Buzz
~ Thursday, April 6th, 2023 ~
Everything starts with sale information from HERE. This marks the second consecutive time within a month that I've seen Drop discounting the base set of Handarbeit ($96). The information even surfaced before the shipment of batch 6/2 ($119) reached eager hands. This move by Drop has left many feeling disheartened due to the rapid depreciation, but at the same time, it provides a significant motivation for enthusiasts craving to own a vibrant row-standard grab set like mine. Speaking of Handarbeit, this keyset is styled in colorful fashion by Cocobrais with 2 philosophies: Flat & Sculpted. I remember the first GB taking place from 1/4 to 1/5/2021 with a price of $130, expected to deliver by 24/6/2022, but it wasn't until the end of the autumn of the Year of the Tiger that the first real images of the new keycaps officially appeared in various mechanical keyboard communities. In early December 2022, Handarbeit was re-stocked by Drop ($150), I was considering getting it at that time, but was a bit hesitant about the price, partly because I wasn't really into building another colorful grab set. After 2 significant discounts from Drop, I finalized the deal with Ho Chi Nghia on 5/3/2023 (at THIS), with the expectation of receiving the goods within 3-4 weeks.The image attached below depicts the parcel before unboxing, received on March 30, 2023.
In total, there are 3 different kits: my base kit comprises 136 keycaps, arranged in the row sequence 112343, suitable for both ISO and WKL layouts. The other two kits consist of a Numpad & Spacebars, neither of which I felt compelled to purchase. With the number of keys mentioned, even after placing them in the JTK Maxbox tray, there are still quite a few slots left unused.
The images below showcase the keycaps installed on four different keyboards: Keycool KC-87 (previously discussed), Kzzi K75 (previously hands-on in the 10/8/2022 batch & reviewed elsewhere), Polaris MT75 & Niz82 (previously hands-on in the 22/4/2021 batch), with my preference being when mounted on a black case.KEYCOOL KC-87
KZZI K75
POLARIS MT75
NIZ82
These sinuous curves and angular inclinations have sparked a myriad of inspirations within me, though it was something I was indifferent to back in 2021 when I was deeply engrossed in uniform R3, as I shared on 25/1/2022 over at .
One of the most puzzling aspects of this keyset: Cocobrais has not designed any novelties whatsoever (whether Flat or Sculpted). While this isn't a singular case, it still leaves grabbers like myself feeling perplexed & regretful. Novelties are always considered the essential seasoning in creating distinctive accents for a mechanical keyboard, lacking them is akin to eating KFC chicken without hot sauce, stir-fried water spinach without garlic...
Similar to some sets like Tang, X-Wing, Laser & Espresso, Handarbeit is among the few sets not detailed with color codes by Signature Plastics (SP). With a total of 10 shades, my intuition only identifies the red shade RA, perfectly matching some keys of Rocket. The green shade of the TKL cluster appears quite similar to the VAZ code in the Jadeite Jade set as well as the VAT code in the hammer + mask + head series, but placed side by side still shows slight differences. I prefer Handarbeit's purple tone over the RDA code in the 2600 set because this tone is brighter, and the white characters on the keycaps are more elegant than the YY code. Meanwhile, the orange color of the arrow cluster shows a striking resemblance to the OAS code of the famous 1976 set as previously seen in the 28/6/2022 batch at . There are 3 color ranges in this set that I really dislike: sea blue (too dark), pink & yellow (too pale). Despite inquiring with some reputable vendors and big names in the keyboard community, no one knows the exact color codes of Handarbeit, and some are even in an unknown state.
There was a time when enthusiasts longed for the red alpha (RA) but no keysets supported this color range until Handarbeit was restocked a few times by Drop, which truly made this color range widely available and invisibly became the national color tone extremely easy to find in the grab market. I've known 1-2 rare cases where a series of red colors (RA) appeared, specifically including: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. According to the vendor, these keys have color defects, but this is something that many people desire to own, resulting in the selling price being pushed quite high. I once hinted at trading Tab r2 keys (Rocket) for numbers 1-2-3-4 but was flatly refused. Currently, I only have number 7 with the RA code, hoping that SP will continue to release color-defective keys to have the opportunity to own more bright red keys like this.
From a personal perspective, I find the overall color scheme of Handarbeit quite diverse, it can be said that this is the most colorful keyset with a very reasonable price that SP has directly processed up to the present time. For grabbers who tend to prefer colorful and only burnout stages, Handarbeit is an unbeatable choice.
After this article, I won't be attaching all of Handarbeit's buttons to any kit anymore. Instead, there will be specific selection criteria, especially prioritizing picking out the preferred buttons to match the colorful grab set I'm currently building. Hopefully, it'll be ready to share at the right time.
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