[GB] GMK Dolch R5 - COMPLETE

[LightningXI]

Hello friends from Geekhack and the keyboard community !

GMK Dolch R5



Welcome to the Dolch R5 group-buy, a revisited original-color Dolch keyset with classic Cherry icon-text modifiers and an R5 bottom row (also known as Row A) It preserves the original Dolch keycap colorway (CP white instead of WS1 for the legends), and also features a custom color that is close to the turquoise originally used in the old Dolch logo. See below for more information on all the features of this set.



Features


  - Cherry profile, ABS plastic, thick doubleshot keycaps manufactured by GMK.
  - Alphas: CC light grey base, CP white legends.
  - Modifiers: N9 dark grey base, CP white legends.
  - Accents: P3 red base, CP white legends; custom color-matched Dolch turquoise base (RAL 180 60 50), CP white legends.
  - OG Cherry-style Icon-Text modifiers.
  - Complete R5 bottom row support!
  - Support for most common layouts, as well as ISO-UK.

Other sets that use the CP (white legends) color code, that you may use to mix-and-match: Olivia, Honeywell, Ursa, Barebones Stormtrooper, Bingsu.
For N9 (dark grey modifier color): Skidata, Terminal, Wasabi, Nines, Q:01, etc...

Base - covers most layouts, including ISO-UK - (60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, 96-key, 1800/CP and fullsize)



Extension - extends coverage for other layouts (660, 88-key, 60% with arrows, Alice/split, standalone numpad), alternative legend keys, novelties, and includes extra keys so that you can have two modifier sets to dress up two keyboards (e.g. TKL/1800 + 60/65%) by reusing modifiers. You will not have enough for two full-size keyboards or two TKLs.



Hangul - further extend Dolch usage, now with Korean language sublegends -- if you purchase ALL 3 kits, you may equip two keyboards fully with Dolch (e.g. TKL/1800 + 60/65).



RAMA Cherry





Spacekeys - CC/N9, L9/U9 and CP/CR:
GB thread - running concurrently. Please refer to the linked thread for more information and all future updates on OG Spacekeys.

Renders

TGR Jane v2 CE






CLICK MORE FOR MORE RENDERS

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RAMA M65-A





Keycult No. 1/60





Dixie Mech Bauer





bisoromi x monokei: Kei





Zambumon Sar

Vendors & Pricing


NA: Project Keyboard
$135 Base
$65 Extension
$70 Hangul
$45 RAMA Cherry

Canada: Deskhero - prices in CAD
$186 Base
$89 Extension
$96 Hangul
$63 RAMA Cherry

EU: Oblotzky Industries
€129 Base
€59 Extension
€69 Hangul
€42 RAMA Cherry

Asia: Monokei - prices in SGD
$190 Base
$90 Extension
$97 Hangul
$60 RAMA Cherry

Asia / Int'l: zFrontier CN / zFrontier EN - prices in CNY / USD
¥980 / $160 Base
¥455 / $68 Extension
¥500 / $75 Hangul
¥320 / $46 RAMA Cherry

Oceania: Daily Clack - prices in AUD
$187 Base
$90 Extension
$97 Hangul
$64 RAMA Cherry




Thanks for looking, and hope that you will consider supporting this set!

More discussion is also welcome in the ProjectKeyboard Discord server.

[LightningXI]

Photos

Click HERE for photos of Dolch on community members' keyboards over the years.


Timeline and Updates

  - Original est. ship date: July 2021
  - 2020/08/01: GB open
  - 2020/08/09: Week 1 update. All kits and RAMA caps will be produced. FAQ added.
  - 2020/09/04: GB orders closed. Final numbers noted.
  - 2021 late Feb / early March: RAMA Cherry keycap-only orders sent out. First custom color sample arrived. Rejected due to significant discrepancy.
  - 2021 May: Second custom color sample arrived. Approved after testing and comparison with RAL color chip.
  - 2021 June: Finalized and approved color sample photos posted.
  - 2021 October: Final production checkpoints approved and signed off. GB scheduled to ship on target of end of January 2022.
  - 2022 January: Shipping pushed back to end of March 2022.
  - 2022 March: Shipping to vendors slated for week April 2022.
  - 2022 late April: EU shipped. NA imminent shipping. Other regions pending shipping.


Artisan Keycap Collaborations


 - Collaborations in progress and details announced as they come.
 - All artisan keycap collaborations will be hosted and done by the makers themselves. Sale terms and conditions are fully at the discretion of each individual artisan keycap maker. Failure to abide by their respective rules may result in disqualification from their sales.

