Sachiel: Build Your Own Creative Console

At KBDcraft, we don’t just design keyboards.
We design starting points.

The Sachiel is not a minor iteration on a standard layout—it’s an expansion of what a keyboard can be. With its Keys & Knobs system, it breaks free from the assumption that keyboards are static tools. Instead, it invites you to treat them as a modular interface—a structure you can build, modify, and define on your own terms.

Keycaps become bricks. Knobs become valves. Colors speak in syntax. Function flows like data.

You're not just using Sachiel.
You're configuring it—like building a piece of kinetic art that's entirely yours.

The 85% Layout: A Quiet Giant

In the world of mechanical keyboards, layout is philosophy.
60% layouts are built for minimalists—compact and pure.
Full-size boards are productivity tanks—every key accounted for.
But 85% TKL? It’s the quiet giant—neither flashy nor extreme, but powering the majority of day-to-day workflows.

The only problem? It’s never been much fun.

Sachiel was built to change that.
We reimagined the 85% TKL not just as a utility layout, but as a creative platform.
A playground for mods, builds, aesthetics—and everything in between.

Designer Boyu puts it plainly:“We weren’t planning on doing 85% at all.”

The reason? It’s structurally awkward.

The 60% layout is a clean block. A full-size board is balanced by its own scale. But 85% has that odd right-hand function island—jagged, asymmetrical, and often a nightmare to integrate into clean builds.

“It’s like screwing a power outlet box into a perfectly tiled floor,” says Boyu.

But we like challenges. Especially the kind where people say, “You probably can’t pull that off.”
That’s when we smile and say, “Wanna bet?”

For anyone who wants arrow keys, the F row, Delete, and room for creativity—Sachiel is your answer.
It can be a video editing console, a soundboard, a streaming control deck, or just a strikingly original typing machine.

Because to us, keyboards aren’t just “input devices.”
They’re how you reach out and interact with the digital world.
And Sachiel is how you take that interaction into your own hands.

A Structural Puzzle: Can Bricks and Keycaps Coexist?

Let’s talk about a challenge we ran into—one that almost broke the whole thing.

Keyboards follow strict measurement standards. Keycaps are measured in units (u), and PCBs follow a precise grid.
At the same time, our custom brick shell follows its own modular syntax—a grid of plastic architecture that defines every point and gap.

Here’s the problem: the two systems don’t line up.
There’s a consistent 0.25u offset between the key grid and the brick grid.
Every four keys, the alignment drifts by one brick unit.
Left unchecked, it warps the frame, breaks the flow, and ruins the build.

We tried everything:

• Redesigning the PCB? Too many compatibility issues.

• Changing the mold? Astronomically expensive.

• Padding gaps with spacers? Created even more problems.

Then one night, staring at the board, Boyu had a breakthrough:“What if we just… made the keycaps bigger?”

Like adding a larger grip to a tiny key—suddenly everything felt natural.

So we scaled the classic DSS profile up by 25%, creating what we now call DSS125.
The new keycaps bridge the gap—literally—between the PCB and the brick surface, giving the whole structure a visual and physical balance.

It started as a structural fix.
But it turned into something much more.

DSS125: A New Language of Keycaps

DSS125 retains the sculpted feel of classic DSS, but stretches both height and width by 25%.
The result is a generous, tactile surface—like a platform custom-built for your fingers.

The experience? Instantly different:

• Directional clarity – The arrow keys no longer feel like an afterthought. They’re front-and-center, intuitive, and precise.

• Tactile feedback – The larger surface makes each press more deliberate, easier to feel, and more satisfying to execute—especially for blind typing.

• Visual harmony – With clean spacing and even proportions, the board no longer feels like a patchwork. It feels like a sculpted whole.

• Blank canvas – DSS125 is non-legend, non-directional. Every cap is ready for your custom logic, macros, or symbols.

• Color-coded logic – Sachiel comes in only two colorways:

              Midnight Black – understated and elegant, blending into any setup.

              Evangelion Crimson – sharp, bold, and instantly iconic.

Each color serves as both visual expression and functional boundary.

“We weren’t just designing keycaps,” says Boyu.

“We were designing a new language.”

DSS125 doesn’t just connect systems—it connects you to your workflow, your desk, your intent.

Keys or Knobs? You Decide.

Sachiel hides one more secret: its Function Island in the top-right corner.

This 1×4 panel can house either four traditional function keys—or four fully programmable rotary encoders (knobs), each with press support.

Why Knobs?

Because Boyu doesn’t think like a keyboard designer.
He thinks like someone building control panels—cameras, mixers, DJ decks.

“A knob is a process,” he explains. “It’s not a trigger—it’s a feeling.”

And so the four-knob system on Sachiel isn’t decorative.
It’s fully integrated with QMK and VIAL, and designed to adapt to whatever you throw at it.

Each knob supports:

• Clockwise rotation – Next track / Volume up / Fast-forward

• Counter-clockwise rotation – Previous track / Brightness down / Rewind

• Press function – Mute / Copy / Run macro

• Layered mapping – Knob + Fn = More functions

This input method creates continuity—a sense of real-time control that’s especially useful for video editing, audio mixing, color grading, MIDI input, presentation control, and more.

Prefer Buttons? No Problem.

Not everyone wants knobs.
That’s why each knob slot is swappable—you can pop it out, drop in a cap, and restore a classic TKL look.

All you need is the included brick panel and DSS125 caps.
The keyboard's structure remains intact—only the surface changes.

So Sachiel becomes:

• A creative workstation’s input core

• A modular desktop console

• Or a high-performance keyboard with a bold personality

The choice is yours—no tools, no limits.

A Starting Point, Not a Finish Line

Sachiel is more than a keyboard.
It’s a system you can reshape.
A space you can configure.
A structure you can express through.

It can sit quietly in your daily workflow—or become a dramatic extension of your creative self.
It can be a no-nonsense typing machine—or a fully mapped command deck.

“We’re not building keyboards,” says Boyu.

“We’re offering a way to express.”

Sachiel isn’t the conclusion.
It’s the beginning.
Because its true power isn’t in what we built.
It’s in what you can still build from here.

Ready to build your own creative console?
👉 Discover all keycap and knob options here: kbdcraft.store/products/sachiel