[IC] Series 5.88 - Safa - GB Feb 14th (Pricing Anounced)

[NightRye_]

This board is a must have.

[alwaysbless]

Green looks very nice. What made you decide on internal weight only? Back looks plain but I still dig. Personally think itd look nice also with a larger sized arrow cluster logo too. GLWS

[Arcoril]

To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.

For me (very much non-Arabic speaker, took me about a minute to understand what parts of Safa in the post correspond to the calligraphic version in the engraving) this is the main thing attracting me to this board. There is an abundance of TKLs both existing and coming, and if it were not for the engraving (or even worse, if it had been in latin letters), then I would not have given this much more than a glance. Because, well, rectangle, sounds like a keyboard. This really sets this board apart, and I appreciate that it is there.
Best,
Johannes

Set your keyboard to arabic in windows, then type “wthx”

Like I said, something small to identify it. Everything else is supposed to be as boring as it can be. Rectangle good.


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I can't read Arabic either, but I think the badge and the script look beautiful. Now I'm kicking myself for not getting Arabic alphas from the last CRP drop!

[sagarsiddhpura]

Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to this

Jane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.

All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it

I forgot English is the only language!

Its not about the "Only Language" but more about if you recognize something you see every day. Understanding english does not mean I am saying english is the only language. I was trying to provide point of view of how from someone who doesnt understand arabic looks at highlighted engravings, but looks like feedback is met with snarky remarks and jabs. Sad to see please and requests are met with snide comments and person I thought was not ******* be an *******

I don't want drama in this thread so let me address it. You may as well ignore the comments made before and hear my thought process behind it.

صفاء = Safa in Arabic. I understand as a non arabic speaker you and many others will see this and not understand it. My counterargument is this. We see many many boards with Hirigana, Katakana, and many other languages being openly displayed on a case.

The engraving I am using was made to be discreet, is barely visible from a seating position and to be clear - is not infilled / highlighted out of the box. For me, this is my signature on the board (well, not really, but moreso an easy identifier for others). I tried many iterations, from more calligraphic designs above the arrows, to just nothing. To me, this is what I preferred, but I wanted to ensure it was discreet whilst still making the board identifiable.

I hope that clears things up a little...

I understand the choices made as a designer and I respect it. Thanks for info.

[chive_]

Very interested, will keep an eye on this. glwic paul!

[Phractals]

Green looks very nice. What made you decide on internal weight only? Back looks plain but I still dig. Personally think itd look nice also with a larger sized arrow cluster logo too. GLWS

The reasoning for internal weight is literally right there in the post.

[paulgali]

Green looks very nice. What made you decide on internal weight only? Back looks plain but I still dig. Personally think itd look nice also with a larger sized arrow cluster logo too. GLWS

TLDR: Hot and humid in Dubai. I wanted a portable board that I don't have to worry about patina, don't want it to weigh much and can throw in the backpack to the office. I also type on boards, or display them with caps facing me. I don't look at the bottom. This isnt me saying I won't make other boards with external weights - I have, but the tkl was designed around my personal use case, and I wanted to share that thought process here 

Hopefully that makes sense. Over a year since I started the project, the primary focus never changed, it was always feel and sound. Aesthetic was meant to be sleek, without taking a back seat. There's elegance in simplicity 

[linell]

Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to this

Jane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.

All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it

paul lives in uae
uae has kb community
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ y not use arabic

[paulgali]

After listening to people in the hobby I have the utmost respect for, as well as advice provided by vendors, this is no longer an unlimited run, and will instead be capped at 400 units (+ extras for backup).

One (very) good outcome to this is an estimated ETA of 6/7(ish) months for board production. I would rather deliver a board faster at the same price than wait a year. I am keeping this to 400 to allow me to release a possible F12 version sooner than expected, so if you prefer an F12 variant, keep your eyes out for it (ETA Q4 2022)

[mmayhem17]

Sad for the cap...but expected i guess.

Flippers gonna love it tho, i hope i can get an unit.

[paulgali]

Sad for the cap...but expected i guess.

Flippers gonna love it tho, i hope i can get an unit.

Flippers gonna hate it. Trust me, I have a plan


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[SDKCAMPING]

I hope it makes the price point, very good value and clean and simple design

[circill]

I'll be buying 4, woulda been 5 if green was in the gb ;(. Still though, this whole board is a work of art, thank you so much for your work.

[linell]

hopefully I can snag one 

[mongoose27]

Simplistic, 88key with O-ring/top-mount and black pp....count me in.

...that proto green so nice though.   Porque no green?

[circill]

Not a fan of letters on top of the board where it just sits in front of you whether you like it or not. This is even more unattractive when something is written in other language and its unfamiliar. Please offer an option without it. Other than that great ic, great board. Looking forward to this

Jane, Whale, and every other tkl in existence sweating rn.

All of those atleast had something in english. This one is completely unfamiliar. IMO nothing > logos, art > letters. Please consider an option without it

It’s a simple tkl with arabic script at the top, the design language is pretty universal and there are so many other boards out there that are simple if you want. The world doesn’t revolve around your opinion.

[KKoNaM]

Will the raw aluminum version be cheaper?

[paulgali]

ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.

