Author Topic: [IC] SLK Dessau (Group Buy LIVE May 1st – June 1st)  (Read 112789 times)

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Offline kema

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[IC] SLK Dessau (Group Buy LIVE May 1st – June 1st)
« on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:29:05 »



GB Thread





SLKDessau.com↗

https://fkcaps.com/keycaps/slk/dessau↗










Vendors and Pricing

Cannon Keys (US)↗
Deskhero (CA)↗
zFrontier (CN)↗
zFrontier (AS)↗
Yushakobo (JP)↗
Aiglatson Studio (TH)↗
Candykeys (EU)↗ Up soon
ProtoTypist (UK)↗ Up soon
SwitchKeys (AU)↗ Up soon


Kit                       USD              CAD              CNY              JPY              THB              EUR              GBP              AUD             
Base Kit$99$144¥749¥15,290฿3,550€112£99$160
Compact Kit$40$58¥299¥6,160฿1,450€44£40$65
Int'l & Misc$40$58299¥6,160฿1,450€44£40$65


Group Buy from May 1st, 2023 to June 1st, 2023
Delivery to vendors in December 2023






About SLK profile

SLK is a new uniform profile designed by Synth Labs, with the goal of making an aesthetically modern, low-profile option for MX-style switches.

• Round top keycaps with capsule-shaped dish cutaways and tapered base
• 1.5mm PBT plastic with dye-sub and reverse dye-sub legends
• Supports ISO enter and stepped caps lock
• Produced by FK Caps








Design and Kits

The legends feature a modern monoline typeface with a number of base glyphs modified for a more cohesive look and feel.
Rather than keeping the original monospacing, each legend has been carefully kerned to read better in this context.
Edge modifier legends are also edge aligned both for aesthetics and so the legends can still be read when partially obscured by your hands.




Choose between Light and Dark colorways.
Colors represented are approximations of physical samples.
Lighting will affect final appearance.




Base Kits








Compact Kits








International & Misc Kits










Renders

Renders by @its.hymn↗




















Collaborations




Turbulent Labs

A collection of handmade full-grain Italian napa leather desk accessories. Available in matching light and dark colors.








HIBI Lens Keycap










Protozoa Knob









Links

Follow kema on IG @kev.nma↗
Follow Synth Labs on IG @synthlabsmk↗
Follow FK Caps on IG  @fk.caps↗

Join the Synth Labs Discord: https://discord.gg/FCmrQ75rny





« Last Edit: Tue, 02 May 2023, 19:34:39 by kema »

Offline hali

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #1 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:34:39 »
why is shift accented

Offline Skok

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #2 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:38:36 »
I don't know what I'm looking at, but you do have my attention.

Offline Pontus

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #3 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:38:56 »
Any comparison between SLK and other more common flat profiles?

Offline lewisflude

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #4 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:51:05 »
Absolutely stunning, great work

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #5 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 13:51:51 »
Any comparison between SLK and other more common flat profiles?

Will get a comparison with DSA and possibly KAM if I can find the model, great suggestion ✌️

Offline dededecline

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #6 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 14:04:45 »
Any comparison between SLK and other more common flat profiles?

Will get a comparison with DSA and possibly KAM if I can find the model, great suggestion ✌️

You should get in touch with the person that runs http://keycaps.info/ having that comparison would be really helpful

Offline I_V_I

  • Posts: 23
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #7 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 14:09:17 »
one trademark of the bauhaus design back then was to write everything in lowercase letters. Id appreciate if everything on the keyboard were lowercase letters or at least the legends.

Offline Anthixious

  • Posts: 280
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #8 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 14:37:05 »
Wow this sure does look flat, which isn't a bad thing, just not used to seeing this every day  :), curious from here onward though  :thumb:

Offline MrMar

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #9 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 14:53:15 »
Looking forward to seeing the posts of this set on desks with Hasselblads and Leicas.

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #10 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 15:17:08 »
You should get in touch with the person that runs http://keycaps.info/ having that comparison would be really helpful

Will suggest to Synth Labs, thanks!


one trademark of the bauhaus design back then was to write everything in lowercase letters. Id appreciate if everything on the keyboard were lowercase letters or at least the legends.

Not aiming to be a Bauhaus themed keyset, just nodding to its influence. The lowercase only characteristic was definitely interesting but it hasn't universally persisted like the design principles have.


Looking forward to seeing the posts of this set on desks with Hasselblads and Leicas.

Leica lenses were definitely an inspiration 😁

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #11 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 15:17:54 »
(Double post 😅)
« Last Edit: Sat, 16 January 2021, 17:33:45 by kema »

Offline Puddsy

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #12 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 18:18:15 »
i admit i am intrigued
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Offline hottrout

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #13 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 18:21:32 »
I searched for a while to try and find Sinclair QL caps.  With these I can recreate my Sinclair QL from childhood.  Just show me where to buy them and take my money.  Love it.
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Offline Vegas_

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #14 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 18:32:35 »
very interesting profile - i'm a fan of the legends & simple colorways, definitely going to be keeping an eye on this!

