Stamped Zirconium Magnums

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

We're due for some strong thunderstorms here today so I thought I would try to slip in a quick and early sale this morning. Some very hot weather is coming our way for the weekend and it looks like much of the country is going to be sweltering. Probably not so great for outdoor events unless it involves swimming...

Now, earlier this year I sold a batch of Vintage Magnum beads, and I thought at the time that those were stainless steel. However, it turns out I had mixed up some trays and those were actually zirconium after all. I should have known this at the time because stainless simply will not take a heat coloring like that. Doh! Oh well, mistakes happen, LOL... 

Anyhow, today I have the rest of the Zirconium Magnum beads finished. These are name stamped and then also I have added some of my tiny decorative stamps to them. They are heat colored, lightly tumbled and then oiled to bring out the color.

The Zr Magnum beads will run $70 each plus shipping and it is a tiny batch so one per customer on them please. Thanks as always for swinging by. I hope everyone has a great week ahead, and stay cool my friends!

Gone in a jiffy, thank you so much!

Rough Cut Mini Shiners

Hi Everyone,

Summer is in full swing up this way. Yesterday I spotted a couple of cherry tomatoes starting to develop a noticeable pink blush so it won't be long now until we're enjoying the best salads of the summer.

Today I have a small batch of New Old Stock tools. These were cut about 5 years ago but I never got around to finishing the batch because they weren't cut as cleanly as I would have liked. This has happened once in a while before, and in the past I have simply trashed the bad batches. Usually it's because something didn't fit correctly because I didn't check my design thoroughly enough before cutting. But in this case, they were just cut kind of fast or something and so the edges were quite rough, but the fit was fine on the 1/4 hex opening and the cap lifter. Recently I came across the box and decided that the tool was kinda cute and that I would try to save some of these, at least enough to pay for the materials and expenses.

The Mini Shiner is one of the smallest tools I have made. Not as diminutive as the Tiny Tim, but pretty small indeed. They are made of CPM 154 steel and measure just 2.5" long by 1/2" wide and are 5/32 thick (.160). They feature a small rounded pry tip, cap lifter and 1/4 hex opening. Small enough to almost disappear on your keys...as I mentioned, these were somewhat rough cut so expect to see some sanding and cut marks around the edges, but they still make for a great little user tool. There are no stamps on these and no lefties or any other variations.

The Mini Shiners will run $50 plus shipping and the link is below, limit of one per customer please as there are just a few dozen. Thanks for dropping by this week and hope you all are staying cool!

Sold out, thank you so much!

Titanium Hangmen v1.5

Hi Everyone,

We're finally getting some heat here this week with temps in the high 80's and 90's. Good to see that summer didn't forget us after all, and this is very appropriate weather for the middle of July.

Well I thought I would keep things going after this great holiday weekend...

I have had more requests for these than almost any other tools I have made. The original Hangman hook was a great little item and the form factor was terrific. But, there were a few things that bothered me with that first design. I wanted them to be slightly flexible to fit over various pocket edges since pant pockets can vary so much. In practice though, the flexible arm just weakened the design unnecessarily, and made it more prone to bending. In my Hangman releases since then I have worked to refine and strengthen the design considerably, but I ended up changing the original form factor and I kinda missed it.

So in this new release, I have revisited the original compact and elegant shape, with some small changes, but also incorporated all of the little improvements I have learned thus far. These Version 1.5 Hangman Hooks are made of 5/32 thick titanium and are non flexible. I have streamlined and updated the side grip scalloping, and changed the key ring opening to a hex shape. Then, I went nuts on the stamps and really did these guys up with many variations, as you can see in the sample photo below... Finally, I gave them several long tumbles and left them with a semi polished stonewashed finish. I elected to keep these plain without anodizing but will make another run if enough people want colors. There are a few lefties too, just email me.

Version 2.5 with pry tip is also underway, and I should have them finished very soon. Later this year I will also make a third batch of V1.5, but in zirconium.

The V1.5 Hangmen will run $50 plus shipping and the link is below. No limit on them. Thank you so much for dropping by again, and I hope everyone has a fantastic summer week!


Sold out for today, thank you very much everyone!

      

Titanium MultiMags

Hi Everyone,

Happy Summer!

Wow, we finally have gotten some spectacular weather here over the past two weeks. And it was relatively dry for much of the time too...I had a zillion projects to deal with at home such as replacing some rotten trim and door sills, refreshing the deck, sanding and painting trim, tending to the garden, planting blueberry bushes, changing the oil in the lawnmower, sharpening the blade, taking the cat to the vet, installing air conditioners, and the endless list just goes on and on. I still have a pile of things I need to get to, like going to the dentist, argggh. But it's time for a break from all that and getting back to the workshop.

I finally got the milling done on metric Mini Prybabies, so they are next up on the bench for a few days of grinding and further finish work to get them ready for heat treat. Maybe in a week or so I can get them ready to go out, so figure late July for completion. Hopefully.

I have just cut a batch of steel Atwrenches so those will be coming later this summer with a nicely updated design.

A nifty new micro pry tool is on the drawing board and will be coming in a month or so, maybe sooner.

New beads have just been turned so I have a lot of string tying ahead of me...handy projects for watching Red Sox games and getting work done at the same time....and there are several other projects that need to be finished too.

