More Brass 5 Flutes

Hi Everyone,

Hope your week has been great and a big Happy Friday to you all! We're really having a treat here this week with temps near 60 degrees F which has got the snowbanks melting nicely. I'll be happy to see it off my roof so we don't end up with ice dams should it turn colder in the weeks ahead.

Much is going on this week. I have finalized some nifty new designs which I will reveal as soon as they actually are in production, but suffice to say that we are in for some really fun and VERY different stuff over this next month!

In other news, the 3v steel Mini Bermuda Triangles are bored out to accept Scott's cool spinner buttons. I will be grinding the finish bevels soon and finally getting them out to heat treat maybe next week. Also in the works are some titanium Bermuda Beads which I showed a teaser on the FB group recently and those are just about ready to go. More copper Multi Grips are finished and are coming soon too as well as stainless steel 5 Flutes.

Today I have the rest of the Brass 5 Flute beads done. Identical to the first batch a few weeks back, these have a lovely patina and are so very handy. I tie them onto zipper pulls on all my jackets and bags and of course most of my personal knives, tools and flashlights have various Lanslide beads tied on them.

The Brass 5 Flutes run $30 plus shipping and the link is below. Hope you all have a marvelous weekend and thank you for stopping by today!

Most of the brass are sold out, but more Lanslides coming next week! Thanks so much everyone. :)

LongShots!

Happy Monday Folks,

We're getting a nice reprieve from Old Man Winter here this week. It will be in the 40-50F range for most of the week which will result in much melting of snow I'm sure. That strengthening sun sure does feel nice and it always brightens my mood too.

I had a very productive weekend and managed to get some vital work done. I don't have much to report on the tool front, but I did get some bead batches moving along nicely. And I was able to finally finish up polishing all those LongShot cups...the company that does the passivation process for us is a plating house in Springfield and, as with most platers, they are notoriously hit or miss as far as sending jobs down there. The Wee Drops were in very nice shape when I got them back but these LongShots, different story. It looked like some low paid jerk simply dumped the whole batch in a tank and then stirred. There were many many rub marks and small scratches on them and it took me over a week of picking away to buff them back up so that they are once again presentable. I still have two or three dozen that need a bit more finish work but I finally threw in the towel as I have plenty ready for a sale today. It's infuriating when this sort of thing happens but not at all surprising. Years ago I would have been totally livid but these days I just sigh in resignation and get to work fixing everything...what can you do?

So today I have the beautiful LongShot cups done. These are turned from 303 stainless steel and they hold exactly 1 fluid ounce of liquid. I love the taller proportions of these cups and it's a shape that I have wanted to do since the beginning of the shot glass project several years ago. A "Shooter Cup". Fun stuff and definitely one of my favorites of the whole shot cup series.

The LongShots will run $70 plus shipping and it's a nice big batch. So it will be a limit of 4 per customer, same as the Wee Drops...as always, I thank you all for popping in today and I hope your week is shaping up to be a very productive one.


Sold out for today, thank you so much folks!

 

 

12 Point Tools!

Hi Everyone,

Well, we've been busy digging out here in the northeast after two good sized storms in a row. I cleared a path around to the back door the other morning and there was easily 16 inches. My little Toro snow thrower was struggling as I pushed through inch by inch. Luckily the snow was fairly light and fluffy though, and it's warming up this week which will get rid of some of it.

I managed to get a lot done this past weekend. The LongShots are nearly finished buffing out, should have the batch finally ready to go in another day or two. I got through another round of beads and cord tying so there are more 5 flutes and other styles coming shortly. And I got most of the 12 Point tools finished up as well...

So today I'll start with those 12 Points. These are heavy duty pry bar/wrench tools and I have incorporated a brand new 12 point wrench design in them. Of course standard mechanic's wrenches have been using this type of design for decades but this is the first time I have made anything with that style opening. Now that I have the drawings worked out you can expect to see more 12 Point wrenches in upcoming projects, such as the next generation Keytons for instance.

The 12 Points are made of 3v steel. They had such a pleasing heft to them that I decided not to sacrifice any of the thickness to surface grinding...These beasts measure .215 inches thick, so just shy of 1/4". The length is a generous 3.5 inches so these are a great choice for all you guys with the big mitts! Indeed, they feel quite substantial in the hand, yet are still fairly compact for a larger pocket tool. The 12 Point wrench openings are 1/2", 7/16" and 3/8", the cap lifter is also a true wrench and measures 5/16". A broad pry tip finishes the tool.

