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Interest Checks / Re: [IC] Blaine V2 Keyboard
« Last post by Findecanor on Tue, 19 May 2026, 13:16:00 »Anticipating the Nankai trough to shift, I see ...
Recent Posts
2
Off Topic / Re: Costco Rice Guide.
« Last post by tp4tissue on Tue, 19 May 2026, 13:08:40 »Koshikihari vs Calrose.
These are the primary 2 jap rice strains grown in the US.
There are no pure-bred rice, they're all mutts developed over time to adjust to regional growing conditions/chemicals/disease/weather.
One rice is not inherently better than another.
The reason the jap strain is used for sushi and riceballs is that it has a balance of Amylose/Amylopectin around 20%/80% + a puffy shape, This gives it enough structure for separation and enough stickiness to clump.
The end texture is a soft jelly bean like pillow, which match the "preference" of most rice eaters "Today."
That said, preferences are also merely FASHIONABLE, doesn't make it great or the best in any way, today blue, tomorrow green.
Close Koshi derivatives sold as Koshi is often either a mixed bag doped with other rice, or all Kosh. Brands like Tamaki Gold represents the premium rice. The price reflects partially the lower yields and higher risk of cultivation (failures).
Calrose is more robust, which is why it's 80% of what california grows.
Visually, Koshi is a shorter more roundish grain than Calrose.
Is it worth the extra money, mechanically, HELL NO.
The difference in amy/amylopec starch distribution is within 1-3 percent. So, the amount of water added will make whatever target consistency you're looking for.
But food isn't only about the science, food is also about FEELINGS. Sometimes you wear a nice shirt and one feels better about oneself.
That is where all the so-called magic happens.
But if you're just out to pound rice generally, what slight difference there is in texture and smell of the rice is way overpowered by the home made General_Tso, so this is where you might stick to Calrose.
Rice grades/ Quality
The best batches have 5% broken grains. The good is 10-15%, then there's the rest.
It'll all pretty much taste the same, slight texture difference is usually that broken grains leak more starches during cooking, leading to a potential sheen/tacky goop around the rice. A very minor difference in practice, unless you're PRO RICER and eat rice plain by itself while evaluating its perturbed origins and specification.
But you can sometimes find un-adorned alt-brand sushi rice bags that is Koshi, with slightly more broken grains, but not overpriced like the marked up tamakigold.
Sidenote: There's also the Kimjohn's lvl where his slaves inspect every grain of rice he eats, more so for poison, than rice texture.
These are the primary 2 jap rice strains grown in the US.
There are no pure-bred rice, they're all mutts developed over time to adjust to regional growing conditions/chemicals/disease/weather.
One rice is not inherently better than another.
The reason the jap strain is used for sushi and riceballs is that it has a balance of Amylose/Amylopectin around 20%/80% + a puffy shape, This gives it enough structure for separation and enough stickiness to clump.
The end texture is a soft jelly bean like pillow, which match the "preference" of most rice eaters "Today."
That said, preferences are also merely FASHIONABLE, doesn't make it great or the best in any way, today blue, tomorrow green.
Close Koshi derivatives sold as Koshi is often either a mixed bag doped with other rice, or all Kosh. Brands like Tamaki Gold represents the premium rice. The price reflects partially the lower yields and higher risk of cultivation (failures).
Calrose is more robust, which is why it's 80% of what california grows.
Visually, Koshi is a shorter more roundish grain than Calrose.
Is it worth the extra money, mechanically, HELL NO.
The difference in amy/amylopec starch distribution is within 1-3 percent. So, the amount of water added will make whatever target consistency you're looking for.
But food isn't only about the science, food is also about FEELINGS. Sometimes you wear a nice shirt and one feels better about oneself.
That is where all the so-called magic happens.
But if you're just out to pound rice generally, what slight difference there is in texture and smell of the rice is way overpowered by the home made General_Tso, so this is where you might stick to Calrose.
