JWK Ultimate Black Linear Switch

Introduction

Back when budget switches were few and far apart, the JWICK line of switches by JWK took the market by storm with their incredible value proposition, offering some of the smoothest switches that sound and feel just as good as switches at twice their price point. The most famous one is arguably the Ultimate Black, a fantastic linear switch that still holds its own even up until today. Praised for its buttery smooth push feel and crisp bottom out sound, we think that the Ultimate Black is the perfect budget all-rounder linear.

Based on the specsheet alone, the Ultimate Black seems very unassuming with no fancy features - standard stem length, POM + PC housings and no unique spring. However, the magic of this switch is that it manages to bring everything together into a package that truly feels complete, no random quirks like loose housings, leaf spring pings or batch inconsistencies. The Ultimate Black does just one thing and does it damn well, being a great no-frills linear switch that is perfectly at home in both a budget plastic kit or a 1 of 1 custom made from some stupidly expensive metal. The factory lube is consistent, weight is just right and sound is neutral enough to bring out the best of your keyboard’s design. It is like that one kid in class which everyone likes.

If you’re looking for an amazing all-rounder and incredible value proposition, this switch is for you.

Specifications

• Linear
  
• 4.0mm travel
  
• 5 pins
  
• ~50g operating force 
  
• 63.5g bottom out force
  
• 13mm spring length
  
• Polycarbonate (PC) top housing
  
• Nylon bottom housing
• Polyoxymethylene (POM) stem
  
• Factory lubed

RB's Based Rating scale

Sound: 𝘋𝘦𝘦𝘱 ●●●○○ 𝘊𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘺
Smoothness: 𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 ●●●●○ 𝘚𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘵𝘩
Weight: 𝘓𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 ●●●○○ 𝘏𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺
Travel Distance: 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 ●●●●● 𝘚𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘥
Price-to-Performance: 𝘈𝘤𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘛𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦 ●●●●● 𝘈𝘭𝘭-𝘙𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳

Footnotes

If you'd like to explore the rest of our curated switch catalog and how they stack up to one another, do visit our Switches section. For any questions or for just a quick chat, shoot us a message and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.