The raw bar texture is quite light on both sides and you can expect to see plenty of character marks in the steel. I decided to give these an old fashioned bead blasted finish and the overall finished surface reminds me of smooth concrete. They have a slightly rough and ready, almost an industrial feel to them.

I elected to leave the matte surface dry so oily tools would not stain the product insert cards. However, I recommend you hit the tool right away with WD-40, light machine oil, household oil or even olive oil. If you carry and use this tool you should keep applying oil of some kind periodically and they will develop a deep patina rather quickly. I'd love to see some good user pictures a year or two from now. Many of the old Bug Out Bars that I made with 3v steel more than a decade ago look fantastic today now that they have had some proper aging. With some time and use you will make these tools uniquely your own and nothing is more satisfying in my book.

The 12 Points will run $70 each plus shipping. It's a fairly good sized batch so I'll make it a limit of two per customer on them, and as usual the purchase link is below. Hope you're staying warm and surviving tax season!

Sold out for today, thank you!

 

 

Antique Brass 5 Flutes

Hi Everyone,

Winter continues to march along here in the Northeast with a little bit of precipitation falling today. We're supposed to get a couple inches of snow and then some rain which should make for rather ugly driving conditions later on tonight. I certainly can't complain about the relatively mild winter so far though.

Projects are moving right along. I should have the LongShot cups done in a couple of days. Over the weekend I had several very interesting ideas for new spring time projects. These will be different items from anything I have produced before. Hopefully they will prove to be viable going forward but more research is needed before I can say for sure. It's always exciting coming up with brand new ideas though, whether they lead anywhere or not. I'll be keeping you posted as the experiments progress.

Today I have some new 5 Flute beads for you. The simple and elegant 5 Flute design, also known as the 5 Flute Megas, have proven to be my most popular and the most requested of my bead designs. This batch is made from 360 grade brass and they feel great in the hand. I have given them a few aging treatments as well as a long slow tumble to get a patina started. These will continue to darken nicely with time, the edges developing a lovely glow from handling and use. Or you could hit them with a polishing cloth or compound like Brasso as often as you like for a high shine finish.

The Antique Brass 5 Flutes will run $30 plus shipping. It's a generous sized batch so I will make it a limit of 4 please. As always, MANY thanks for stopping by today and I look forward to bringing you lots more cool items this year!

All gone for now, thank you so much everyone!

     

Wee Drops!

Hi Everyone,

Happy February! It's always nice to finally get January behind us, with the days beginning to lengthen and the sun starting to get a little stronger. Time is already flying this year.

Well at long last some of my many projects are starting to come to fruition. It has become almost comical to me lately how everything keeps getting delayed for various reasons and nothing has been getting completed. So I am quite gratified to finally have something going my way for a change. After these shot cups are done I will have brass 5 flute beads coming up, steel 12 Point tools and also more shot cups, followed by titanium K4 Keytons. There is so much on the way and finally it is starting to get completed.

Today I have the first wave of stainless steel shot cups done and ready to go. It's been a while since I made drinking vessels and I wanted to continue with the same elegant design but offer some more sizes. I decided to start with a diminutive "tasting" cup.

The Wee Drops are turned from solid bars of 303 stainless steel. At 1.25 inches in diameter, these are slightly slimmer than the previously released Tipplers (1.5 inches) but they maintain the same basic design scheme, namely a fluted waist with a ring of rifle knurling. All of these pieces are the same btw with no variation in either knurling direction or style.

The capacity of the Wee Drop is slightly more than 1/2 oz, hence the "tasting" cup moniker. A taller version called the LongShot will be following this Wee Drop batch in a few days and those are a full 1 oz in capacity. I call the LongShot a "shooter" cup.

Both of these new sizes are so cute that I can hardly stand it! I do use them for sipping libations but they also make terrific bathroom or medicine cups. I keep a few on my desk as well for sorting small parts like watch pins and tiny screws. They have many possible uses and are heavy enough that they are fairly hard to knock over. Obviously they are durable enough to last forever or until the sun explodes, whichever comes first.

The Wee Drops will run $65 plus shipping. It's a sizable batch and I know some people will want sets so I will make these a limit of 4 per customer please. The link to purchase is below...Thanks for dropping by today and I hope your weekend is absolutely fantastic. Go Pats!


All gone for today, thank you so much everyone!

  
For size comparison: Wee Drop, Tippler and LongShot