Rice grades/ Quality
The best batches have 5% broken grains. The good is 10-15%, then there's the rest.
It'll all pretty much taste the same, slight texture difference is usually that broken grains leak more starches during cooking, leading to a potential sheen/tacky goop around the rice. A very minor difference in practice, unless you're PRO RICER and eat rice plain by itself while evaluating its perturbed origins and specification.
But you can sometimes find un-adorned alt-brand sushi rice bags that is Koshi, with slightly more broken grains, but not overpriced like the marked up tamakigold.
Sidenote: There's also the Kimjohn's lvl where his slaves inspect every grain of rice he eats, more so for poison, than rice texture.
3
Interest Checks / Re: [IC] Blaine V2 Keyboard
« Last post by HubertThemad on Tue, 19 May 2026, 12:29:54 »This reminds me of a certain The Boys episode lol.
No, in all seriousness, GLWIC, and this makes me go on a nostalgia trip! Time to bust out Blue again and play through it
No, in all seriousness, GLWIC, and this makes me go on a nostalgia trip! Time to bust out Blue again and play through it
4
Interest Checks / [IC] Blaine V2 Keyboard
« Last post by upas on Tue, 19 May 2026, 12:18:38 »The Blaine V2: SE
Background
The Blaine V2: SE was born out of an “Omakase” keyboard private group buy I ran in the New England Keyboard Discord in 2024. Omakase means “I leave it up to you” - and the 10 people who joined the group buy knew almost nothing about the board when purchasing. When I first talked about the idea, a bunch of people said they would join if I used the F12 Jane TKL plate - so that’s what I did. Note that this was not my original idea - and that one is still cooking.
The resulting keyboard was the Blaine V1: Cinnabar Edition - which you can see here:
It does look pretty similar to another keyboard that also uses the F12 Jane plate - but still keeps its own flair.
Inspiration
For the V1 of this board, I decided to draw on some inspiration from my childhood - my first playthrough of Pokemon Blue in 1996.
I’ll never forget almost blacking out in Seafoam Islands - my Pokemon all at low HP from an encounter trying to catch this weird ice bird that was just hanging out there. Surfing to Cinnabar Island after making it through Seafoam Islands was such a relief.
Cinnabar Island was a huge unlock - not only could you finally revive your fossils, there was a gym as well as a weird Pokemon mansion, where (1996 spoiler alert) they allegedly created Mewtwo. Not to mention - Cinnabar Island was my favorite surfing spot to battle level 150 Snorlaxes and MissingNos and clone rare candies. For such a small area, it sure packed a punch!
But a volcano exploded destroying Cinnabar Island by the time Gold/Silver came around, and Blaine moved to Seafoam Islands, hence - the name - Blaine V2: Seafoam Edition.
Exterior / Design Decisions:
There are undoubtedly some callbacks here to another F12 TKL that uses a Jane plate. It’s a very distinctive look that I think a lot of people find appealing. And it’s very expensive to get boards with this sort of look on the aftermarket. I think it’s great to make this sort of design a bit more accessible.
With that in mind - there are some pretty key differences. On the back of the board, we find a brass volcano, POM lava, and Smoke PC ash cloud - representing the volcano that pushed Blaine to the Seafoam Islands. There’s also a BLAINE name badge, in the corner of the back. And there’s a removable magnetically attached back accent, and carbon fiber bottom accent.
The PCB has LEDs aligned on top of the POM lava. I’ve always wanted to make something glow like the Apple logo on older Macbook Pros - this method worked out really well, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The LEDs are controllable via VIA and are RGB - so if you want blue lava or purple lava, only your imagination is stopping you.
The top of the board is relatively clean.
The board can use both an integrated USB port PCB, or a Fly DB. The V1 didn’t have this - but feedback from V1 participants showed me that this was possible, so now I’ve done it in V2.
Mounting:
Top mount + single sided gasket mount + o ring mount are available.
