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geekhack Community => Keyboard Keycaps => Topic started by: menuhin on Thu, 27 January 2022, 06:12:02

Title: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: menuhin on Thu, 27 January 2022, 06:12:02
(https://i.imgur.com/tcDa8Z6.png)

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003728273426.html

Domikey is pumping out their double-shot sets in various color combo like there's no tomorrow, and these are all in stock for ~$50 a full set, like the GMK full set.
And they have triple-shot sets designs too.

It's time for GMK (and perhaps also SP) to catch up.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Handke on Thu, 27 January 2022, 06:23:47
LOL no scoops


For that price you get hand designed legends too, look at the crooked backspace and caps lock. Fantastic.



(https://i.imgur.com/vZD1jmd.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/2medaAU.jpg)
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Handke on Thu, 27 January 2022, 06:25:05
Sincerely I have no idea what kind of ABS they use. Probably super low cost toxic things. I won't buy until they prove their quality.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Thu, 27 January 2022, 08:39:12
...
Domikey is pumping out their double-shot sets in various color combo like there's no tomorrow...
How you know this is actually made by Domikey?
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: MIGHTY CHICKEN on Thu, 27 January 2022, 09:36:37
These are made by aifei…
A clone manu, while the quality is decent for the price, these do not match up to GMK at all


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Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: menuhin on Fri, 28 January 2022, 03:46:36
...
Domikey is pumping out their double-shot sets in various color combo like there's no tomorrow...
How you know this is actually made by Domikey?

Just my guess: Because the only double-shot ABS manufacturers besides GMK known to me are JTK, ePBT (yes, they made double-shot ABS recently too), and Domikey; and JTK + ePBT will usually market with their brand name, plus they're not as aggressive as in doing the color-theme knock-offs. Domikey is relatively new, and their quality seem to be top-notch with only minor flaws to me, and they seem to be able to pump out lots of products, and I don't fully know their knock-off practice as they're new in the game.

Someone pointed out that these may come from another manufacturer (aifei), that I heard of only since posting this.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Fri, 28 January 2022, 09:47:12

A clone manu, while the quality is decent for the price, these do not match up to GMK at all

Apart some mods legends letter size inconsistency shown above the quality is quite good for the price and the size of set, while GMK is not always perfect and I personally hate dark GMK caps reflective nature and will not wait two years for another disappointment.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Fri, 28 January 2022, 09:54:10
Just my guess...
I think you should fact check before putting your guess in the clickbait title.

Domikey sets are clearly named on Aliexpress and AFAIK all new Cherry ones are listed here (https://kprepublic.com/collections/domikey) while there is no GMK clones among them.

BTW: with custom keycaps being small sidestep from their main business the only concern for GMK would be to NOT bother expanding it if clones gaining market share.
Only designers and GMK devotees are concerned with this clone spawn. The Rest of us (especially those who care less for colour matching and lack of novelties) are happy to not care about shine, imperfections, loss of overpriced plastic value and purchase cost of sporting multiple sets...
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Surefoot on Fri, 28 January 2022, 10:06:43
Just my guess: Because the only double-shot ABS manufacturers besides GMK known to me are JTK, ePBT (yes, they made double-shot ABS recently too), and Domikey; and JTK + ePBT will usually market with their brand name,(...)
First, there are quite a few double shot process manufacturers in China, most are on AliExpress indeed, I have at least 4 different sets from different sources, none of which are Domikey. As for Domikey themselves they do sell under their own brand name, are comparable to GMK in quality, and have a very specific spacebar (with a rounded front edge). They also make really good quality SA keycaps, almost as good as Signature Plastics, and compare favorably to Maxkey (which another double shot manufacturer btw). As for the set in first post, it's definitely not Domikey.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: chorb on Fri, 28 January 2022, 10:08:02
This is not domikey bro. This is chinese "pbt" doubleshot with uneven legends that existed for ages, it has nothing to do with domikey.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Fri, 28 January 2022, 10:09:18
This is not domikey bro. This is chinese "pbt" doubleshot with uneven legends that existed for ages, it has nothing to do with domikey.
I am pretty sure they ABS but I digress.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: murpy on Fri, 28 January 2022, 11:17:37
You're buying a lesser quality product for cheaper. Seems to make sense to me

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Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Lingula on Fri, 28 January 2022, 17:11:55
...
Domikey is pumping out their double-shot sets in various color combo like there's no tomorrow...
How you know this is actually made by Domikey?

