Thursday, February 10, 2022

Gen 2 Zirconium MikroStiks!

Hi Folks,

Well winter's icy grip isn't done with us yet, not by a long shot. But we should be having a few more moderate days coming up, which is not so common this time of year. And the light is getting stronger every day, so you know we're finally on the right side of the solstice and headed towards spring.

I don't have too much to report for projects, and I really do need to take a few days to concentrate on tool production and getting some new designs going. So that grinding stint that I keep putting off will be coming up soon...

Today I have some Zirconium MikroStiks for you. These are a bit bigger than the previous MikroStik release, about 50% larger I think, and also thicker. They are easier to hold but still are small enough to make for a super handy compact pry tool. Excellent for small scraping, cleaning and light prying tasks. 

This batch of zirconium came through with a nice pebbly texture. I played around with my usual heat coloring but was not thrilled with the blackening results. So I decided that these would actually be nicer with an electrical anodized treatment. Zirconium does not exhibit as strong of a color response as it's close cousin titanium, but with some sneaky techniques I was able to coax out some beautiful colors with these. The best is a striking combination of blue and gold that reminds me a little of lapis lazuli.

Gen 2 Zirconium MikroStiks will run $55 plus shipping. Hope your week is going great and thanks as always for stopping by today!

Sold out, thank you so much! I will have steel ones coming in a month or two...
 

 

Friday, February 04, 2022

Bronze Game Coins

Hi Everyone,

Well, we are getting another storm today, but this time it is all rain, now turning to sleet. That's fine by me as our driveway is almost completely clear now with only a small patch of stubborn ice remaining in one spot. It's always a fight this time of year to keep it cleared off. So far this winter keeping up with it has been fairly easy though, so no complaints.

I continue to pick away at stuff in the shop. Zr MikroStiks are getting close to the finish line and I have been busily prepping out some Stubby MiniBars for up the road. I need to spend a few days in front of the grinder soon and get these steel projects rolling again...

Today I have the remaining Bronze Game Coins done. This group has drilled edges, and originally I had planned to press in the same black ceramic ball bearings that are in the bottom. Would have made for a cool "satellite" effect, but it is way too much work so I gave up on it and will leave them as is. The holes could be filled with glow powder and that would be very fun as well, so I leave it to you all if you want to mess with that idea and make it DIY.

I used a wide variety of interesting leathers once again and there are some really cool combinations here.

Bronze Game Coins will run $75 each plus shipping. Thank you so much for popping in today. I always appreciate it!

Sold out, thank you so much!

 

  



 
 
 

Wednesday, February 02, 2022

Stainless Steel Game Coins

Hi Everyone,

Well I hope you're staying warm out there. It has continued to be bitter cold here, although today we are getting a short reprieve before getting hit with rain tomorrow and then more snow on Friday. It will be ugly no doubt...

I continue to move along slowly on various projects. I don't have too much to report but I will have more tools done soon. In the meantime I'm still going through and trying to finish up some small misc remnant batches and will be posting them shortly.

Today I have a few dozen stainless steel Game Coins done. These have a wide variety of stamps, and also many different types of crazy textured leather inserts. There are some real beauties here and obviously every Game Coin is totally unique. I also used some giant stamps on a few, stamps that are way too big for cold stamping small metal tools, but they work nicely on leather inserts for this purpose. There are some cool Jolly Rogers and also some ancient cave art images such as a horse and woolly mammoth. I will have a larger second batch of these in bronze coming up very soon as well. 

Stainless Game Coins will run $75 plus shipping. Thanks for dropping in my friends, and have a great week ahead!

Sold out, thank you everyone!