Top mount is pretty straight forward.
With a single-sided gasket mount, the adhesive gaskets fit to the bottom case. You’ll have to be careful to align the plate properly using this mount.
For the o-ring mount, you need to add the 1.5mm sticky silicone spacers on top of the existing o-ring posts. This is because the posts were too tall for EC if they were sized for MX, so the spacers are required for O-ring mounting MX.
My personal preference is single-sided gasket mount, followed by top mount, followed by o-ring mount.
Other Internals:
There’s a brass weight on the inside only, to help with acoustics and also give it some of that premium weight feeling. If you build flexy and bottom out, you can remove this weight and you won’t bottom out anymore. Or you can add foam / esd sheets. In my testing, it took 2800g+ of force with the most flexy mounting style (single sided gasket) and an FR4 plate to get a hotswap Bastion PCB w/ 7U Bottom Row to bottom out and short a column. A solderable PCB, or a different TKL PCB might require more or less force.
This should also support EC, given the proper PCB. I designed around Cipulot’s 3d models for the EC TKL X.
The brass weight can either include the volcano LED cutout, or not. If you prefer to have the most consistent acoustics, you can get the flat brass weight with no cutout. If you like the visual flair of the glowing POM lava - get the brass weight with LED cutout.
Colors:
We’re not set on colors - but these are some ideas we have. Given the environment, I think we’ll have 4 colorways total. Remember that the carbon fiber on the bottom is always going to be black, and the volcano is going to be brass by default.
These three are colorways that I think fit the theme and I want to run:
Volcano: Dark Gray Top and Bottom + Orange Back Accent
Seafoam: Seafoam Green Top, Black Bottom, Seafoam Green Back Accent
Classic: Black Top, Black Bottom, Red Back Accent
And we’ll try to pick one of these based on demand:
Piano: E-White Top, E-White bottom, Black back accent
Cute: Pink top, Pink Bottom, Lilac back accent
E-Yellow: E-Yellow top, E-White Bottom, Red back accent
And feel free to make up your own colorways too! If one seems really great, we might just use that instead.
The Blaine V1: CE had an awesome e-beige and orange colorway, based on Blaine’s Arcanine. We’re not planning on bringing that back since I want the V1s to be extra special - though, if there is enough public demand, we may consider something similar.
Pricing and Timeline:
Based on the quote we received when we bought the Blaine V2 prototype - we should have been able to price this keyboard at $350. Unfortunately, prices seem to have gone up since then - and I think sub $400 is probably more realistic. Based on what you’d be getting, I think it’s still pretty good value. I’ve been daily driving my V1 recently and really enjoy using it.
This board is ready to go - with the mounting having been extensively tested by Omakase participants in V1, we’re really confident in the board. The visual updates for V2 landed well, in my opinion.
We’re ICing today - and we could run the group buy for this board as early as Late June/July.
Please give us all your feedback ASAP so that we can plan out the group buy!
Background
The Blaine V2: SE was born out of an “Omakase” keyboard private group buy I ran in the New England Keyboard Discord in 2024. Omakase means “I leave it up to you” - and the 10 people who joined the group buy knew almost nothing about the board when purchasing. When I first talked about the idea, a bunch of people said they would join if I used the F12 Jane TKL plate - so that’s what I did. Note that this was not my original idea - and that one is still cooking.
The resulting keyboard was the Blaine V1: Cinnabar Edition - which you can see here:
It does look pretty similar to another keyboard that also uses the F12 Jane plate - but still keeps its own flair.
Inspiration
For the V1 of this board, I decided to draw on some inspiration from my childhood - my first playthrough of Pokemon Blue in 1996.
I’ll never forget almost blacking out in Seafoam Islands - my Pokemon all at low HP from an encounter trying to catch this weird ice bird that was just hanging out there. Surfing to Cinnabar Island after making it through Seafoam Islands was such a relief.
