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I Think My Set Has Twisted Stems! What should I do?Updated a year ago

GMK - Twisted Stem Issue

FROM GMK

It appears some of the 1.5u keycaps of GMK Handarbeit and GMK Zooted are twisted, as well as possibly other sets. 

The GMK Quality Assurance team investigated the affected keycaps.

All of GMK's tools, as well as their MX-stem tools have internal IDs, so they know exactly which keycaps of which set were produced with them.

In terms of the alignment of an MX-stem within a keycap, Cherry originally established production tolerances that GMK adheres to.

GMK has measured the claimed 1.5u keycaps and could identify that some of the keys are outside of that tolerance.

The MX-stem tool in question is no longer in the production process. But those 1.5u keycaps that were produced with it are being investigated. GMK Quality Assurance team has started to measure these other keycaps and we will inform you of the results, once completed.

For now, we can let you know, these keycaps are eligible for replacement:

  1. GMK Handarbeit Base Set: “Alt” 1.5u[
  2. GMK Zooted Base Set: “Alt” 1.5u and “Ctrl” 1.5u.


I think my set has twisted stems! What should I do?

Keep in mind that this is a visual, aesthetic issue that does affect functionality or useability of the keycap. 

There could be several factors that may contribute to the alignment of a keycap.  The switch, the mounting style (PCB or Plate) all may work together to amplify or distort the alignment of the keycap. 

If you have a key set that is not identified above, the stem issue and the tooling causing it may not affect your particular set and could be due other factors.

That said, Deskhero Inc works very closely with GMK on a regular basis, and this issue will be handled like any other to ensure correct communication all the way through to resolution.  If we treat this differently than our normal workflow, as an outlier I am afraid something will get lost along the way since its a special case.

Here is a more detailed look at our defect procedure: https://help.deskhero.ca/en-US/my-keycap-set-has-defects-261907

In short, here's what you can do:

  1. Email our support team at [email protected], please use your Account Email address and provide your order number for verification purposes. 
  2. Provide photos (bottom/underneath and mounted on keyboard) of your keycap in question so we may gather all the evidence to submit to GMK. 
  3. We will contact GMK to determine whether it is a manufacturer defect and will work with you towards a replacement!

GMK is taking this new issue to heart and are already taking steps to improve the current MX-stems tooling as well as implement more frequent quality inspections in this area. 


Thank you so much

Jerrold | Owner
Deskhero Inc

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