Gateron Oil King Switch Series: Black, Yellow, Pink, and Purple

For a while, Oil King meant one switch. A smooth linear, lubed at the factory, in an all-black housing, and good enough that a lot of people stopped looking. Office all day, games at night, no weekend project required. That one earned the reputation.

What is new is that it is no longer the only one. There is a heavy tactile if you want a real bump. A silent linear if you want that same smooth press without broadcasting it. A silent tactile if you want the bump and a quieter room. Four Oil Kings, four jobs. If you have been waiting for one that fits how you type, this is the set.

The numbers are in the table. The rest of this is what each switch is actually like.

How they compare

	Black	Yellow	Pink	Purple
Type	Linear	Heavy tactile	Silent linear	Silent tactile
Force	55g actuation, 80g bottom-out	65g bottom-out	45±15gf operating, 55g bottom-out	55g operating
Stem	POM	Yellow POM	Pink POM	Purple POM
Spring	20mm	20mm black-plated	20mm black-plated	20mm black-plated
Factory lube	Light	Yes	Yes	Yes, lighter than the Black
Price	$6.50 / 10	$6.50 / 10	$6.50 / 10	$6.50 / 10

Black — the original, and still the all-rounder

Start here if you just want a good switch.

Black is the Oil King people already recommend, and the reason is boring in the best way: you put it in and you type. The factory lube is the whole trick the name comes from. The press is smooth, the 20mm spring snaps the stem back, and the weight has a little body to it, 55g when the key actuates and 80g when you bottom out. Enough resistance that you are not falling through the key. No bump you have to get used to. No project attached.

It is the office switch and the gaming switch at the same time. All-black nylon top, ink bottom, the stealth look included. If you do not need a tactile bump and you do not need the board to whisper, Black is the one you leave in the keyboard.

Yellow — for anyone who wants the bump

Yellow is the one tactile people were missing from this family.

The bump is the little catch on the way down. Your finger meets something, you know the key happened, and then you finish the press. On Yellow that catch is sharp. You feel it. After the bump the stroke is the short one in the set, 3.4mm, and it lands as a deep clack with 65g waiting at the bottom. Heavy on purpose. Satisfying on purpose.

You will hear it. That is part of the switch, not a flaw to apologize for. If you like a board that talks back, and you are not sharing a quiet room, Yellow is the Oil King that finally has that bump.

Pink — smooth, and it keeps its voice down

Pink is for when you love a linear and the people around you do not need to hear every letter.

A lot of silent linears get quiet with a rubber pad stuck on the stem. That pad also makes the end of the key go soft, which is the mush people complain about. Pink skips the pad. The mute rings sit on the stem rails, along the sides, and they take the sound off the bottom-out and off the way back up. The press in the middle stays a linear. Smooth, no bump, and the landing still feels like a landing.

It is also the light one in the family. If the Black felt like a bit much by the time you reached the bottom, Pink is the easier press, and it does the quiet part without giving up the smooth travel Oil King is known for. Shared desk, a call, a roommate on the other side of the wall. This is that switch.

One limit, so nobody is surprised later: a silent switch quiets the switch. A rattly stabilizer is still its own problem.

Purple — the bump, without the announcement

Purple is for the tactile person who still wants the bump and cannot have Yellow's volume.

Same idea as the Pink rings, and it matters more here. Those rings sit on the stem rails instead of a pad under the stem. A pad tends to soften the exact thing you bought a tactile for. The rings quiet the collision at the bottom and on the return, and they leave the bump alone.

And the bump is not Yellow's bump. Yellow is the sharp hit. Purple gives you a little travel first, then a rounded, medium-light bump. You still get that "yes, the key happened" feeling. You do not get the deep clack that fills the room. It is the switch for a shared office, a night shift, anyone who types a lot and likes tactiles and would rather the board not introduce itself.

Factory lube on the Purple is lighter than on the Black. If you want it a bit smoother, a light Tribosys 3203 pass is the right one, kept off the legs so that rounded bump stays a bump.

Which one to get

You want	Get
One smooth switch for typing and gaming, and you are done deciding	Black
A sharp, heavy bump, and you like hearing it	Yellow
A quiet linear that still feels like a linear	Pink
A quiet tactile, bump included	Purple
A shared room or calls	Pink if you want smooth, Purple if you want the bump

If you want them hand-lubed

These already come factory lubed. That is the appeal. A hand pass is there if you want to go further.

Lube only or film only: $0.39 per switch
Lube and film: $0.59 per switch
Extra time is usually 1–3 business days

Linears get GPL 205g0. Tactiles get Tribosys 3203, kept off the legs. We have hand-lubed more than 500,000 switches, so the light pass is the one we would actually run.

All four are $6.50 for 10. Orders over $99 ship free from Cupertino, and you have 30 days to send unused switches back.

Located in Cupertino, California. Questions on which Oil King fits the board: hello@thockking.com or Discord.