Cinnabar Island was a huge unlock - not only could you finally revive your fossils, there was a gym as well as a weird Pokemon mansion, where (1996 spoiler alert) they allegedly created Mewtwo. Not to mention - Cinnabar Island was my favorite surfing spot to battle level 150 Snorlaxes and MissingNos and clone rare candies. For such a small area, it sure packed a punch!
But a volcano exploded destroying Cinnabar Island by the time Gold/Silver came around, and Blaine moved to Seafoam Islands, hence - the name - Blaine V2: Seafoam Edition.
Exterior / Design Decisions:
There are undoubtedly some callbacks here to another F12 TKL that uses a Jane plate. It’s a very distinctive look that I think a lot of people find appealing. And it’s very expensive to get boards with this sort of look on the aftermarket. I think it’s great to make this sort of design a bit more accessible.
With that in mind - there are some pretty key differences. On the back of the board, we find a brass volcano, POM lava, and Smoke PC ash cloud - representing the volcano that pushed Blaine to the Seafoam Islands. There’s also a BLAINE name badge, in the corner of the back. And there’s a removable magnetically attached back accent, and carbon fiber bottom accent.
The PCB has LEDs aligned on top of the POM lava. I’ve always wanted to make something glow like the Apple logo on older Macbook Pros - this method worked out really well, and I’m really pleased with how it turned out. The LEDs are controllable via VIA and are RGB - so if you want blue lava or purple lava, only your imagination is stopping you.
The top of the board is relatively clean.
The board can use both an integrated USB port PCB, or a Fly DB. The V1 didn’t have this - but feedback from V1 participants showed me that this was possible, so now I’ve done it in V2.
Mounting:
Top mount + single sided gasket mount + o ring mount are available.
Top mount is pretty straight forward.
With a single-sided gasket mount, the adhesive gaskets fit to the bottom case. You’ll have to be careful to align the plate properly using this mount.
For the o-ring mount, you need to add the 1.5mm sticky silicone spacers on top of the existing o-ring posts. This is because the posts were too tall for EC if they were sized for MX, so the spacers are required for O-ring mounting MX.
My personal preference is single-sided gasket mount, followed by top mount, followed by o-ring mount.
Other Internals:
There’s a brass weight on the inside only, to help with acoustics and also give it some of that premium weight feeling. If you build flexy and bottom out, you can remove this weight and you won’t bottom out anymore. Or you can add foam / esd sheets. In my testing, it took 2800g+ of force with the most flexy mounting style (single sided gasket) and an FR4 plate to get a hotswap Bastion PCB w/ 7U Bottom Row to bottom out and short a column. A solderable PCB, or a different TKL PCB might require more or less force.
This should also support EC, given the proper PCB. I designed around Cipulot’s 3d models for the EC TKL X.
The brass weight can either include the volcano LED cutout, or not. If you prefer to have the most consistent acoustics, you can get the flat brass weight with no cutout. If you like the visual flair of the glowing POM lava - get the brass weight with LED cutout.
Colors:
We’re not set on colors - but these are some ideas we have. Given the environment, I think we’ll have 4 colorways total. Remember that the carbon fiber on the bottom is always going to be black, and the volcano is going to be brass by default.
These three are colorways that I think fit the theme and I want to run:
Volcano: Dark Gray Top and Bottom + Orange Back Accent
Seafoam: Seafoam Green Top, Black Bottom, Seafoam Green Back Accent
Classic: Black Top, Black Bottom, Red Back Accent
And we’ll try to pick one of these based on demand:
Piano: E-White Top, E-White bottom, Black back accent
Cute: Pink top, Pink Bottom, Lilac back accent
E-Yellow: E-Yellow top, E-White Bottom, Red back accent
And feel free to make up your own colorways too! If one seems really great, we might just use that instead.
The Blaine V1: CE had an awesome e-beige and orange colorway, based on Blaine’s Arcanine. We’re not planning on bringing that back since I want the V1s to be extra special - though, if there is enough public demand, we may consider something similar.
