IBM Model M Buckling Spring vs Kailh BOX Jade
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Kailh BOX Jade do not fit the same keyboard, so this comparison starts with what you already own rather than with how either one sounds. Our full switch library puts these two on each other's shortlist, and the player below is the fastest way to settle it: match the volumes, then work down through the table and the verdict.
Hear them back to back
simulated from real specssound loads on your first tapShortcuts: press A or B anywhere outside a text box to fire that burst. Use the volume trims to loudness-match the pair before judging which sounds better.
Spec by spec
| Spec | IBM Model M Buckling Spring | Kailh BOX Jade |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Clicky | Clicky |
| Brand rates force at | actuation | actuation |
| Actuation force | 67 g | 50 g |
| Bottom-out force | not published | 65 g (our estimate) |
| Pre-travel | 2.3 mm | 1.8 mm |
| Total travel | 3.7 mm | 3.6 mm |
| Silent (dampened) | No | No |
| Factory lubed | No | No |
| MX-compatible stem | No | Yes |
| Price tier | Mid-range | Mid-range |
| Street price | varies | varies |
Both makers rate these at actuation, which is the one case where the advertised numbers compare directly. Every other force row still has to be matched basis to basis. The figure marked "our estimate" is our own derivation and not a manufacturer number, because Kailh publishes no bottom-out figure for the Kailh BOX Jade. How we derive a bottom-out figure .
Verdict
This is clicky against clicky with a catch, because the IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Kailh BOX Jade make their click in different ways. Check your board first: the IBM Model M Buckling Spring does not use an MX style stem, so the two are not interchangeable in the same keyboard. 17 g at actuation is a bracket apart, not a shade, and it is the IBM Model M Buckling Spring carrying the heavier end at 67 g. The scoring splits them: the Kailh BOX Jade for gaming, the IBM Model M Buckling Spring for typing and a shared office. Read that office call as relative: the IBM Model M Buckling Spring clicks too, just less insistently.
- Gaming pick
- Kailh BOX Jade
- Typing pick
- IBM Model M Buckling Spring
- Office pick
- IBM Model M Buckling Spring
Force curves
IBM Model M Buckling Spring
IBM publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the dashed end of the curve is an estimate, not a spec. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers.
Kailh BOX Jade
Kailh publishes no bottom-out force for this switch, so the 65 g at the end of the stroke is our estimate and the run into it is dashed. Everything up to actuation comes from the published numbers. How we derive it.
IBM Model M Buckling Spring or Kailh BOX Jade: the long answer
This pair has a fit problem to clear before feel or sound matter. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring does not use an MX style stem, so it will not drop into a standard hot-swap board or accept ordinary MX keycaps. Both are mid priced. Neither ships lubed, so budget an evening with a brush if you want either at its best.
The specs are the smaller half of this pair, but they are not nothing. Weight is the loud fact here. At actuation the IBM Model M Buckling Spring takes 67 g where the Kailh BOX Jade takes 50 g, and 17 g is enough to change how the third hour feels. Travel differs at both ends, with the Kailh BOX Jade registering first at 1.8 mm and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring running deepest at 3.7 mm. Type is not in play. Both are clickies, and each announces actuation to your finger and to the room at once. Same stroke character, so the spring is the fact to weigh.
Now the part spec sheets cannot carry: the voice. Put them through the player above and the IBM Model M Buckling Spring lands as loud full clack-click with steel-chassis ring where the Kailh BOX Jade lands as loud, crunchy, metallic double click; unapologetic. They do not even click the same way: a spring buckling against the hammer on the IBM Model M Buckling Spring against a click bar snapping inside the housing on the Kailh BOX Jade, which is most of the tonal difference you are hearing. Either way, both of these are heard by everyone in the room, so the choice between them is a choice of tone and not of volume. As everywhere on the site, these are simulations built from published specifications and documented character. Accurate enough to compare, not a recording.
This one genuinely splits. The Kailh BOX Jade for games, because it wins on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring for writing, since the click is a metronome for a long draft, which some writers will not give up. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring for an office, as neither of these belongs in a quiet shared room, and this is only the less punishing of the two clicks. The player above is the cheapest part of this decision, so use it before your wallet is involved.
There is more on both than a head-to-head can carry. Start with the IBM Model M Buckling Spring page and the Kailh BOX Jade page, or test how your current keyboard performs with our free keyboard tester.
Frequently asked questions
Which is better for gaming, the IBM Model M Buckling Spring or the Kailh BOX Jade?
We pick the Kailh BOX Jade for gaming. Of the two it has the quicker, less intrusive stroke, winning on a lighter spring at actuation and a shorter distance to actuation.
IBM Model M Buckling Spring or Kailh BOX Jade: which one is quieter?
Both are loud, so choosing between them is choosing a tone and not a volume. If the room is the constraint, neither of these is the answer and a silent tactile is.
Is the IBM Model M Buckling Spring heavier than the Kailh BOX Jade?
The IBM Model M Buckling Spring is heavier: 67 g against 50 g, both measured at actuation, so this is a fair like-for-like comparison.
Can the IBM Model M Buckling Spring and the Kailh BOX Jade go in the same keyboard?
No. The IBM Model M Buckling Spring does not use an MX style stem, so it needs a board built for it and will not take ordinary MX keycaps, while the Kailh BOX Jade is a standard MX switch. Whichever you pick decides the keyboard, not the other way round.
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