Already completed sales

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cysm caps - Dolchie Keyby, Olifu, Booo, and Boba - Aug 27, 2021



Primecaps - M'al Strom


BAD and Booj Keys - Tamadolchi


trmk caps


Wildstory Caps


ArtKey - Bull & Devourer: https://artkeyuniverse.com/shop/detail/collab-dolch-bd - 9/4/2020 at 10pm Eastern Time US


Latrialum - Crimson Wave, Psychoactive, Psychotropic


ArtKey - Sirius: https://artkeyuniverse.com/shop/detail/collab-dolch - 9/1/2020 at 10pm Eastern Time US


Fraktal Kaps - Friday Aug 14 at 5pm ET -- https://fraktalkaps.com/dolch


Coz Caps - R5D colorway - NoEsc, IdleKey, BigMouth, Skull blank, XP
- Open on Saturday, 25 July 2020 - 24 hour raffle. https://imgur.com/a/zti39Zd


Alpha Keycaps - Dolchy Salvador
- Open on Wednesday, 3 June 2020 @ 07.00 PM PT (Open for 12 hours, payment window 12 hours). The form will be posted on /r/mechmarket around this time and also in the Alpha Keycaps Discord and Instagram.


Alpha Keycaps - Bloodhound Keypora
- Open at Monday, 15 June 2020 @ 07.30 PM PT (Open for 12 hours, payment window 12 hours). The form will be posted on /r/mechmarket around this time and also in the Alpha Keycaps Discord and Instagram.

In progress / TBA

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Please note that they may or may not be able to hold a sale, depending on their availability:

DOLLARTACOS
Hunger Work Studio
SodieCaps
Tokkipee
Hello? Caps

F.A.Q.


1. Comparing Row 4 vs Row 5 in Cherry profile:

Cherry Row 4 (left) vs Row 5 (right)

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Row 4 bottom row example

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Row 5 examples

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2. What is the difference between (OG) Dolch and Modern Dolch?
The colors are very different. The original Dolch (like this one) is based on the keycaps on the Dolch PAC portable computer.
Modern Dolch is, in fact, inspired from the original Dolch and uses a less saturated color-scheme. Compared HERE (top - OG Dolch, bottom - Modern Dolch; you can ignore the accents as the ones used in Dolch R5 are different).

[iamtootallforthis]

Approved.

[pr0ximity]

The Dolch to end all Dolches 

[Smoff]

Noice

Putting in my order later in the month 

[Rob27shred]

The Dolch to end all Dolches 

Agreed! Super hyped for this one, GL with the GB Lightning!

[bobgr8]

R5 R5 R5!

[akyp11]

I'm in. Let's go.

[mrpetrov]

A classic, executed fabulously. In!

[billnye]

Pumped about this! Putting in my order soon.

[kiandelmundo]

I’m in 

[LightningXI]

Upon request from someone on reddit, here is a comparison between Row 4 and Row 5 in the Cherry profile

Comparing Row 4 vs Row 5 in Cherry profile:

Cherry Row 4 (left) vs Row 5 (right)

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Row 4 bottom row example

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Row 5 examples

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[28.8kbps]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a Dolch?

[Dafraz117]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a Dolch?

Dolch computer systems is a company that made the Dolch PAC which is basically a portable old school computer with keyboard. As for the word dolch itself its named after the founder: Volker Dolch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LightningXI]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a Dolch?

Dolch computer systems is a company that made the Dolch PAC which is basically a portable old school computer with keyboard. As for the word dolch itself its named after the founder: Volker Dolch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, they were portable computers used for "network sniffing" and other various computing, network, and media operations. The Dolch keyset that has been made over the years is inspired by the colors of the keycaps originally equipped on the keyboards of these computers.

More info here: https://jcs.org/2018/03/20/dolch64

[3ambutter]

GLWGB

[dorf]

And I'm in!

[Puddsy]

best extension kit in the game

[hkhawk]

Is the Rama Cherry black or gray?

[LightningXI]

Is the Rama Cherry black or gray?

Dark grey, like the modifiers of this set.

[hkhawk]

Is the Rama Cherry black or gray?

Dark grey, like the modifiers of this set.

Awesome, thanks

[LightningXI]

OG Spacekeys Round 2 is also live -- https://geekhack.org/index.php?topic=107883.0 -- hineybush is spearheading the GB for them; these will be useful for any additional spacekeys you might need with Dolch, as well as other classic sets -- beige or WoB/BoW.