Offline timescam

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #15 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 19:35:38 »
homing kit plz

Sent from my ASUS_I001DC using Tapatalk

Offline pixelpusher

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #16 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 19:49:17 »
why is shift accented

It's showing the relationship between the shift key and the shifted characters.  As you can see the Shifted characters on the number row and the punction block all are red too.  It's kinda nifty.

I like everything about what I'm seeing here.  Just dont' know how it will feel to type on.

Offline T.Rex

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #17 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 20:11:44 »
You have my attention…


Offline YMwoo

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #18 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 20:31:24 »
personally, a new profile and manufacturer is always welcomed. it brings diversity to the hobby.
Also love how the font looks.

Not a fan of the current color (the red and yellow accent) but it does make it unique.
Also interested in comparison with other profile.
Lastly, please consider adding Ergo support too.

Offline HappyB0T

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #19 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 21:35:57 »
Really Really Interesting - SLK looks tidy and matches font quite well. Kudos!

Offline hobbes72

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #20 on: Sat, 16 January 2021, 23:35:13 »
Really digging the aesthetics of this set. I'd really like to see a profile comparison against the other uniform profiles.

Offline dmatx1

  • Posts: 145
Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #21 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 03:07:05 »
Base kit has incomplete physical ISO support: it has ISO Enter, it has NUBS (R4 1u), it has 1.25u Shift, but NUHS (R3 1u) is missing.

Offline IceHawk

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #22 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 03:50:39 »
Looks pretty clean, I like it. Woukd you add a Norde Kit?

Offline ShiroMoria

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #23 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 04:01:47 »
It really is looking like something from a Braun catalog from the early 2000's, really good job ont he execution :) Also reminds me a bit of the OP-1 Synthesizer, in a good way ofc  :thumb:

Offline geewiz

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #24 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 06:43:12 »
Very reminiscent of old Siemens keyboards with their distinctive circular keycap tops. Love it!

Offline ycanales

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #25 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 07:48:59 »
Beautiful, especially the white for me. I’d love it more with all lowercase. I’m digging the shift accent color too 👍👍
Great work!

Offline Coreda

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #26 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 08:10:50 »
The light set is virtually ideal. Love the particular shade of light grey modifiers and red shift accents paired with the alternate legends.

Only thing I could see niggling me is the backslash key not being grey, to be more symmetrical (especially on 60-75% boards), though I recognize it's not actually a modifier key.

Offline GEIST

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #27 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 12:19:52 »
Thats the most beautiful keyset I've seen in a while. The shape looks amazing and you clearly put a lot of effort in the outstanding legends. A homing kit could be nice.

Offline mxrixs

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #28 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 16:07:56 »
Interesting profile!I do think that slightly less round tops would look better

Offline EightDiagram

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #29 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 20:09:57 »
Gorgeous.

Please provide some typing impressions when possible.

Offline Cubic // esc lab

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #30 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 20:19:20 »
Why this lowkey litty

Offline kema

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #31 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 20:44:19 »
Hi everyone, appreciate all the nice comments! Will look into some kit changes this week once enough people have voiced what they'd like.

Here's a quick comparison with DSA and KAM profiles courtesy of Synth Labs, SLK is more low profile and has a wider dish surface. The exact model measurements are subject to change but the general shape should remain very similar ✌️


Offline dibstern

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #32 on: Sun, 17 January 2021, 20:54:54 »
Super pretty!! And low profile = yes yes yes yes yes, so much better for acoustics

Offline pixelpusher

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #33 on: Mon, 18 January 2021, 08:59:45 »
It looks like the first comparison figure of “actual alignment”
Is suggesting that the skirt of the cap is longer than KAM or DSA.  That would be wonderful if true!

The fact that it has a larger dish is a negative to me.  I always found XDA much more difficult to type on for that reason. Guess we shall see in time. 
« Last Edit: Mon, 18 January 2021, 09:05:37 by pixelpusher »

Offline Nostril

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #34 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 02:14:20 »
For the SLK profile, I have been prototyping the latest versions of the keycaps with a resin 3D printer. Previously, I was prototyping much older versions through a print service. So far, I've only printed 1U caps myself, but I'll start messing with printing some of the larger sizes now that I have figured the printing out. As kema mentioned, the general shape is going to stay mostly similar, but I'm still experimenting with slight tweaks, and trying them out with these 3D prints to find what feels best to me.



Picture of the keycaps on a RAMA M6-A


The first fully successful print, as they came out from the printer with the support structure for printing still attached.