Pricing and Timeline:
Based on the quote we received when we bought the Blaine V2 prototype - we should have been able to price this keyboard at $350. Unfortunately, prices seem to have gone up since then - and I think sub $400 is probably more realistic. Based on what you’d be getting, I think it’s still pretty good value. I’ve been daily driving my V1 recently and really enjoy using it.
This board is ready to go - with the mounting having been extensively tested by Omakase participants in V1, we’re really confident in the board. The visual updates for V2 landed well, in my opinion.
We’re ICing today - and we could run the group buy for this board as early as Late June/July.
Please give us all your feedback ASAP so that we can plan out the group buy!
5
Group Buys and Preorders / Re: [GB]GMK MTNU Welles
« Last post by HoffmanMyster on Tue, 19 May 2026, 11:46:49 »Approved 
6
Group Buys and Preorders / Re: [GB]GMK CYL Thunder God - May 22 - Jun 15 2026
« Last post by hali on Tue, 19 May 2026, 11:46:40 »big dog
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Group Buys and Preorders / Re: [GB]GMK CYL Thunder God - May 22 - Jun 15 2026
« Last post by HoffmanMyster on Tue, 19 May 2026, 11:45:24 »Approved
8
Interest Checks / Re: [IC]Doo&Do.25 | WYSE inspired
« Last post by iSeS on Tue, 19 May 2026, 09:39:55 »The Doodoo 25?The two top cases are distinguished by name: Doo utilizes the original WYSE keymap, whereas Do.25 features the newly designed layout.
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Interest Checks / 【IC】Linedge 65% Keyboard
« Last post by DashanYYY on Tue, 19 May 2026, 09:39:16 »Hello everyone, this is CC. Today I would like to introduce a custom mechanical keyboard in a standard 65% layout: Linedge 65%.
The name Linedge directly reflects the design concept behind this keyboard: the collision between Line and Edge. Its design language is built around straight lines and chamfered planes, creating a distinctive visual form that sets it apart from conventional keyboards.
Note: All edges that may appear sharp in the renders will be properly refined and softened. There is no need to worry about them hurting your hands.
Design Details
“Constructing a strong sense of order through the most rational geometric language.”
With Linedge, I wanted to bring the design back to the purest form of geometric constructivism. By using the most fundamental geometric elements — points, lines, and planes — I aimed to break away from the traditional box-like keyboard form and build a completely different visual language with the simplest elements, expressing a strong sense of order.
From the side profile, Linedge adopts a strict parallelogram composition. In geometric constructivism, a rectangle represents stillness, while a parallelogram carries slope, direction, and momentum. Viewed from the side, Linedge presents a fundamentally different structural silhouette compared to most keyboards. Its parallelogram-based frame gives the overall outline a strong sense of dynamic motion.
It is somewhat similar to the wedge-shaped design language of Lamborghini supercars — even when standing still, it conveys a strong sense of speed and movement.
The soul of Linedge lies in the sense of order created by its sharp lines and chamfered planes.
On Linedge, the lines do not radiate randomly. They either remain strictly parallel to preserve visual order, or converge precisely toward an implied vanishing point.
The key to creating a sense of geometric order is maintaining perceivable regularity:
1. The visible thickness of the top case is consistently 3.0 mm.
2. The side lines expand according to a parallel rule.
3. The grille widths on the front and rear edges remain consistent.
4. The weight and bottom case adopt a floating design while maintaining continuity across the chamfered surfaces.
When these rules are viewed together, they do not merely create visual beauty — they also establish a sense of logical correctness.
Light and Shadow
Layering enhances the premium feel of a product, while the interplay of light and shadow enhances its sense of refinement. In essence, layering is a complete logical system involving information, behavior, and aesthetic construction.
