[IC] GMK HAD to Scandinavian (Euro?) Add-On Kit

[Khers]

While this may not be relevant for the vast majority of users on this forum, I had an idea last night. In my opinion, the best Cherry-compatible keycaps out there are Cherry's own doubleshot (I have yet to try their dyesub PBT which I hear are even better); high quality, good looking and nice profile. However, while they are very nice to type on, this is an experience most Scandinavians are deprived of, since original Cherry keyboards in Swe/Fin, Den and Nor layouts are as rare as hen's teeth. Moreover, while GMK make keycaps using Cherry's old molds today, their high MOQ make Scandinavian (or any layout exept for US-ANSI and a minimal ISO adapter) compatibility unfeasible.

However, while there is a distinct lack of Scandinavian layout Cherry keyboards, there are plenty of German ISO ones out there and looking at the layouts, there is not a whole lot between them. This revelation made me think that German to Scandinavian adapter kits should be possible, enabling a Scandinavian layout keyboard with doubleshot keycaps for not a whole lot of cash.

So, I sat down and compared the different Scandinavian layouts with the German one and found that the following keys were lacking:
HAO (SE/FI):


HAM (DK):


HAN (NO):


Combining them yield a grand total of 20 keys:

(I took the liberty of color coding SE = R, DK = G and NO = B).

Color is of course debatable, but I'd say that the classic beige is by far the most common (come to think of it, I don't think I've ever seen a German Cherry in anything but Beige and Skidata), and we should thus go for beige. With GMKs usual price structure, I'd say this should (at 150 sets) be $25ish or so. Maybe some keys could be combined using e.g. front print (like for instance the <> one)? Give me suggestions!

I should add a disclaimer regarding the fact that I myself am an ANSI user and thus I had to look it all up and the set may or may not contain errors due to this and/or related to my sloppyness. Additionally, it should be noted that I have yet to reach out to GMK so I don't know for certain that they still have the molds for these caps. However, given that they have recently started to loosen up a little with regards to custom keycaps, i don't think this should be an issue. As a final note, I do not have limitless time on my hand, what with having a kid and all that so if anyone with more time on their hands would be willing to run the show, I'd be more than happy to hand things over! If not, this should be such a small GB that it should be manageable, even for a first timer, with a kid.

What do you guys think?

[t8c]

great suggestion. In!

[LeandreN]

Yup.

[Khers]

Thanks guys! Please help spread the word among your peers! To pull this off, we're going to have to find and excite every Scandinavian keyboard nerd out there!

[Prelim]

impossible to reach MOQ150, I would sadly say

perhaps if making a complete EURO PACK, like this:

[beltet]

As told on Sweclockers. I'm in. Not certain on how many, but propblably ten pieces, if my funding allows it.

[Felion]

Interested!

[Khers]

Thanks for the support, guys!

Prelim: I'm really doubtful that increasing the kit to cover most Euro layouts is a particularly good idea. While the number of potential buyers increases a lot, so does the price and I don't think that a large enough fraction of that pool of buyers would purchase something as encompassing as Granite International if done by GMK as a set like that would be upwards of $100.

With that said, I'm well aware that meeting the MOQ for a Nordic only kit will most probably require a lot of dough from myself (and hopefully others, thanks Beltet ).

[t8c]

I believe it is way more realistic to get IMSTO to make nordic-specific dyesubs. His MOQ is way lower and cheaper. For example norwegian and danish dyesubs are in production due for delivery in june!

[Khers]

...and Swedish.

At this rate, the chances of this succeeding are increasingly slim. I've got a fair bit of positive feedback, but unfortunately too little for it to make sense at this point. As it stands, I'd probably have to cough up 7-80% of the cost up front and hope that people would buy the sets post facto. Seems like a fucking master plan.

[ideus]

If the set does not have demand, why do you want to pay for something you will just keep in stock?

[need]

If the set does not have demand, why do you want to pay for something you will just keep in stock?

I guess because he wants a set himself so hard? Which is...the point of this at the first place...?

[Khers]

Yeah, something along those lines. Driving something as niche as this to fruition inevitably means some sacrifices. Those sacrifices are that myself and some others will have to get more sets than we have any use for, since the GB would otherwise fail due to the poor demand to MOQ ratio.

As an american (?) keyboard enthusiast this may seem alien to you, ideus, as most every GB out there is for US ANSI. For the European non-native English speaking part of the forums, however, this is the reality.

[tlt]

I have hoped for this kind of GB to happen for a long time but the only way I can see it happening is if someone (with too much play money) just pick up most of the MOQ

[_robban]

I'm in for 2-3 kits at least.

I do like the suggestion Prelim had with an EU like kit even if the cost will be a bit greater. Maybe easier to reach MOQ if we have an wider audience?

[Khers]

Thanks for the interest guys!

Yeah, at this point I see two options: 1) I buy 150 kits minus whatever others are willing to buy. 2) We reevaluate the proposal and, as others have suggested previously, try to reach a wider audience by including support for other ISO sets than just the Nordic ones.

While I guess I could swing option 1), it seems like a fucking bad idea as it would leave me with a lot of keys I have just about zero chance of ever offloading.

If we decide to go for option 2), a couple of questions needs resolving. Perhaps most important is: which ISO sets are worth including? If we still aim to keep this as a HAD add on, AZERTY layouts (BE and FR) goes out of the window as the key cost for one of those is ridiculous. We already have SE/FI/DK/NO, and from a brief google session it would seem that GB and PO are similar enough (maybe with a little bit of compromise). ES and IT differ a little bit more. Are there enough users out there willing to get into a buy like this to warrant their inclusion?

What other layouts would be demanded? Would English mods be preferred to the German ones? To which extent? Only the Strgs or the full monty?

Moreover, which keys are crucial to the respective layouts? Which rows are they on?

With the above taken care of, I'm assuming the kit gets a whole lot larger. Potentially to the point where I don't feel comfortable handling it, especially not as a first timer GB leader. You see, one of the reasons I've tried to lobby for a minimalistic Nordic kit is that if things turn sour, I could, in the worst case scenario, issue refunds out of pocket. If the kit turns out three to four times as expensive as initially planned, that's not as compelling a proposition anymore. I know that this is an unlikely outcome, but I wouldn't feel comfortable at the helm of such an operation. Maybe someone else would? Someone with some GB running experience? I'd be more than happy if someone else would like to take over the reins if this turns into reality.

[Prelim]

I would be interested (as many portuguese fellows) if PO keys were included.

here's the PO specific caps to include in the pack (number row 2/3 caps are already there, so didn't select them):

[Zylkan]

If POs are included in this I'd be in as well, at least two sets.

I think you would be handling 20-30 more orders at least, PO sets are damn hard to find and when you do they're either in lousy condition, or expensive, or both!

[Khers]

Thanks for the support guys!

While at least the Portuguese community seems to back the Euro-expansion (see comment below), I have yet another option (that's perhaps interesting for an even smaller subset of the users on this forum than the first suggestion): SE/FI-only. As I've got by far the most response from my Swedish compatriots, this option makes a lot of sense to me currently.

SE/FI/NO/DK/PT anyone? (PT has the added benefit of an R1 \| after all )