Today I have titanium MultiMags finished. For this group I made the magnets slightly thicker so they are a little bit stronger than the previous ones. These have decorative stamps in my usual wide variety of images and the batch is mostly contrast anodized. There is a small handful of pieces available that are plain, just email me if you don't want colors and I'm happy to hook you up while supplies last.

Ti Stamped MultiMags run $50 each plus shipping and the link is below. No quantity limit. Thanks so much for dropping by today and I hope you're enjoying the warm summer days!

Sold out, thank you so much!

 

   

Steel Mini Prybaby 19

Hi Everyone,

Yup, it's true, I'm still here! Sorry for the long delay but this cold rainy spring has been an incredibly busy period for me, with tons of non work related things competing for my increasingly limited time. Most of those activities have been terrific and positive, but my recent schedule has been a disaster for getting tool projects to the finish line. Anyway, I'm striving to develop a new sort of work/life balance this year so hopefully this summer will shape up to have more of a steady flow and still allow me to get all these other important things done.

..........................................................

Long Overdue Updates:

The steel metric Mini Prybabies are about halfway completed and should be ready to send out to heat treat in two or three weeks.

Stamped Ti MultiMags are actually finished and I'll be putting them up for sale very soon.

New and improved ti Original V1.5 and V2.5 Hangman hooks are cooking right along. I've had some minor shoulder issues interfering with stamping but I'm slowly picking away at these guys and they will be spectacular once I finally get through the two batches.

A cool little magnetic clip project is going along swimmingly, and I should be able to get something finished with those in a few weeks.

A brand new mini tool design in steel and also ti has been cut and the steel ones are already surface ground, so these will be nice projects to tackle for mid summer. And a revamped older classic tool design is also on the drawing board which I'm pretty sure I will be cutting in a few weeks.

Several other older projects that have been languishing for far too long are also coming, such as TightWads. More Mega sized 6 flute ti beads are on the way and turning as we speak. And a few small limited number type sales are long overdue as well that I need to get to.

.........................................................

Today I finally have the new CPM 154 steel Mini Prybabies done. An all new Mini Prybaby design for 2019, these little gems are like several previous models rolled into one. They are about the same size as the older Mini P15 Prybabies, just over 2.5 inches long and the classic 5/32 thick. The mini tool set features SAE wrench sizes 1/4-3/8, cap lifter, pry tip with open V notch, and my classic rear pry tip/screwdriver shape. The rear lanyard opening is slightly larger than the older designs so the tool hangs nicely, even on fatter key rings. The Prybabies have a smooth stonewashed working finish so should stay looking new for a long time.

The whole batch is stamped, although I was limited to my smaller stamps mostly because there just isn't much real estate left on such a tiny tool. The upcoming metric version will probably not be stamped as there will be even less unused space available.

The stamped Mini Prybabies will run $70 plus shipping and the purchase link is below. Limit of two please. Thanks for dropping by today, and of course for your endless patience!

All gone for now, thanks so much!

 

Anodized Count Forkulas!

Hi Everyone,

Happy rainy Monday from New England! It's a cool start to April for us this year, actually kind of typical though. There is still one spot of stubborn ice the size of a dinner plate in the shady part of the yard which I expect will disappear today. But hopefully we'll be seeing some warmer days by next week.

Not too much to report on projects. I will be trying to finish grinding the Mini Prybabies by the end of this week so they can go to heat treat, and also catching up on paperwork for taxes.

Today I finally have the last Count Forkula batch finished. These little cuties feature a cap lifter in the handle which I think is a very nice complement and would certainly be the preferred design if I were to make another batch. I spent a lot of time working on the multi anodized finishes and many of these will have gorgeous complex color patina effects. I do have a handful of plain ones for the vanilla lovers if you would simply email me and ask for them...also a couple of lefties. For some mysterious reason I seem to be missing a few dozen of these so the batch is not as big as I thought...

Anodized Count Forkulas will run $45 plus shipping and it is a modest sized batch so two per customer limit on them please. Thanks for dropping by today and hope your week ahead is warm and sunny.
 
Sold out, thank you so much!

Weathered Bronze Magnum Beads

Hi Everyone,

Happy April Fools Day! It's still fairly chilly here and we have several pockets of snow remaining around the yard, but it should be gone by the end of this week. The daffodils and crocus are bravely pushing their way up, always a welcome sight.

I'm still plugging away here. Not too much to report other than my various projects are coming along nicely. I should have the next wave of Count Forkulas done in a day or two and then I'll tackle the final work on ti magnets. Almost done with Mini Prybaby milling and so by next week hopefully I'll be sending them out for heat treat.

Today I finally have the Bronze Magnum Lanslide batch done. These came out so great and I'm really glad I took my time with them. I wanted to develop a new finish for bronze and this patina is definitely the direction I wanted to go in. They have a multi step heavy weathered patina with many of them showing areas of gorgeous blue-green verdigris. It will be very interesting to see how the finish continues to develop over time.

The Weathered Bronze Magnums will run $30 each plus shipping and it is a huge batch so no limit on them. Thanks so much for dropping by as always, and hope you all have a great week ahead!

All gone, thank you so much!