Next Generation of Atwood Tools

I've been working through some ideas lately. Some of this stuff I've been dreaming about for a couple of years and I'm just now able to make it happen. My original idea for the O ring retention system kind of morphed into something else and I'm very pleased with the results. It's interesting how these ideas evolve and take shape and it's a lot of fun for me to go through the process. It's especially good when I can finally get to a finished design.

The BottleBug tool features a 1/2" wrench opening in the bottle opener area and a small pry tip/screwdriver.



The Crawdaddy tool takes the concept even further. It is loosely based on a late 19th century or early 20th century antique wrench tool that a good customer sent me for my collection. The antique tool had machine filed teeth and showed evidence of crude forging. I updated the design considerably and limited the sizes to just six: 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16. The two holes where his "eyes" would be are sized for a bead chain for a convenient neck carry option if desired. The Crawdaddy is just over 3 inches long so it will ride well on a keychain or in a pocket too.



One of the things I like about this series is that you can store any standard one inch long 1/4" hex bit that you want. So if you want Phillips you can have it. Square drive, Torx in any size, 1/8" hex if you want one for your Strider pivot, tamper proof bits of all kinds. There are literally dozens to choose from but I will be supplying a nice USA made #1 Phillips with these.



The O rings keep the bit plenty snug and the bit is accessible from either side so the tool is ambidextrous. The last O ring partially covers the 1/4" hex opening and so when you stick the bit in the hole, again from either side, the tension from the O ring holds it in and keeps it from falling out on the floor. The bits are easy to slip in and out of the handle "breech", and indeed it kind of reminds me of sliding a shell into a rifle or shotgun.




These are underway and should start to be available in a week or two. And I have a couple of related pieces in mind for the future so it’s going to be an interesting fall....I should also mention that these things have the highest Fiddle Factor to date of any of my tools. :)

Still Grinding

Title says it all. I haven't forgotten about you all, just plugging away. It seems like I'm kind of stuck in a cycle of making without actually finishing anything. Hopefully the payoff will be a whole lot of stuff this fall. I have some new items up my sleeve that I'm anxious to share with everyone but not quite ready....stay tuned.

Regular Mini Keytons will be back this week.

Further Updates

It's cooling off here for a few days so I'm torn between working and playing. The playing part has been really good and I'm happy to report that there are some really nifty brand new tool designs that will be coming in a 2-3 weeks. These are related to my previous offerings but are also very different. Stay tuned!

Spannerbabies of any kind are permanently discontinued. I've made quite a few of them and it's time to move on. I cannot possibly make everything in my lineup as it is and so I'm going to be making room for new items. There are other makers out there who are working on new spanner tools and I'm sure they will be offered soon.

Shot glasses are still in the works but are being delayed a little longer. I had the choice last week to start working on them or make another run of titanium whistles so I chose whistles this time. Hopefully they will be done in a more timely manner than the last batch! I never did get the marking issue resolved with them but it really doesn't matter....they are simply gorgeous in person and ultralight weight. There are still a couple left from the current batch so please email me if interested.

What's Ahead?

I'm working on a small batch of Hexbabies which will hopefully be ready mid week. For tomorrow I am just finishing a very small batch of 3V steel Bug Out Bars and Micro Bug Out Bars. The next batches of these will be in titanium and will be similar to the one shown below...those will be available in a few weeks. Trying to get to more whistles this week and also the last of the talonite MSOPThings. Should be less distractions this week and I'm feeling a little better so more will get done this week I think.

Slow Week

Kinda slow this week while I work through some minor injuries but I'm still getting a few things done. I have a nice batch of Keychain Prybabies and a few 3V steel Bug Out Bars going into heat treat tomorrow so maybe by the end of the week I can at least get those back on the site. More regular steel and brass whistles are also coming. I still haven't gotten to the Ti Mini Keytons that are sitting in the final stages before completion but will try to real soon. Also a couple more talonite MSOPTHings...

In the meantime, here's a prototype for those of you looking for a little eye candy. :) I hope to do some of these in September. Full sized 6" x 1" x 3/16" thick titanium Bug Out Bars with O2 cutout for first responders and 1/4" hex drive hole.

Keychain Prybaby vs. Original Prybaby

With the recent batch of Keychain Edition Prybabies I have several people write and ask if they received the correct one. I have increased the size of the Keychain Edition Prybaby slightly in this last batch and it is now 10% smaller than the Original, rather than the earlier batches which were 15% smaller.

Thus, the new Keychain Prybaby is 2 7/8" long compared to 3 1/8" long of the Original. It is not a lot but I felt that the first batches were a touch too small and my intention was that I wanted to give people what I feel is the best product that I can make. My apologies if some feel they are not small enough.