[mmayhem17]

Nice to see Brazilian getting attention, even though as a br i'm not abnt2 user. Thanks again Paul. 

[soundstage]

ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.

Can you please give link to hiney's h88?

[aa212121]

ABNT2 support has been added, and ALPS plate will be an option. The PCB for safa doesnt support alps, but if you are buying hiney's h88, youll be set. Just offering plates in the GB as an optional addon since, might as well, even if you plan to not own this board, here's your chance to pick up alu alps plates.

Geez u are a God! very very appreciated for the alps support! <3

Can you please give link to hiney's h88?

Keep an eye on Hiney's discord http://discord.hineybush.com/, he will announce it there. this is his website: https://hineybush.com/collections/pcbs/products/h88c-preorder?variant=39389522133094

[mr_fro2000]

Looks and sounds great Baul!  GL w the gb... looks like this will be a banger!

[noorejji]

Would like to see option for sans engraving.

[Clarencehehe]

Man oh man this is cool. Most exciting bottom row of 2021, this keeb is really challenging my "no more than one keyboard per layout" limit I've set for myself, starting to feel some mr. suit buyers remorse creep in. Definitely interested, great job and good luck with the IC.

[Diggidy]

.

[paulgali]

Is hiney regularly offering his 87/88's w/ only JST (USB delete) and DB now?

I hope so, he just announced he's going full time. That being said - you should be able to just snap off the USB, albeit, I'm not sure if you can with all his variants.

[Nonnegaard]

i have spent hours attempting to wrap my head around why you pictured both a wk 7u bottom row and a wkl 7u bottom row on the PCB. its literally the same thing 

[mmayhem17]

i have spent hours attempting to wrap my head around why you pictured both a wk 7u bottom row and a wkl 7u bottom row on the PCB. its literally the same thing 

My guess is that there are people that would ask if WKL 7u is compatible 

[paulgali]

i have spent hours attempting to wrap my head around why you pictured both a wk 7u bottom row and a wkl 7u bottom row on the PCB. its literally the same thing 

It’s from the via config files I created. There are separate options for wk and wkl in the firmware. Why? It looks pretty with the blocker in via


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[XCaellaX]

Totally hyped by the board! Will there be a way to order both Winkey and WKL tops for one bottom?

[paulgali]

Totally hyped by the board! Will there be a way to order both Winkey and WKL tops for one bottom?

In this current round and it being the first public run of mine, I won’t be able to add on specific parts like extra tops. Plates and pcbs are fine for addons.

I will double check but that’s a rather unusual request. Won’t hurt to ask though, I’ll get back to you.


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[LaserCrafter]

this board is a must buy tbh.

[paulgali]

If you know. You know.


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[7h3of7]

Show Image

If you know. You know.


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ne weight avail?

[mmayhem17]

Show Image

If you know. You know.


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nice hands.

[Chippy]

Show Image

If you know. You know.


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engrave this on my tombstone

[Dyto69]

I'm so excited to see the IC for Safa, I will go for the Navy or Grey. Thank you Paul (and everyone that helped)

[gilbert]

Show Image

If you know. You know.

ne weight avail?

[Omarpixel9]

Show Image

If you know. You know.


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nice sandals

[mr_fro2000]

Are there any side profile pictures?

[paulgali]

I had a chat with Max. I do not want Safa and Pheonix to conflict, and because Max's US vendor has pushed to march, I am bringing Safa a wee bit closer.

It should avoid the pheonix, since Safa will be a 400 unit FCFS sale. Max and I have discussed this and agreed it is ok.

[VXQN]

Great news about the GB! Would you consider adding Prototypist/Protozoa or someone else as a UK vendor? I'd love to pick one of these up, as the design and proportions are just perfect.

[whitewolf154]

Please add a Canadian vendor for this keyboard 🙏🙏🙏

[paulgali]

Great news about the GB! Would you consider adding Prototypist/Protozoa or someone else as a UK vendor? I'd love to pick one of these up, as the design and proportions are just perfect.

MKBEU have assured UK sales will go through without a hitch. Remember, the more vendors, the higher the variance in cost. I'd like to keep it as simple as possible

Please add a Canadian vendor for this keyboard 🙏🙏🙏

MKBEU will have a locked timeslot for US/CA. It costs less to ship from Europe in 3 days than it would to calculate all fees RE imports to the US and Canada, margins are incredibly tight on this and I did speak to vendors from the region but it was too tight for comfort. Those tariffs really are ruining things 

[TjarleN]

MKBEU will have a locked timeslot for US/CA.

Does this mean there is still a unit allocation for different regions (also for eu)? I would appreciate that but it sounds like a lot more work for mkbeu.

[paulgali]

MKBEU will have a locked timeslot for US/CA.

Does this mean there is still a unit allocation for different regions (also for eu)? I would appreciate that but it sounds like a lot more work for mkbeu.

Of course, EU will also get a dedicated slot.

It’s a bit more work but I’ve been told it’s not an issue.


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[Scriba]

looks really good

[gotgoodiez]

The Navy color is gorgeous! I hope I get a chance to pick one of these boards up, amazing work.

[vhwatgoes]

Aw! That green is so nice! It's too bad it's not included in the run :c

[QuixoNik]

Honestly I would reconsider on including green in the gb. Green on Arabic looks so lit!