=)

[28.8kbps]

Excuse my ignorance but what is a Dolch?

Dolch computer systems is a company that made the Dolch PAC which is basically a portable old school computer with keyboard. As for the word dolch itself its named after the founder: Volker Dolch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yup, they were portable computers used for "network sniffing" and other various computing, network, and media operations. The Dolch keyset that has been made over the years is inspired by the colors of the keycaps originally equipped on the keyboards of these computers.

More info here: https://jcs.org/2018/03/20/dolch64

Show Image

This is super useful info, thanks!

I’m sorely tempted, one because the colours are awesome and two it includes full UK ISO in the base set!

[LightningXI]

There is now a giveaway for a base kit of this set going on in the Project Keyboard Instagram if you haven't yet seen it. Ends in a week.

https://instagram.com/projectkeyboard

[LightningXI]

Just wanted to give people a final reminder that the Project Keyboard giveaway closes tonight and a winner will be announced tomorrow! Go check out @projectkeyboard on Instagram if you haven't (link is in the above post).

Aside, here's an update on Dolch R5 numbers for the first week or so. Thus far:

Base kit - 94
Extension kit - 53
Hangul kit - 35
RAMA Cherry - 53

These numbers do not include extras purchased by vendors - these will be determined towards the end of the group-buy.
With our current estimates for the GB progression, we are on-track to hit MOQs on all kits! The Base and Hangul kits could certainly benefit from a boost, but for those who may be concerned over MOQs, there should be no concern -- all kits and the RAMA caps will be produced.

Thank you all for your support! For those on the fence, I hope you continue to consider purchasing this classic set.

p.s. upon request -- click HERE for photos of Dolch on community members' keyboards over the years.

[funkmon]

Looking pretty good! I'll see where my budget is in the first week of September; I think I might pick this set up.

[dvorcol]

More

Just wanted to give people a final reminder that the Project Keyboard giveaway closes tonight and a winner will be announced tomorrow! Go check out @projectkeyboard on Instagram if you haven't (link is in the above post).

Aside, here's an update on Dolch R5 numbers for the first week or so. Thus far:

Base kit - 94
Extension kit - 53
Hangul kit - 35
RAMA Cherry - 53

These numbers do not include extras purchased by vendors - these will be determined towards the end of the group-buy.
With our current estimates for the GB progression, we are on-track to hit MOQs on all kits! The Base and Hangul kits could certainly benefit from a boost, but for those who may be concerned over MOQs, there should be no concern -- all kits and the RAMA caps will be produced.

Thank you all for your support! For those on the fence, I hope you continue to consider purchasing this classic set.

p.s. upon request -- click HERE for photos of Dolch on community members' keyboards over the years.

[TheMnBN]

I'm in for all kits. GL with GB, Wightning-sama 

[LightningXI]

Show Image

Thank you for the graph, dvorcol! Your help is much appreciated.

I'm in for all kits. GL with GB, Wightning-sama  :cool:

Thank you for the support!!!  :D

[sevenseacat]

I swear, it seems totally arbitrary which sets will sell stupidly well and which won't...

[zekkin]

I'm in for all kits. Row 5 is the best.

[Hell-es]

I swear, it seems totally arbitrary which sets will sell stupidly well and which won't...

thought the same. Maybe too much modo2 buyers - or bento, cyberspace, shoko is too much for 1 month.

Still struggle myself ... but deep insidei want this set, as an all classic ... with r5

[10peaches]

I dropped Bento, Minimal, and Shoko to support Lightning.

I’m in for all kits and the Rama cap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LightningXI]

I dropped Bento, Minimal, and Shoko to support Lightning.

I’m in for all kits and the Rama cap.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm in for all kits. Row 5 is the best.

Wow, that means a lot!! Thank you for your support, guys!!

On separate news, courtesy of Coz Caps, I just received a couple of artisan keycaps to give away in support of Dolch R5! Huge shout-out to Coz (https://www.cozcaps.com/about), Aussie artisan/woodworker/craftsman and a friend who has been so supportive of countless community members' endeavors, always with so much positivity and community spirit. I will announce more details regarding the giveaway soon. Stay tuned!

[LightningXI]

Holding a giveaway for two artisan keycaps (XP and SkullBlank) generously donated by Coz Keycaps in the R5D colorway!

SkullBlank by Coz Caps

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XP by Coz Caps

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Keycap butts:

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Open worldwide, ends this Saturday night. Rules for entry HERE -- requires Instagram account.