Missing Galleries

My One of a Kind and Past Work galleries are turned off temporarily until the crazy blog traffic calms down. I was mentioned in the Cool Tools blog last week which caused my traffic to increase to astonishing rates, literally several thousand people per day coming through. A couple of days of this caused my bandwidth to exceed the current limits and I had to move my whole site to a different server. Cost me a ton of time and a lot of money for my webmaster to do three days worth of changes. I should be in a lot better shape now though with a new plan that allows much greater bandwidth in case this happens again or if the higher traffic is sustained.

Server Switch

We have had to switch servers for Atwoodknives.com because of certain technical reasons. We are no longer on Phlaunt.com. The new URL is below:

http://www.atwoodknives.com

I'm hoping the move was glitch free and so far it seems to be. Thanks! :)

Making a Kydex Sheath

Here's a 5 minute clip of the steps involved in making a kydex knife sheath. Had a lot of fun making this one and fiddling around with the editing software.

Handwork!

Check out these moves as I debur one of my favorite little tools. Notice how I lean into the piece a little on the straightaways for a heavier removal. But then I back off and just barely pop the prytips where I want to preserve the square edges.

Robots

Dear Atwood Fans,

My webmaster is giving me a hard time about people running automatic software to check my site for updates. There have been a couple of people over the last few months who are significantly running up my bandwidth and transfer rates by checking my site once every minute. I'm asking you to please knock it off as it is a total pain in the ass to block these robots and it is wasting her time.

Let me be clear: We're talking about people running up 65,000 hits per week, not the folks checking 20 times per day. I appreciate the interest in my stuff and I know I'm having trouble keeping up with demand but you'd do better by emailing me every couple of days if you are that interested in obtaining an item. Thanks for your cooperation.

New items coming at the end of this week: Gasbabies, Hexbabies, talonite MSOPTHings, more ti mini keytons, Nothing will be released for the next three days as I am taking some time off for a family related activity.

Bending the XL Prybaby

Just in case you were hungry for a bit more in the ShopFlix series....:D

Whack Whack!

The last step before heat treat. :)

Cord Wrap Video

Here's a little something for all you cord wrap junkies...

Keep 'em Coming...

I know, it's the dog days of summer and your thoughts have turned to cold beer and the delights of air conditioning...luckily it isn't too warm in my shop yet this year. It will get a lot warmer though if the hot and humid spells last too long. Well, it's certainly warm enough for me and unfortunately my production tends to suffer with the temperature rise. I figure slow and steady wins the race though. :)

Here's a couple of recent goodies. More coming in the next few days!


Blue Tongue Damasteel Whistle:




Satin finish full sized Titanium Keytons:



Titanium GasBabies:

John Russell Cutlery

I had a really fun time today visiting the site of the historic John Russell Cutlery building in Turners Falls, MA. I took a bunch of pics and put up a separate blog devoted to it. Fascinating stuff and if you'll pardon the pun, a real slice of Americana. :)

The Russell Cutlery was a very important knife and tool maker located on the banks of the CT River from the 1870's until the Great Flood of 1936 wiped it out. The famous Green River Knife produced at the Cutlery was one of the most coveted tools taken with the settlers during America's western expansion of the mid to late 19th century.

Anyway, here's a link to pics and comments:

http://johnrussellcutlery.blogspot.com/2007/07/welcome.html

HexBaby

Here's the proto for the HexBaby. As in the GasBaby, the bottle opener area features a 7/16" wrench. Then you have hex sizes in 5/16", 1/4", 3/16" and 5/32". Wanted to get 3/8" in there but couldn't get it to lay out right. Maybe I'll fiddle around with it some more next time.

I am considering a metric size tool and will explore what the common sizes would be that will fit on the tool sometime over the summer. It could possibly be a bike tool version, we'll see.

It's a Gas, Baby!

Thought I'd put up a little teaser of an upcoming project...these will be coming in about 2 weeks or so. The Prybaby CG takes the basic Prybaby concept a little further, incorporating a 7/16" wrench at the bottle opening area and adding a 1/4" hex drive hole on the bottom right. The Compressed Gas or "CG" part comes in with the oxygen cylinder wrench, an excellent option for first responders or others in the medical field. Further function is introduced with two standard sized Acetylene tank wrenches for plumbers, welders and other tradesmen. The 58 Rockwell CPM 154 steel measuring nearly 3/16" thick ensures that these wrenches will last just about forever. A second variation featuring hex openings only is also coming at the same time.

Working, working, working...

I was working on the Ghouls and SOPTHings all day starting at 7AM this morning.The sheaths are coming along very well indeed. I made huge progress and will have the Ghouls and a few of the SOPTHings up on the site for purchase tomorrow.

Ghouls Coming Back

Will have some more of the CPM 3V Ghouls coming along in a few days, probably after the full sized Son of PryThings. This will be the last batch of the 3v Ghouls and no more will be made when these are gone. For those not familiar, these are the small chisel ground drop point blades with the cord wrapped handle and screwdriver butt end. Neat little personal carry tool blades.