Happy Safe Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone! Hope you all stay safe this holiday season and make the best of it all. 

Once again, sorry for the endless delays from the post office this year, but so far everything seems to be making it, just days or weeks late, and the tracking is very sporadic. Oh well, big thanks to the postal workers and other shippers this year who are busting their tails for everyone despite covid and the enormous shipping volumes...

I'll probably do another sale or two before end of the year, but taking a couple of days off. All kinds of cool stuff is coming in 2021 so stay tuned. ;)  

Bead Blasted Steel MiniBar+ Tools

Well, hello again my friends! Happy First Official Day of Winter. I don't know about you, but I'll be very glad to see the days start to lengthen again as these short ones can get rather gloomy. Especially on top of all the depressing crap that made up much of 2020. It's a crying shame that humans can't hibernate because I would definitely sign up for that this year. On the other hand, winter has always been a very productive time for me, and I have an excellent start on this one already.

We're headed into the 2020 home stretch. Obviously the post office remains swamped and many people are still waiting on packages from a week or even two weeks ago. The PO system hasn't been giving very accurate tracking information at times, so I have gotten emails from a few people asking if their stuff has shipped. I have sent nearly all packages out this month on the very same day that the sales were done, so rest assured everything is on the way regardless of what the struggling postal scanning system reports. So far almost nothing has gotten lost this year, so your patience will be rewarded.

Today I have the last wave of MiniBar+ tools done. These have a low luster bead blasted finish and they both look and feel great. They have my usual wide variety of stamps. Looks like all the plain non stamped ones are gone with the first release, but I do have a few lefties here. I also have a handful of the anodized titanium MiniBar+ remaining which are available upon request, just email me please and I'll be happy to hook you up.

Bead Blasted Steel MiniBar+ tools will run $65 plus shipping, no limit, and the link is below...also, a portion of the sale today will go to my local Franklin County Community Meals program who have been doing a great job providing hot meals for needy folks this year. Thanks for dropping by and I hope you all are staying safe and warm this holiday season!

Sold out, thank you so much!

 

 

 

 

Titianium MultiMags with Stamps

Hello Folks,

Well we certainly got some snow. I think there's about a foot or more so far, but it's still coming down. We'll see what the final tally is when it ends this afternoon, but suffice it to say, we are well covered with a thick white blanket this morning. I think it will stick around for the duration too.

I haven't had much time in the shop lately, so those new Prybabies will no doubt be put off until after the New Year. But I still have plenty of other items that are either done or close to it, so I'll try to keep some sales rolling along. The way that the mail has been going it is hard to say if anything mailed right now will make it before Christmas, but probably it just depends on where the package is headed. Big hat's off to the great folks at the Post Office and the other carriers because they are working their butts off for us this year! And other than delays, there have been very few problems.

Today I have the remaining Titanium MultiMags finished. This batch is stamped and they are contrast anodized so they really pop. It's a small batch so I will make it one per person please...they will run $55 plus shipping. Thanks for stopping by yet again, and stay safe out there folks!

    Sold out, thank you so much!

 

 

 

 

Titanium MultiMags

Hi Everyone,

It's quite gray outside today, and now the forecast is saying we are due for up to 17 inches of snow tonight and into tomorrow morning. So quite a storm is heading our way it appears. I have my snow blower all ready to go and will sand the driveway later on so that the plow guy can get some traction...good to time to sneak another sale in before the flakes start flying.

Today I have some Titanium MultiMags for you. These are left over from last year....Nifty little fidget spinner toy with the included ball bearings, or you can use them on your fridge or toolbox. They are all anodized, in a wide range of colors, and I also have a couple of stainless and bronze ones kicking around if anyone wants to email me for them. 

The Titanium MultiMags will run $50 plus shipping and there is no limit on them. Thanks for dropping in today my friends, and I hope you are staying safe and healthy in these tough times! And speaking of tough times, the need is greater this year than it has ever been before, and so a big chunk of today's sale will go to my local food pantry to give some help to those who are struggling.

Sold out, thank you so much folks!

 

 

 

 

Metric Mini Prybabies

Hi Folks,

It's a bright and crisp morning out there today. I've already been out to the grocery store for a major stocking up before the snow storm hits this week. We're due for about a foot starting tomorrow afternoon. So, I figured I better try top up everything in our cupboards and do it first thing in the morning before most people are out and about.

