Received this beautiful piece of art some time ago from a friend and finally decided to give it a quick review.
On the datamancer website, it states that the Machinist comes with an aluminum frame and a plywood bottom. There are dedicated media controls using the Fn keys are different configurations using the DIP switch at the bottom but I didn't have the manual and too lazy to figure it out. The switches are plate mounted.
The details on the Machinist is amazing. Every part of the keyboard are hand-painted and scuffed to give the rugged vintage feel. The gears assembly keyboard feet at the back raises the keyboard at a comfortable angle for typing. However the feet edges are sharp and will leave scratches on a glass tabletop or a linen keyboard mat. I'd be extremely cautious if I were using any expensive tabletop material.
Upon closer inspection, I found that even the Cherry MX Brown switches are painted over to achieve an uniform theme over the whole keyboard. And not just the switch housing, even the switch stems are painted over with a copper paint. I was shocked at first that the paint might seep into the sliders and cause unnecessary friction, but the Datamancer team did a great job at this. Only the switch stems are painted and switch internals remain smooth and tactile without affecting its typing feel.
This particular keyboard comes with Cherry MX Brown. The plywood bottom paired with steel plate gives the typing a thocky sound. The Datamancer typrewriter keycaps are a nice touch. Its hand-crafted with a 3 piece combination, a aluminum-layer for the lettering, the middle layer is the iron nuts, and the plastic bottom layer thats also the stem. It feels really heavy. This somehow affected the actuation of the switch, especially on the modifier keys. The keycaps are just too heavy for the stock Cherry MX Brown switch to properly debounce to its original point. I have tried fitting other keycaps (GMK 9009) on the keyboard but overall aesthetics are ruin'ed. Since the whole keyboard is hand-crafted, I thought that Datamancer team could spend a bit more effort to replace heavier spring in for the modifier keys.
The finishing and details on the typewriter keycaps are amazing but I find that some of the keycaps have sharp edges to them and prick my fingers when I accidentally mashed at them with full force.
Lastly, I'd like to say that the typing experience is fun but not enjoyable for me. I find flat profile keycaps difficult to adjust to but your mileage might vary. In my opinion, the Machinist is a piece of modern art to be admired more than used.
Pros:
- superb packaging
- beautiful hand-crafted keyboard and keycaps
- fun typing experience
- typewriter keycaps are compatible on other keyboards
Cons:
- spacebar don't debounce properly
- keycaps surface might scratch fingers
- crazy price
