Cut from one block
Roughing endmill cutting aluminium
The case starts as a 1.4 kg slab of 6063 aluminium and leaves the mill at 720 g. Forty minutes per case, then bead-blasted and anodised in the colourway you pick.
What's insideA hundred years of keys
Typewriter keys, Ralph Steiner, 1921
The typewriter made a key something you press to the bottom. The Kestrel keeps that: 4 mm of travel, a stabilised spacebar and a sound you can choose.
Pick a soundEvery layer, re-mappable
East German teletype keyboard
Teletypes carried two alphabets on one key. The Kestrel carries four layers, set in the browser with no app to install, saved on the board itself.
Set it upMade to be pressed
Olivetti Dora portable typewriter, 1960s
Each Kestrel is typed on for an hour before it ships: every key, every layer, a full page of text. If one key feels different, the board goes back to the bench.
Order oneIn the box
Six parts, nothing glued. Every one comes out with the tool that ships with it.
PBT keycaps
Dye-sublimated, 1.5 mm walls
Anodised 6063 case
CNC-milled, 720 g, four finishes
Hot-swap sockets
Any 3- or 5-pin MX switch
Coiled USB-C cable
1.8 m, braided, aviator plug
Poron gaskets
Soften the bottom-out, kill the ping
Switch and cap puller
Steel, in the lid of the box
Three sounds
Every Kestrel ships with one set of switches fitted and the sockets to swap them in a minute. Point at a switch to see inside it; choose one and the board above changes.
Ten minutes to yours
No soldering, no drivers. The board ships assembled; everything after that is optional, and every step can be undone.
Unbox
Lift the lid: the board, the coiled cable and the puller are in their own cut-outs. The switches are already seated.
Pull the caps
Hook the puller under any cap and lift straight up. Swap Escape for the magenta one, or move them all around.
Swap switches
Squeeze the two clips with the other end of the puller. A new switch presses in with your thumb; the sockets are rated for 100 swaps.
Plug in
USB-C into anything with a port: Windows, macOS, Linux, iPad. It works as a plain keyboard before you change a thing.
Remap
Open the configurator in Chrome or Edge, move keys between four layers and write them to the board. Nothing runs in the background.
One board,
€189 all in.
Case, plate, gaskets, 68 PBT keycaps, your choice of switch, the coiled cable and the puller. Shipped from our workshop in five working days, two-year warranty, 30 days to send it back.
Fair questions
Is 65% too small?
It drops the number pad and the function row and keeps arrows, Delete, Page Up and Page Down. F1 to F12 sit on the number row under Fn. Most people stop noticing within a week.
Which switch should I choose?
Kite if you game or type fast and want silence. Hover if you write all day and like to feel each key land. Stoop if you want everyone to know you are working. You can swap later.
Is it wireless?
No. It is wired on purpose: no battery to wear out, no pairing, 1 ms polling. The coiled cable detaches at the aviator plug so the board travels light.
Can I use my own keycaps?
Yes. The Kestrel takes any MX-stem set with a standard 65% kit: a 2.25 u left shift, a 1.75 u right shift and a 6.25 u spacebar.
Where is it shipped from?
From our workshop. Orders leave within five working days; delivery inside the EU takes two to four more, and duties are included in the price.