I've been busy with new drawings lately and have a couple that I am pondering for the New Year. It looks like I have at least six new or updated tools that are likely candidates and I may come up with some more before the winter is over. Winter is always a fertile time for new ideas for some reason. Probably because I'm mostly stuck inside looking out at the blank paper landscape of white snow. :) 

Today I have some Metric Mini Prybabies for you. These are CPM154 steel, metric wrenches sized 8,9 and10mm, front pry tip and rear screwdriver/pry tip, with an antique satin finish. These are leftover from the batch earlier this past spring and there are a few dozen here, with a wide variety of stamps on the back side.

Metric Mini Prybabies will run $60 plus shipping and there is no limit on them. Thanks for stopping by once again, and have a terrific week ahead!

 All gone, thank you everyone!

 

Antique Bronze QuickDraws!

Hi Everyone,

Well, the full weight of winter is about to come upon us, and we are due for about 6-10 inches of snow later this week. I expect we will be having a white Christmas here in the northeast... 

The mail continues to run slow due to the crazy number of packages being mailed this year. I read over the weekend that they are expecting some 800 million more than usual, and the total number is something like 3 billion. So, you should absolutely expect things to be very slow indeed. I myself am waiting on a package that arrived in my local in state sorting center last weekend, and it looks like it finally might show up this week. The tracking system is all messed up too, so rest assured everything I have mailed out so far this month has gone out whether the system says so or not. In fact, nearly all packages I sent this month went out on the very same day as the sales.

Well today I have something really cool for you....Bronze QuickDraws! These are 1/8 thick, a bit thicker than the first titanium run, so that they would be stiff enough not to bend. These little tools feature a hand applied distressed antique finish, so expect to see all sorts of character marks, micro dings, hammer marks, tiny scratches and varied colorations. They have a Starter Patina which is nice, but you can make them yours in any way that you want. Carry them, let them get more scratches, let them age and get darker then hit them with Brasso or worn out green scotchbrite cloth to bring back a shine. Rinse and repeat and then start the aging process all over again. Bronze is very forgiving and will reward you with interesting personal patinas for years to come.

One other reason I wanted to go with thick bronze on these is because bronze is a softer material and so I could finally have a chance to showcase some of my larger stamps. People may not really understand what these stamps are all about btw...I have an enormous and valuable collection of hand forged, hand filed and hand engraved steel stamps made in England in the middle to late 1800's. Many have either rarely or never been seen until now, and others are your familiar old favorites that I have been using for years. I also have a couple hundred modern stamps, some of which are quite large and don't get used very much, and others are wonderful for the detail and subject matter that they offer such as the incredible bass and trout stamps.

Steel and titanium are relatively hard materials and it is often difficult to create a good stamped impression on them, so I simply have not been able to use some of these amazing images before, particularly if they are the larger ones...anyhow, it tickles me to use a mix of modern and 150 year old images in the making of brand new tools. Each stamp becomes a story telling time machine that ties my contemporary products into the centuries' old tradition of tool making in a unique and permanent way.

Bronze QuickDraws will run $60 each plus shipping and the link is below. I'll make it a two per customer limit on them please, so lots of folks can get a chance at them. And, I know stamps don't thrill everyone, so I do have a handful of plain ones available upon request... Please be super careful out there my friends! Working together we will get through these tough months ahead.

Sold out, thank you so much everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

Metal Flake Zirconium Hangman Hooks

Hi Everyone,

I'm at it again...actually a lovely day out there, cool and clear with some bright sunshine peeking through the clouds. That dusting of snow yesterday was just that, a dusting, and it is completely gone already.

Well, today I have something really cool for you. Zirconium, titanium and niobium all sit near each other on the periodic table. These are known as reactive metals, and all of them will respond to anodizing to produce colors. Years ago I had tried to anodize zirconium and noticed that the colors were not as bright as titanium. So I kind of forgot all about it and instead always went for heat coloring which produces the dark gray/black hue that you normally see for Zr objects. Well this summer I tried anodizing Zr again and this time, after much experimentation, started to find some very interesting and subtle effects.