The first fully successfully printed keycaps on the RAMA M6-A (left) next to all of the failed attempts before (right), including issues with the surface finish, issues with excess material, and issues with the stems falling off the build plate.


A comparison with DSA on the top left and top middle keys for height comparison.


I like how the profile feels a lot right now a lot, but I am thinking of increasing the curvature on the dish - I think it feels a bit flatter than I'd like. My proposed changes will increase the height of the keycap very slightly, but will bring the dish curvature pretty much in line with DSA's dish curvature. I'll be making these changes and testing them over next weekend.



This diagram (it's a bit different from the last one that kema showed) shows what the profile will look like after the proposed changes:


In terms of testing with a full keyset on a keyboard, I have not done that with the latest iteration. I have tested it before with a much older version of the SLK design, ordered through a print service. However, since I'm transitioning to doing the prototype printing on my own, I haven't gotten around to doing this yet on the latest version. However, I plan to do this, and daily drive a keyboard with a full SLK set to make sure I like it once the tweaks all feel good on the individual keys.
« Last Edit: Tue, 19 January 2021, 04:15:29 by Nostril »

Offline Nostril

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #35 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 02:19:53 »
It looks like the first comparison figure of “actual alignment”
Is suggesting that the skirt of the cap is longer than KAM or DSA.

Yep, that's correct. Should help with keyboards with low walls, and so that you can't see the switch as much when viewed at an angle.

Offline Buburoo

  • Posts: 51
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #36 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 03:32:11 »
I'm interested. Unsure whether I would actually use them as a preferred profile for day to day typing but definitely something new that has my attention. The price will play a big factor for me on this one, however.

Offline Cubic // esc lab

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #37 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 05:00:44 »
I really dig the light colored theme. I would love a GMK set just like that. Getting serious Dieter vibes from it.

Offline candravamsa

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #38 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 05:33:03 »
I'm in!

Offline Surefoot

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #39 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 06:00:43 »
It looks really interesting, even though I was in at the "thick PBT" part. Might be cool to involve Biiip for a "Wraith" theme using this set....

Offline kapowaz

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #40 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 14:26:57 »
These look very interesting indeed. Will be watching this closely! I can imagine this looking great inside a black Boop 65:


Offline bball2

  • Posts: 418
Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #41 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 14:43:20 »
I don't know how much I would like typing on those keycaps - but man do they look nice!

Offline 1391401

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #42 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 15:19:37 »
I love the look, curious what it is like to type on. 
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Offline phxrbn

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #43 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 15:49:30 »
Like it. Looks really interesting, but some feedback-

  • Not a fan of the edge aligned legends- it looks weird on the bottom row with all other legends being centered. It works fine for all other rows, though.
  • Not a fan of the shifted accents, although it makes perfect sense- just don't like having mono colorways with a colored accent. Maybe a gray tone for both sets- since they'll be less of a pop vs the bow/wob

Overall solid. I'll be interested as this develops.

Offline pixls

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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #44 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 16:29:04 »
Icon mods would be an instant buy for me. No question. For a future set in this profile I'd love to see a nice medium grey with black or white legends.

Offline stoffelduss

  • Posts: 194
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #45 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 17:48:20 »
Like it. Looks really interesting, but some feedback-

  • Not a fan of the edge aligned legends- it looks weird on the bottom row with all other legends being centered. It works fine for all other rows, though.
  • Not a fan of the shifted accents, although it makes perfect sense- just don't like having mono colorways with a colored accent. Maybe a gray tone for both sets- since they'll be less of a pop vs the bow/wob

Overall solid. I'll be interested as this develops.
I wanted to say the same things. Looks interesting, but I don't like the coloured symbols very much, and I definitely don't like the non-centered legends. I might or might not buy with the coloured shifted symbols but I will definitely not buy with edge-aligned legends.

Offline blaqbern

  • Posts: 36
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #46 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 18:32:18 »
I love the look, curious what it is like to type on.
I don't know how much I would like typing on those keycaps - but man do they look nice!

My thoughts exactly! I’m definitely intrigued. Will be watching! GLWIC!

Offline shortdog6

  • Posts: 38
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Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #47 on: Tue, 19 January 2021, 19:55:00 »
Love how it looks! There could be some cool novelties with this profile.

Offline asmashedpumpkin

  • Posts: 20
Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #48 on: Wed, 20 January 2021, 02:04:47 »
This profile looks good, except for the ISO enter. That’s the only key that looks weird to me.

Offline GEIST

  • Posts: 62
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    • schwarzgrau
Re: [IC] SLK Dessau
« Reply #49 on: Wed, 20 January 2021, 07:38:21 »
A few more 1U keys in the Add-on Kits would be nice, to ensure ortho support. For example backspace and delete.

EDIT: Just noticed they're already in the base kit
« Last Edit: Wed, 20 January 2021, 07:40:52 by GEIST »