyboard? Well, they can if they want to buy a new keyboard because "the old one got damaged while I was trying to remove the keys."

Using household stuff such as knives, forks, keys, and other sharp, flat things to remove the keycaps can damage the keyboard. These things may also scratch the paint and legend of the keycap that you are trying to remove.

Therefore keyboard experts always suggest using a keycap puller whenever you need to remove the keycaps. Moreover, it's not that keycap pullers cost you an arm and a leg. Keycaps are abundantly available online at the lowest prices. You can get a set of five plastic key caps for only about $6. That makes a single keycap only a little over a dollar.

What is a Mechanical Keyboard?

We have mentioned a mechanical keyboard quite a few times while talking about a keycap puller. So, I think it deserves its own little introduction.

A mechanical keyboard is one of those strong, sturdy keyboards that used to come with older versions of computers. But rubber-domes keyboard replaced them. However, like gamers and people who type a lot, most people still prefer to use mechanical keyboards because of their extensive capabilities.

A mechanical keyboard uses mechanical switches that are supported by springs. These keyboards give an enhanced tactile feel and allow for a wide range of customization.

Types of Keycap Puller

There are two basic types of keycap puller. A wired keycap puller and a plastic-type keycap puller. They have other variants too, but most essentially, plastic and wired are the two most common types.

Both plastic and wired keycap pullers have their pros and cons. The plastic ones are dirt-cheap. You can get one for less than $2. In contrast, wired keycap pullers are slightly more expensive. They are not exorbitant but compared to a plastic keycap puller. Wired ones appear to be pricey.

Nonetheless, a wired keycap puller justifies its price in terms of its durability and functionality. Being mostly made of steel, a wired keycap puller is longer lasting than a plastic one, which can break on excessive use.

Furthermore, if not used properly, a plastic keycap puller might scratch the keycaps you are removing while with the wired ones, this would not be an issue.

However, plastic keycap pullers are easier to use. They come with a finger hole, and you have to make sure the prongs have caught hold of the edges of the keycap and pull. At the same time, wired keycaps need slight expertise.

So, we might say that if you are a beginner, consider using a plastic keycap puller. And if you are more experienced in using keyboard accessories and know your way around removing keycaps, then wired keycap pullers are for you.

How to Use a Keycap Puller?

Keycap puller has made removing keycaps from a keyboard very easy. You can take out keycaps from your keyboard using a keycap puller by following these easy (but important) steps:

1. Determine which keycaps you want to remove.
2. It is important to disconnect all electronic devices before you start working on them. Therefore, first and foremost, disconnect your keyboard from your computer and place it on a clean, open surface.
3. Bring out the keycap puller and place it on the keycap that you want to remove. Give the keycap a little push, so the prongs of the keycap adjust beneath the keycap edges.
4. When you are certain that the keycap puller's prongs are firmly in place, pull it slightly. This will make the keycap come off the keyboard.
5. Store the keys that you’ve just removed together in a safe and dry place.
6. After you are done with what you wanted to do, it is time to put the keycaps back.
7. Put the keycaps back, place them over the desired place, and give them a little push. You should feel no resistance while doing so. But if you do, that means the keycap is not properly aligned with the switch mechanism beneath it. So, re-adjust the position of the keycap and try again.

Things to Remember When Removing Keycaps

• It is important to remember where each keycap would go if you are removing all of them. Otherwise, you will have a hard time trying to reassemble the keyboard.
• Pay extra attention when replacing the bigger keycaps, such as the enter key, backspace, or spacebar, as these keys have a support bar, which, if damaged, is hard to replace.

Advantages of Having a Keycap Puller

Keycap pullers offer multiple benefits over their other domestic counterparts. Some of these advantages are

1. Remove Keys Safely

Pushing the keys out of the keyboard using common tools such as a flat-head screwdriver, car keys, or knives is not only harmful to the keyboard but can also hurt the person removing the keys.

How can a tiny little key hurt me? Well, when you push the key out using a random tool, it sends it flying off the keyboard. And in case your face is close to the keyboard, this flying key can hit you in the eye, hurting you in its wake.

This is why using a tool that pulls the keys out instead of pushing them is always recommended. A tool such as a keycap puller can help you remove keys safely from the keyboard so no one gets hurt.

2. Does not Damage the Keyboard

Using sharp tools to push the keys to take them out can impair the keyboard. If you push the keys with a lot of force, you might damage the switch mechanism of the keyboard.

While with a keycap puller, there is no chance of you damaging the keyboard in any way as long as you use it properly, which is not too hard.

3. Does not Scratch the Keys

If you use a fork or a knife to remove keycaps from your keyboard, there are chances that these tools might scratch the paint or legend of the keycap. Hence tarnishing the appearance of your keyboard.

Using a keycap puller, you can remove the keycaps without the fear of scratching them. However, you might want to be diligent when using the plastic-type keycap puller to make sure you don’t gouge it.

4. Makes Keyboard Cleaning Easier

When you think of cleaning your keyboard, you think of long hours of brushing the keyboard’s bezel and not being satisfied with the results. A keyboard gets dirty very often. There may be lots of food particles, dust, dried spilled drinks, and tiny pieces of paper lodged inside your keyboard. You can see the grime but cannot clean it. And this infuriates you immensely.

In such cases, a keycap puller might act as your savior as it will help you remove all the keys quickly and efficiently so you can clean your keyboard properly.

Hence keycap puller eliminates the need to get a dust blower or a keyboard brush, both of which can clean the keyboard but not as thoroughly as you do after removing the keys.

5. Allows Quick Removal of Keys

Common tools for key removal, like car keys and screwdrivers, remove only one key at a time. And if you are looking to remove all the keys on your keyboard, this process can be excruciatingly using these inept tools.

This is why a keycap puller is the best tool to remove keycaps swiftly because a wired keycap puller has the ability to remove up to three keys at a time. Hence a keycap puller can remove all the keycaps of your keyboard in no time, and you can swiftly get to work on it.

6. Easier Key Replacement

Owing to its quick keycap removing capabilities, keycap puller allows you to remove and replace your keycaps effortlessly.

At times you need to replace your keys to customize your keyboard according to your aesthetics. Or to replace the inherent keys of the keyboards with different keys according to your preference. In such cases, you would have to remove most, if not all the keys of your keyboard. And a keycap puller will come in handy.

EndNote

Keycap pullers have a host of advantages and are an important tool for mechanical keyboard owners. It has two fundamental types, a wired keycap puller, and a plastic key-cap puller. Both of these types have their own benefits and shortcomings.

A keycap puller makes the process of repairing, cleaning, or customizing your keyboard easy and efficient. It does so by removing the keys quickly and safely, thus ensuring that you don’t damage your keyboard while removing the keycaps.

We at SZ LangPai, offer some of the best keycap pullers along with other products, including Docking Stations, USB C Hubs, etc.