I call this new treatment "Metal Flake" because it has a sparkly quality to it that reminds me of years ago when I used to hang out at my buddy's auto body shop and watch him spray hot rods with metal flake and pearlescent finishes. It's a very cool effect that picks up the light when viewed at different angles for a variety of looks. If you're looking for something unique this is it!

Metal Flake Zirconium Hangman Hooks will run $60 plus shipping. It's a small batch so I will make it a limit of one please. Thanks for dropping by and enjoy your week my friends!

All gone, thanks everyone!

 

 

 

Anodized Stamped 6 Flutes

Hi Everyone,

A cloud of fat white flurries are lazily falling to the ground this morning. It probably won't amount to much today, but it feels raw out there and I know we're headed into the colder days now. I had a few cold tolerant leafy veggies still chugging away in my garden cold frame but when I looked in this morning they were all frozen solid, so I guess that's all until spring. 

Today I have the other half of the Triple Stamped Ti 6 Flute Mega bead batch. These have all been double anodized in a wide variety of colors and are just gorgeous. I'll have to keep a couple for my own stuff, hehe...

Anodized Stamped 6 Flutes will run $45 plus shipping and the link is below, no limit on them. Thanks for dropping by as usual, and I hope your week is going great!

Sold out, thank you so much folks, and stay safe out there!

 

 

 

Steel MiniBar+

Hi Everyone!

It's a bright and sunny day here in Massachusetts, but quite chilly. Somehow we managed to dodge the big snow storm this past weekend and the ground is bare with not a flake in sight, for now anyway. I'm sure that will change very soon though.

I've been busily cranking out the projects lately, and still have a ways to go before the end of the year. I will have another wave of ti stamped beads coming up, but this time with anodizing. And bronze QuickDraws are shaping up nicely so those will be coming in a few days. There are some tiny batches of misc items here too, as well as a couple of remnant tool batches that I will try to get to. I'm definitely going to make an effort to do some sales this week because the mail is starting to slow down due to the unprecedented package volumes this year. Between the usual holiday season, the pandemic and the other bureaucratic slow downs the post office is a bit nuts right now. So the sooner things can move out the greater the chance they will arrive in a relatively timely manner given the situation.

Today I have steel MiniBar+ tools done. These are identical to the titanium version released last month, but they are in 5/32 thick CPM 154 steel and feature a stonewashed finish. I did a wide variety of stamps on these, and left a handful without stamps as well if someone wants to email me. There are a few lefties here too. 

Steel MiniBar+ tools will run $65 plus shipping and there is no limit on this huge batch. Thanks for taking time to drop by today, and please stay safe and sensible out there my friends!  

 All gone for now, thank you so much! I will have a few more with bead blasted finish in a week or two.

 

 

Triple Stamped Titanium Six Flutes

Hi Everyone,

Happy Wednesday! It's quite cool here this week and it looks like we're in for a little rain this weekend. We're only three weeks away from the shortest day of the year though, so the dark and gloomy skies will be past before we know it. 

I'm hoping to have the bronze QuickDraws done next week. Steel MiniBar+ tools are almost finished and will be coming up later this week...there are a couple of other bead projects on the way, and we will see what else I can come up with. I just completed some new tool drawings so I will be cutting some goodies for the winter very soon.

Today I have some satin finished titanium 6 Flute beads for you, but this time they have stamps! I made a couple of these earlier this year just for myself and liked them so much that I set aside a big pile of plain beads to stamp...I finally got around to it last weekend. These are quite fiddly and there isn't much real estate to work with, so I was only able to use my smallest stamps on them. But it was a good opportunity to showcase some of the tiniest ones that I don't use as often, and most of them are the antique images that were hand forged in the mid to late 1800's. The Knight's Helm, Tiny Hand, Mini Whirlpool and Little Bone are some of my favorites from this batch...each bead has three stamps on it.

The Stamped Ti 6 Flute beads will run $40 each plus shipping and there is no limit on them. A second wave with color anodizing will be coming up after these, so more are on the way as well. And I still have a few plain ti 6 flutes without stamps if anyone wants to email me. Thanks for stopping by today, hope you're staying safe and healthy, and I hope your week is going great!

These are all gone, thank you so much folks!