Tell your friends

[LightningXI]

To clarify some questions about kit and layout coverage, I've added some details on each kit about what they can cover. If there's any additional questions, please do ask them in the thread!

Base - covers most layouts, including ISO-UK - (60%, 65%, 75%, TKL, 96-key, 1800/CP and fullsize)

Extension - extends coverage for other layouts (660, 88-key, 60% with arrows, Alice/split, standalone numpad), alternative legend keys, novelties, and includes extra keys so that you can have two modifier sets to dress up two keyboards (e.g. TKL/1800 + 60/65%) by reusing modifiers. You will not have enough for two full-size keyboards or two TKLs.

Hangul - further extend Dolch usage, now with Korean language sublegends -- if you purchase ALL 3 kits, you may equip two keyboards fully with Dolch. Same exceptions apply as described in the Extension kit.

[cpt-nic]

Can anybody tell if and how good flipped spacebar works / makes sense with a row 5 profile?

[LightningXI]

Can anybody tell if and how good flipped spacebar works / makes sense with a row 5 profile?

I know some people who still use R5 bottom-row with flipped spacebar -- I personally don't but I haven't really heard of them having issues otherwise.

[Ensaum]

Can anybody tell if and how good flipped spacebar works / makes sense with a row 5 profile?

Kinda sucks if you hit ctrl with your thumb. I know this is very specific, but I do this a lot while gaming. Upside is its much more comfortable to hit alt with your pinky. You could also pick up space keys r2, which includes a 1.25u concave key in dolch colors for that ctrl key if you need it.

[LightningXI]

Some artisan collaboration sales coming soon...


Fraktal Kaps - tomorrow at 5pm ET -- https://fraktalkaps.com/dolch



Latrialum - sale TBA

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[fantasyrunner]

Wow that RAMA cap is insane. Awesome job Lightning

[LightningXI]

Test color swatch is here. This is more or less what you can expect the turquoise accent to look like.

[Dafraz117]

Show Image

Test color swatch is here. This is more or less what you can expect the turquoise accent to look like.

That’s perfect! Nice work!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[LightningXI]

Show Image

New numbers update -- a couple of vendors are not up to date and extras are not included in these numbers. With them, all kits will be produced.

Base kit - 159
Extension kit - 71
Hangul kit - 54
RAMA Cherry - 83

Let's keep pushing! Thank you all for your support! :thumb:

[dvorcol]

More

Show Image

New numbers update -- a couple of vendors are not up to date and extras are not included in these numbers. With them, all kits will be produced.

Base kit - 159
Extension kit - 71
Hangul kit - 54
RAMA Cherry - 83

Let's keep pushing! Thank you all for your support! :thumb:

More

<-- progress

[BapoDonu]

Show Image

New numbers update -- a couple of vendors are not up to date and extras are not included in these numbers. With them, all kits will be produced.

Base kit - 159
Extension kit - 71
Hangul kit - 54
RAMA Cherry - 83

Let's keep pushing! Thank you all for your support! :thumb:

Ay congrats

[vladimir108]

Hello guys, I'm quite new here. I've also ordered GMK Dolch R5 and I would like to ask maybe silly question and maybe on wrong place. How is possible that set will be produced when we didn't reach MOQ yet? Thanks for explanation.

[LightningXI]

Hello guys, I'm quite new here. I've also ordered GMK Dolch R5 and I would like to ask maybe silly question and maybe on wrong place. How is possible that set will be produced when we didn't reach MOQ yet? Thanks for explanation.

Not much of a silly question really.

Normally it wouldn't be the case that a set guarantees production with it not obviously hitting MoQ.

At the end of group buys, vendors may decide to purchase extras that they can sell on their storefronts after the group buy production and shipping has concluded for those who may want it then or had missed out before. Of course, they'd be priced for a higher retail price point.

In accounting for all of these units, including current orders, I have been told that we have ensured that all kits will hit MoQ, so they will all be produced. I am lucky that vendors believe in Dolch being a set worth stocking extras of.

[Maniac]

Damn, I was about to order the base set for my 1800-layout keeb. Just found out that the 1u Alt Gr is not included, it's in the Extensions kit. 
60 Eur to get a 1u keycap, can't catch a break here...

[Ensaum]

Damn, I was about to order the base set for my 1800-layout keeb. Just found out that the 1u Alt Gr is not included, it's in the Extensions kit. 
60 Eur to get a 1u keycap, can't catch a break here...

Use the 1u 'Alt' or 'Fn' key then?