After countless sketches, the final unconventional form language of Linedge was established: instead of following the usual top-case / bottom-case expression, the bottom case extends outward from both the front and rear directions. Through color contrast, this forms the core visual identity of Linedge.
The sharp edge lines become the boundaries between light and shadow. Under lighting, the shimmering highlights of the anodized glossy grilles, the ordered CNC machining marks, the multiple reflections of mirror-polished PVD, and the depth of the chamfered planes alternate between brightness and darkness. Together, they carve out a sculptural sense of three-dimensional depth within a compact form — this is the light and shadow of Linedge.
The weight uses an overall floating design, making the gap the ideal place to create atmosphere. Inside the floating gap, two RGB light strips are hidden. The light shines downward onto the weight, producing a diffused reflection — once again creating an ambient effect where you see the light, but not the LEDs themselves.
Since Linedge’s sharp lines and large chamfered surfaces already present such an assertive character, I decided to make the colorways bolder and more aggressive as well.
For Linedge, electrophoresis is not used. Instead, all case parts adopt anodized surface finishing. Warm tones have also been abandoned in favor of more eye-catching colors. The visual richness is created through the collision of matte dual-tone anodizing and the light reflections from mirror-polished PVD.
Colorway Summary
1.Purple / Silver
Purple CNC machining marks - Silver PVD stainless steel weight - Silver anodized glossy grille
2.Azure Blue / Flowing Gold
Azure blue CNC machining marks - Gold PVD stainless steel weight - Gold anodized glossy grille
3.Samui Red / Space Gray
Samui red CNC machining marks - Black PVD stainless steel weight - Space gray anodized glossy grille
4. Ink Green / Flowing Gold
Ink green CNC machining marks - Gold PVD stainless steel weight - Gold anodized glossy grille
5.Silver / Silver
Silver CNC machining marks - Silver PVD stainless steel weight - Silver anodized glossy grille
6.Black / Black
Black CNC machining marks - Black PVD stainless steel weight - Bronze anodized glossy grille
Note:
All colors listed above are anodized finishes. There will be no electrophoresis and no spray coating for this project. The anodized glossy grilles on the front and rear edges of the bottom case are machined using custom cutting tools.
Basic Information and Structure
In terms of sound and typing feel, Linedge leans toward an OG-style tuning direction. Through a silicone bean mounting structure for vibration damping, it preserves the raw, hard-hitting feedback of a no-foam build, achieving a balance between a modern structure and a vintage sound profile. The tuning goal is to restore the clean sound of the switches while providing a resilient and lively typing feel.
Typing angle: 7.5°
Front height: Bottom case front height 15.50 mm; top case front height 18.50 mm
Plate material: Aluminum, non-flex-cut
Mounting structure: Silicone bean PCB Gasket(With RGB Light)
PCB thickness: Currently planned as 1.6 mm, non-flex-cut
Software support: QMK wired-only PCB, supports Web VIA
Price: TBD
Current Progress
Current progress: the prototype has been received. Structural validation has been completed, and typing feel and sound testing are currently in progress.
Validation and testing objectives:
1.Test the overall structure and assembly rationality.
2.Test the sound and typing feel.
3.Test the RGB lighting effect.
[ Guests cannot view attachments ]
After the above validation and testing are completed, the planned next steps are:
1.Further refine the drawings before submitting them to the factory for sampling.
2.Confirm the sample and start trial production.
3.Take real-life photos and arrange reviews.
4.Release real-life photos and begin GB warm-up.
5.Launch the GB.
6.......
IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN THIS PROJECT, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO JOIN OUR DISCORD FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://discord.gg/sev8DRHdJF
Thanks all.
PEACE & LOVE
10
Keyboards / Re: CoolPenguin1's Keyboard Documentation
« Last post by LightningXI on Tue, 19 May 2026, 09:04:00 »Very nice. Love the AT database. I can appreciate this being shared here as it's always possible it could be buried or lost in a Discord server.
Hurray for info preservation
Hurray for info preservation