URSA Samples Update #3

We have been busy with the launch of Yuzu Keycaps, making custom keycaps on demand (in addition to our other keycaps customization service FK custom) that we delayed that update a bit. Now that it is out of the way, we are going full steam on URSA group buy!

Samples are red this time, so we can tell them apart from the others. But don't mind the color yet, it is not final. Here is a video from 23_Andreas showing the stem fit (and wobbling):

As you can see, the fit is tight, and the keycaps don't wobble much given the height of URSA (OEM below for comparison)! We are happy with the result of this test mold, and confident the factory can make the final doubleshot molds well, based on that result.

Some of the mold's stems were crooked (ie. slightly twisted). This can be fixed of course, and having an opportunity to point it is important for the manufacturer too. This is kinda specific to Topre stems (MX cross helps in preventing that), so yet another mistake we won't make in production!

This is a significant milestone because it means we can start the group buy! Looking back at it, taking the time and money to make that test mold was a good call because the manufacturer learnt a lot on the way. We will all make good use of those learnings for the actual mold you will be getting keycaps from :)

Red color samples

Our quest for the correct red color is unfortunately not over. Colors are hard to convey in words, and those last samples don't satisfy 23_Andreas, so we keep looking for The Red™ as we now call it.

To give you an idea of the current state of our quest, Andreas dug out most of his red keycaps to compare and work towards The Red™. In his words: I believe it's important to have a red mods option, and it's vital to get right. I've collected most of my keyboards, that show red keys. Compared to our rendering, the PANTONE swatch and other sets, the current samples don't stand out strong enough.

We absolutely love working with designers who strive for perfection, and while the path is often longer and more difficult, it always led to the best results. URSA✨ will only exist to be amazing.

And here it is next to 23_Andreas keyboard and keycaps collection:

We won't wait to find the red samples before we start the Group Buy. We are confident we can find it and will have time to make new samples while the molds are being made!

Artisans

The new artisans samples are ready, and will be review by 23_Andreas soon. They will be gorgeous CNC aluminum URSA R1, coated with PVD, so you can swap them with your Esc key for instance.

We settled on 3 colors: black, steel and gold.

As you can tell, these are crappy factory pics, we will publish proper ones after we get them, along with the new red samples.

DAO keyboard

We have received much positive feedback about this project! So we may end up offering it on pre-order too, depending if the timeline matches URSA's (and they seem to!). I have a new prototype on its way to me (that should actually arrive today) that I can't wait to build and test. You may want to join our Discord server and get the role for more updates on DAO.

URSA GB timeline

🛒 April 14th Pre-orders open on https://ursa.fkcaps.com

⚙️ May 2024 Molds production starts. This may take ~5 months, to get ~4 rounds of samples. This is an estimate of course.

Note: If we don't reach the sales goals by the end of May, we will refund everyone (and cry our hearts out). If we reach our goal sooner, we start right away. Production end date is hardly predictable and depends on the complexity of the process and samples approval.

We will communicate at every round of samples.

🏭 November 2024 Final samples of keycaps and packaging have been approved, production is estimated to last a month.

📦 December 2024 Sets are ready and ship to our US and Europe distribution centers.

🎉 January 2025 Your smartphone vibrates, your package has arrived. You unpack it with excitement while we wait to read your reviews!

Before we start taking pre-orders we will make sure the website is ready to take in your orders and discuss collaboration with other vendors. We may also have received some new samples then (red colors + artisans + DAO).

I hope you are as excited as I am! 🔥🔥🔥