Just my guess: Because the only double-shot ABS manufacturers besides GMK known to me are JTK, ePBT (yes, they made double-shot ABS recently too), and Domikey; and JTK + ePBT will usually market with their brand name, plus they're not as aggressive as in doing the color-theme knock-offs. Domikey is relatively new, and their quality seem to be top-notch with only minor flaws to me, and they seem to be able to pump out lots of products, and I don't fully know their knock-off practice as they're new in the game.

Someone pointed out that these may come from another manufacturer (aifei), that I heard of only since posting this.
These are indeed from Aifei who makes both PBT and ABS doubleshot for over 7 years now(ABS ds was only recently thou). Their keycaps are somewhat popular than other manufactures because of the GMK cloned color themes. Same thing with Guangtouge(bold man) who produces ABS double shot GMK clones as well with even cheaper price(sometimes as low as 10 dollors…). Apart from the forementioned manus, AKKO, Shurikey, CIY, PGA, etc all have their own branded ABS double shot keycaps. At least couple dozens manufactures have the capability of producing ABS double shot plastics in China so no big deals.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: akml746 on Fri, 28 January 2022, 19:26:11
Haha thank you all for clearing out that these keycaps were not from Domikey. I think they are a decent alternative to GMK. Some of their base Triple shot kit are amazing value, with two sets of alphas.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Puddsy on Sat, 29 January 2022, 14:52:58
Haha thank you all for clearing out that these keycaps were not from Domikey. I think they are a decent alternative to GMK. Some of their base Triple shot kit are amazing value, with two sets of alphas.

quality i have seen from domikey isn't even remotely close to GMK quality, even so. aifei caps are but are markedly worse (even compared to domikey) in all aspects.

also very funny to me that OP posted here to tepid response, then posted to r/mk a few hours later
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: menuhin on Sun, 30 January 2022, 12:16:30
Haha thank you all for clearing out that these keycaps were not from Domikey. I think they are a decent alternative to GMK. Some of their base Triple shot kit are amazing value, with two sets of alphas.

quality i have seen from domikey isn't even remotely close to GMK quality....

Sorry about assuming those were from Domikey. They're relatively clean and original, and not trying to just knock color-themes of existing designs.

But what does "isn't even remotely close" means?
In terms of percentage of double-shot legends with "uniformity" (alignment, font uniformity, font choice, thickness of lines for font etc), or the key cap itself?

Many said that Leopold keyboards come with really high quality key caps - both their dye-sub and double-shot. And where do these key caps stand when compared to GMK?
(I forgot if the double-shot from Leopold are double-shot PBT or double-shot ABS, but at least comparing double-shot to double-shot manufacturing craftsmanship is a valid comparison.)
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Lingula on Sun, 30 January 2022, 12:46:07
Haha thank you all for clearing out that these keycaps were not from Domikey. I think they are a decent alternative to GMK. Some of their base Triple shot kit are amazing value, with two sets of alphas.

quality i have seen from domikey isn't even remotely close to GMK quality....

Sorry about assuming those were from Domikey. They're relatively clean and original, and not trying to just knock color-themes of existing designs.

But what does "isn't even remotely close" means?
In terms of percentage of double-shot legends with "uniformity" (alignment, font uniformity, font choice, thickness of lines for font etc), or the key cap itself?

Many said that Leopold keyboards come with really high quality key caps - both their dye-sub and double-shot. And where do these key caps stand when compared to GMK?
(I forgot if the double-shot from Leopold are double-shot PBT or double-shot ABS, but at least comparing double-shot to double-shot manufacturing craftsmanship is a valid comparison.)

I have a leopold fc980m. Not a fan of their keyboards but I have to admit the keycaps are phenomenal. They only do doubleshot PBT which was meant to upgrade their hyped dye sub PBT keycaps. The surface texture is on par with GMKs, with courser powder finishing. Thanks to the high PBT content, their keycaps surface last clean and clear longer. Molding seems better than GMK as the inner layer is thicker and more evenly distributed. Characters are also clear and sharp. I prefer them over GMKs as I'm a fan of the sounding of PBT. Drawbacks would be:1. Not selling keycaps alone;2. Only have OEM profile(actually it's in between OEM and Cherry as the stem holder is shorter than other manus);3. Compability issues with some switches and mods.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Mon, 31 January 2022, 02:14:17
quality i have seen from domikey isn't even remotely close to GMK quality, even so. aifei caps are but are markedly worse (even compared to domikey) in all aspects.
Quality I've experienced from GMK is not in pair with the hype and just as example those aifei sets you deem two levels down have less warp than GMK Cafe (https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=102580.100) on spacebars, legends in number row better aligned than any GMK and no streaks across GMK Laser (https://i.imgur.com/ZeKvo6d.jpg). Crucially for me even they seem to be made from cheap ABS their dark caps are not as ugly reflective as GMK (I call it GMK factory shine).

