Friday, December 21, 2018

Zirconium Mini 5 Flutes

Hi Folks,

Happy Shortest Day of the Year! I'm always relieved when we turn the corner on this one and start getting some longer days again. Today we are getting some heavy rain here in New England...that's much better than the icy white stuff which is due next week.


Time keeps slipping by this year faster than I can keep up. It's looking more and more like some of the things I was hoping to finish will take a little longer than my optimism first predicted. That's OK, just means that there will be a lot of activity going into January which is often a slower period for me.

Today I have the remaining Zirconium Mini 5 Flute beads done. These little gems have a nice satin sheen and buttery smooth finish. With the dark gray/black heat coloring the overall effect reminds me of obsidian. Very cool material.

The Zr Mini 5 Flutes run $55 plus shipping and the link is below. As always, thank you for dropping by today and I hope everyone has a nice holiday week ahead!

Sold out, thanks so much!



Wednesday, December 19, 2018

Count Sporkulas with Cap Lifter

Hi Folks,

Wow, I can't believe we are almost at Christmas once again. Where did 2018 go?

After a rather chilly start to the month we are finally getting some slightly milder weather which looks like it will continue through next week. That's fine by me as it means we can still get out for our daily walks, and I'm sure months of snow and bitter cold lie ahead.

I'm still working diligently and trying to finish a few more batches before the end of the year. So please stay tuned for more cool items coming...

Today I have the second new Count Sporkula design ready to go. These are similar to the basic ones from last week but also feature a cap lifter, 5/16 wrench and 1/4 wrench as well. Not that you need a wrench to eat your lunch, lol, but they are part of my familiar features and work well here for purposes of grip and overall design. It's always so handy to have one in your wallet, there when you need it.

The Sporkulas with cap lifter run $45 plus shipping and once again I'll make it a two per customer limit on them. Thanks for stopping in today and hope your holiday preparations are going great!

All gone for today, thanks so much everyone!





Friday, December 14, 2018

Basic Count Sporkulas

Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday to you! It's a brisk one here again with temps around 30f which is where we have been for weeks. We've had an unseasonably cold fall this year, so in essence, our "winter" started in early November. I hope it doesn't portend an especially brutal winter but time will tell I guess. It's supposed to warm up a little bit next week though.

More PermaCorks are on the way, and hopefully will be ready to go next week. I'm scrambling to get a few more things done too before Christmas and then during the holiday week before New Year's. Even if I can't complete everything I would like to before year's end, all this preparation will set me up for a very active January. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that maybe this year I can avoid getting sick during the holidays, unlike the past 4 out of 5 years. Hand sanitizer is always ready and waiting in the car lately and I did have a flu shot.

Today I have the first wave of the new Count Sporkulas done. These are made of titanium and they are a bit heftier than the past runs which I made several years ago, measuring in at .067 inches thick. This first batch has a basic shape and features a refined four tine fork with flat spoon on the opposite end.

The whole idea of these is to actually have it on your person when you need it. So a flat utensil, while lacking some of the functionality of a traditional curved fork and concave spoon, is the only type of design that can actually be carried in a wallet. Despite the limitations of a flat utensil, they remain surprisingly usable. You can't eat soup with it, but you can certainly eat ice cream, yogurt, chili, salads, mac &cheese, etc. I have given these a hybrid stonewash/bead blast type finish so they will wear well and clean up easily.

A second, more "loaded" design featuring a cap lifter and some of my familiar wrenchy type shapes is on the way soon. And a stand alone tiny Count Forkula in two versions is also well underway and will follow these first two.

The basic Count Sporkulas will run $45 plus shipping. These batches are all quite modest in number, so I will make it a two per person limit on them. No worries though if you miss out on any of these runs because I will almost certainly be making more of these next year as it is currently a favorite here in my house...anyhow, hope you all have a great weekend and thanks for dropping by today.


All gone, thank you everyone!





  




     

Friday, December 07, 2018

Stamped Hangman Hooks

Hi Folks,

Happy Friday! I'm glad to see the weekend arriving after a long and busy week. It's seasonably cool here right now and not a hint of snow on the ground at the moment. I'm sure that will be changing soon though.

I made so much progress this week. The aluminum PermaCorks just went out to get their anodizing so those should be back in a week or so. There are some with the same rifle knurl design as the earlier stainless ones, and also some that are a new variation and those are quite cool I think.

In other news, a cute little pry bar tool in steel is well underway and will be getting milling very soon. They might be done before Christmas if I am lucky, but I'm still not sure. Maybe I can get the ti ones finished sooner. Other items are further along though and I'm hoping to get the first of those Count Sporkulas finished for next week. I have a variety of beads going and I just need to cut some cord and get down to tying this weekend during the football games. A new Mini Prybaby design has been cut and those are being surface ground this week but they will probably be ready mid January. Will be February for the second batch which is metric and about to be cut next week. There are several other balls in the air as well, so a lot of cool releases lie ahead.

Today I have the Stamped Steel Hangmen done! They are the same shape basically as the last release, but these have a smooth surface ground finish. The thickness is .160 so they are strong and beefy but not overly heavy. Designed to hang on the edge of your pocket and dangle the keys INSIDE to keep them from bunching up and from scratching up other items in your pockets. I find that I can't stand carrying my keys any other way now after years of using these various dangler hook designs!

Anyhow, I have stamped these with a wide variety of my decorative stamps. Almost all are multi stamped and there is a huge variety of them, Some are Mono Stamped with multiple stamps of the same image, but some have combinations of different stamps. I would say no two are alike but I probably did repeat some patterns. There is a tremendous variety here though...and yes there are  a few lefties, but none with extra grinds or any other shape variations.

In addition to this, I also have milled a small marker slot on the top edge that would hang over your pocket. The slot is 6mm long so it will accept 5mm tritium marker tubes if you wish to find some and glue them in with clear epoxy. Or you can fill the slot with a mix of epoxy and Superluminova glow powder, available from ReadySetGlo or other sources. Easy to do and a fun DIY project to personalize your hook.

Don't ask me where to get tritium tubes as I do not know. I know they are common in the EDC community and can be readily obtained from overseas. Here in the US they are regulated by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and officially would require a license to sell, so I'm not interested in doing that. But they are kind of like blue dots in your tail lights, one of those gray areas, so if you want to mess with them you are on your own. ;)

Stamped Hangman hooks run $50 plus shipping and the batch is large so no limit on them. Thanks for dropping in as always and may your weekend be a great one!


All gone for now, thank you!