Big cats, sparkly unikorns, zen fishes.

 

Elaine of SINGA has been a good friend of Kerri and I, especially in a scene where the lines between hobby and commerce are increasingly blurred. We've worked closely with her over the years (and Sam) to talk keyboard design, discuss nuggets of info about the latest developments and frequently share tips and ideas on how to better serve the community. Elaine's work through SINGA showcases a playful, yet subtle take on custom mechanical keyboards and she has frequently pushed against the envelope of keyboard design. 

 

Neko is one such project, and we're excited to share it with you. 

 

The MONOKEI x SINGA Neko is a gasket mount 40-ish % keyboard in a HHKB layout. The cat motif is well known by now, with SINGA's, well, Singa75 and Jaguar a part of the growing keyboard / animal kingdom ruled by Elaine. Neko was chosen as an antithesis of these designs, the third child in a family of 5, a smol ruffian ready to brighten your day even when the typing gets tough.

 

Smol is sometimes better.

 

1. Sale Format:

This sale is an unlimited group buy with the caveat of The Human Limit as always. We're confident of expanding that definition with the addition of regional vendors and have paid for production slots with the manufacturers for this design.

 

• The sale will run from the 27th of August 2021 till 11pm (GMT+8), 10th September 2021. 
• A helpful timer for the duration of the sale is available here.
• ETA:
• Keyboard kit: Q3 2022
• Kei Caps: Q1 2022 (if purchased separately)
• Deskmats: Q1 2022 (if purchased separately)

 

The launch time may differ according to region, so keep an eye out on Discord and other social media platforms for more information for your respective regions. We're also adding Thic Thock who will cover East Asian regions and China.

 

2. Combinations:

 

Neko Standard Kit

The available colours (aluminium top and bottom pieces) for the group buy are:

• Blush Pink
• Olive Green
• Royal Purple
• Suave Blue
• Titan Grey
• Silver 

 

Each board also comes with:

• Hotswap or solder PCB
• Polycarbonate (frosted) full plate 
• Sandblasted brass weights (bar, cat)
• Gasket strips
• Rubber feet
• Misc screws etc

 

 

Neko SE Kit

_{(Available from all vendors)}

 

  

 

3. Prices:

 

4. Layout:

Hotswap:

 

5. Addons:

We're offering the following items as addons:

• Frosted Polycarbonate plate
• Sandblasted Copper plate
• Aluminium plate (silver)
• Hotswap / Solder PCBs

 

This time, we're also offering some Kei Caps and deskmats to pair up with your favourite cat keyboard kit. These may be purchased separately as well.

 

i. Kei Caps:

SGD54 each or SGD100 for a bundle of both variants.

Aluminium caps with either Blush Pink anodisation or Classic White e-coating finishing. 

 

 

ii. Deskmats:

 Material: High quality fabric with a rubber base, stitched edges in white.

 

 

  

6. Shipping & Taxes:

Please check with your respective vendors for further information. For Singapore residents, GST will be absorbed by MONOKEI.

 

7. Quality Expectations:

While we strive to provide a perfect experience, no kit can be 100% flawless at our scale of production, as such the caveats are as follows:

• No scratches on exposed / user facing parts of the keyboard (after installation of plate & PCB).
• Possible machining marks / scratches on the inside of the kit / pieces not exposed to the user. This includes scratches arising from anodisation hooks.
• Screw holes are NOT anodised.
• Slight anodisation variation between top and bottom pieces. Aluminium pieces are anodised in batches, and thus slight variation in tone and shade may occur.
• Brass / copper weight patina: brass and copper are materials that tarnish over time, you can clean it but note that it's a form of oxidation that we cannot control.