Of course they have bigger "a" and "e" as well as Shif_t issues, and maybe not as sharp legends but in reality GMK "quality" is not worth the fame it gets.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Surefoot on Mon, 31 January 2022, 07:53:03
Of course they have bigger "a" and "e" as well as Shif_t issues, and maybe not as sharp legends but in reality GMK "quality" is not worth the fame it gets.
Also the sprue mark on the back. Quite obvious when you see it, you cannot unsee. Other brands such as SP for example have it on the bottom where it's less visible.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Mon, 31 January 2022, 12:19:13
Also the sprue mark on the back. Quite obvious when you see it, you cannot unsee. Other brands such as SP for example have it on the bottom where it's less visible.
Not sure what you are talking about - can't see any marks. Show me.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Surefoot on Mon, 31 January 2022, 13:03:46
Not sure what you are talking about - can't see any marks. Show me.
Talking about sprue marks. Maybe i wasnt clear enough.
Did you even try a quick google ?  https://www.google.fr/search?q=gmk+sprue+marks
(https://external-preview.redd.it/FFbPwwBoKIxCek-hiidxB2BeXQzwNeI2sKOWWsbTYUo.jpg?auto=webp&s=1ce5282d56c410675b419cd69c89a49f8302c35b)
(https://external-preview.redd.it/kNCWnrIdxgGB6mW_s79s2OAJ6xceN3BUEqA2wf86r6E.jpg?auto=webp&s=7842e29f57edce615e83125c9816464cc7678762)
etc.
Got the same on just every GMK set.
(all of these are GMK. seems like ePBT have also a back side sprue mark, offset though not centered).
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: LASERman Projects on Mon, 31 January 2022, 15:19:14
Nothing like that there (https://i.imgur.com/GD3nXKz.jpeg).

It's time for GMK (and perhaps also SP) to catch up.
Well... it seems with sprue marks at least.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Handke on Tue, 01 February 2022, 03:59:44
Not sure what you are talking about - can't see any marks. Show me.
Talking about sprue marks. Maybe i wasnt clear enough.
Did you even try a quick google ?  https://www.google.fr/search?q=gmk+sprue+marks
Show Image
(https://external-preview.redd.it/FFbPwwBoKIxCek-hiidxB2BeXQzwNeI2sKOWWsbTYUo.jpg?auto=webp&s=1ce5282d56c410675b419cd69c89a49f8302c35b)

Show Image
(https://external-preview.redd.it/kNCWnrIdxgGB6mW_s79s2OAJ6xceN3BUEqA2wf86r6E.jpg?auto=webp&s=7842e29f57edce615e83125c9816464cc7678762)

etc.
Got the same on just every GMK set.
(all of these are GMK. seems like ePBT have also a back side sprue mark, offset though not centered).

this is simply OCD
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: MIGHTY CHICKEN on Tue, 01 February 2022, 09:35:33
I think SP has worse marks on their SA sets


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Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Surefoot on Tue, 01 February 2022, 09:53:25
this is simply OCD
Is it though, people also obsess on font width and kerning...
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Handke on Tue, 01 February 2022, 10:29:12
this is simply OCD
Is it though, people also obsess on font width and kerning...

That's different, you can't see tha markings. BTW they're almost invisible in the 30 years old cherry / gmk set that I'm using now, they don't protrude from the keycaps.
Title: Re: Domikey - I think GMK should be concerned this time (various colors, $50 stock)
Post by: Surefoot on Tue, 01 February 2022, 11:06:11
They are visible on every recent GMK set (not talking about OG 30 y old Cherry sets here, but about GMK). And yeah they are visible just like font kerning issues. Selectively removing some issues in order to prop one manufacturer on a pedestal is a bit dishonest. There's also a lot to be said about recent GMK packaging (that can lead to keys getting damaged, due to loose fitment).