The Aviator Keyboard

Ok, right out of the gate, do you need a $700 computer keyboard? No. If you're even looking at this you're past "need" and into "want" - and that's absolutely fine. I wanted a cool, mechanical keyboard and these guys seem to be among the cream of crop. The keyboard itself is plain awesome. The mechanical switches are top-notch, they have a great feel, very reminiscent of the old manual typewriters (which I've used) and sound great if you're looking for that old clicky-clak sound. Which I was. The aluminum body parts are nicely made, the leather backing beneath the keys is a great touch, and the jewel-like blue lights for caps/scroll/num lock are perfect. They're also plenty bright. I don't use it in the dark, but I imagine you'll definitely notice it out of the corner of your eye while typing if one of those lights is lit. It's fairly tall, so get a wrist rest (I got one from Glorious PC Gaming Race and it's the perfect height) or you're sure to get tired holding your hands up. Datamancer's service was great, I had occasion to contact them and they were very helpful. All in all, if you want a cool mechanical computer keyboard, don't mind waiting a little while for it to be hand-made, and can afford it, this would be an excellent choice. If your stock came-with-my-PC-for-free keyboard is broken and you want a replacement, this isn't it. Get something from Logitech with tons of extra programmable keys and cool backlighting for a tenth the price. I have a couple myself. This one is probably more accurately described as functional art than utilitarian peripheral.

Very stylish keyboard. Very nice feel on typing. I suspect the Backspace key has a defect as hitting once and not typing anything right after that erases everything I wrote (as if Backspace remains on).

Lots of attention to detail (for example, the F and J keys have slightly different feel so it's easy to find them without looking). The distressed, mechanical look of the thing is seriously fun. The little keys feel funny & funky to my fingers, but they're placed correctly and I never have to go hunting for them (I normally use Leopold and RealForce mechanicals with ANSI layouts). The exposed key-switch roots add to the punkish DIY feel, kind of like my race cars with the interior carpeting stripped out. If you like a little variation to your routine and a conversation piece, go for it. Pricey and worth it IMO.

I believe I might be one of the first owners of this particular keyboard. It's such a beautiful and amazing piece of artwork that it's literally sitting in small museum up in Grass Valley, CA that my father maintains. I didn't technically give it to my dad by I lent it to him to display the keyboard so that others might enjoy how truly beautiful this piece of artwork is.

It's soooo kewl. But it needs a Calculator pop-up key or programmable buttons besides F1-F12

If you review all the items that Datamancer has on the market you will see everything is quality made. I am not a friend or related to him in anyway. I think the prices are a bit high but if I had the extra $ I would get two of his designs. Please don't rate someone's functional art just because "you" don't like it. Purchase it, and then you can critique properly give it a review. We need to encourage more entrepreneurs. Our country (US) was founded on this. Stop being a troll please, encourage people to be creative.

I cannot afford it

After buying this beauty i realized i had no money left to build my pc. Im writing this on my potato. These keys are epic tho. Plugging it was kinda hard and messy i had tatter juice shoot in my eye when i finally got it in. Cant really see what im typing considering my monitor is a rock.