Whistles- SOLD OUT! Thank you!

I have so few of these left that I am limiting whistles to one per customer. That means one brass OR one stainless. Not one of each, only one period. I want to give folks a chance who have not been able to buy anything from me before. So I will refund any orders for multiples.

Sorry to be that way but these are the last of any variety of the stainless whistles and the last of the brass with diamond knurl whistles. Neither will be made again. I will have a few more brass with rifle knurl coming in January and then that is going to be close to it for whistles. Maybe a couple more titanium ones will straggle in too if I can find time to finish them.

So, what does this mean for the future of whistles from Atwood Tool? They are going to be discontinued. I have made over a thousand of them in the past five years and it's time to move on. The shop that turns them for me is a pain to work with, the whistles are very expensive to make (and the costs are going up) and it's just time to move on.

Thank You and Happy Holidays!

Just wanted to give everyone out there a HUGE Thank You for all your kindness and support this year. People have been unbelievably generous with their praise and with their dollars. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate my many loyal fans and I am feeling hugely blessed and deeply grateful. I raise my glass in a toast and I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season!

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah and a very Happy and Prosperous New Year to you all! :)

Bermuda Triangle

When I was a kid growing up in the 1970's I used to be fascinated by all the stories about the Bermuda Triangle. The UFO theories, the lost squadrons of airplanes, all the missing boats. It was cool stuff that tickled my curiosity and made me wonder if there was any truth to these kinds of mysteries or not.

What's not a mystery is this nifty new tool that I'm calling the Bermuda Triangle. Made of 5/32" titanium it is an equalateral triangle with 2 inch sides, a 3/4" Hex hole in the center, a 1/4" hex bit holder with O-ring, a minimalist cap lifter and a lanyard hole. These are really fun to spin between your fingers and I have not been able to stop fiddling with it since I made the first one.

I'm about to order a bag of the proper sized O-rings. The one on there now in the pictures is too big. There will probably be all kinds of delays because of Christmas so I don't expect to see the O-rings before Wednesday of next week. So I'd say these will be done and available around the end of next week. This is a smallish batch but will be more coming if the interest is there which I'm kinda thinking will be the case. :D

Available Tools

I just made a new section of my website for Available Tools. This is the only place I'll be posting items for sale on my site from now on and that should cut down on the bandwidth issues a little bit.

UFO on Ebay...

This is probably the last folder of the year and it's on Ebay now. The green fishnet patterning on this one came out really nice I thought. :)

Finalized Bike Tool

I made a very small batch of these recently and should have a few ready this week. Waiting on O-rings and bits to arrive from MSC. As you can see, I updated the first Bike Tool considerably. I added a second bit holder, one bit is 4mm and the other 5mm, and the two most common sizes of spoke wrenches on the lower V shaped area. I fitted a bottle opener along the lower edge with a 3/8" wrench opening (I know, 3/8" doesn't correspond to anything on a bike but at least it is an additional tool). I also added a second 1/4" hex opening on the upper corner of the tool so now the user has the option of a T handle driver or having the bit on the end for fitting into tighter spots. All in all I think it is a very cool tool. :) There are only about a dozen of these that will be available this go round but more are planned for after the holidays and also a variant non bike tool may appear.

Generation 2 Mini Gasbaby

This is my favorite Prybaby so far. I scaled down the full sized Gasbaby just a hair and then removed the large acetylene tank wrench opening. The G2 treatment really makes these pop I think. :) I'll be finishing a small batch of them soon.

Just a Reminder...Robots!

Look folks, I've asked before and it doesn't seem to do any good. Please don't run automatic software that checks my site a zillion times per day for updates. It runs up my bandwidth and causes my webmaster to chew my ears off. It's a waste of everyone's time to try to figure out who the perps are to either contact them or block them, whatever. I understand there's stuff out there that makes it very easy to do this especially for Mac users. I'm asking folks to please refrain so that I don't have to go through all the nightmare and expense of getting a dedicated server to handle the traffic. Thanks!

Termite

In heat treat now, the new Termite Tool. This is the latest in the Captive Tool Bit series. I decided to combine the best features of of the CTB style tools with my Micro Bug Out Bar to create a tiny 3 inch Prybar tool.I will have a small batch available and a release date of either this weekend or early next week.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I went out for Chinese food last night and this was my fortune. Seemed fitting to save it and snap a pic... :)




I certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year and not the least of which is for my many fans. Thanks so much and I hope you all have a terrific Thanksgiving and holiday season!

Few Tools are Finished

I have Crawdaddies and straight knurl whistles back on the site. More tools will follow over the next few days. To come are a few Bottlebugs and some Area 51 Mini Keytons.

Thank You and More Atwood Tools in Progress

First off, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to all the folks who either bid on the recent folder on Ebay or who were following it's progress. I was extremely surprised to see it go so high to be perfectly honest and am quite humbled. I was also amazed that over 120 people were watching the auction. Wow! So thank you all and also thank you for the nice comments about it.

There will be two more folders coming up when I get them finished and they will also go up on Ebay. That will be it for Atwood folders for 2007 I think, the first folders I have made in over two years. No clue yet if I will make more next year or not. If I do make more it will not be many that's for sure. I enjoy making them every now and then but I really do much prefer my little tools.

In the meantime it's back to our regularly scheduled programming. I have a good sized batch of stuff going into heat treat tomorrow and that would include Crawdaddies, BottleBugs and Area 51 Mini Keytons. I hope to start more G2 Prybabies pretty soon and I have tons of whistles to get to as well. Also the last 12 of the Micro Bug Out Blades will be getting sheaths very soon followed by a batch of full sized Bug Out Blades. So, look for stuff on my website probably early next week.

UFO on Ebay

Alright, I just listed this UFO on Ebay. It seems like it is the best way to do this since so many want one of these but there will only be a couple available and probably that will be it for the year. Wish I could make dozens of them but they are ridiculously time consuming to make so the numbers are going to be very limited.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180178923201

Thanks for all your very kind words and the many email inquiries and comments on the blog! I sure do appreciate it. :)

Alien Invaders?

These rare and shocking images were smuggled out of Area 51 yesterday by a determined journalist. Keep in mind that what you are about to see may not be of this earth. Indeed this Unidentified Folding Object may have come from the very depths of space itself and its ultimate impact on the people of this planet can only be imagined.

Ti Bug Out Bars

Just posted a few on my site. Please email for availability...peter (at) atwoodknives (dot)com

Not the Best....

Well, all the townspeople showed up to the crash site to see what there was to see. The sheriff and Pastor Warner got the closest and reported back that there wasn't much there and that everyone needed to go home. They must have been scared witless.

Luckily for us one intrepid soul, Billy Jones from the University's geology department, decided to ignore the official's warnings and managed to snap a quick shot of the artifact in question. He also happened to have a portable geiger counter with him and reported that the thing is hot, VERY hot. It's a little odd considering that usually exposure to RADIATION causes things to grow to enormous sizes. But in this case the result seems to have been just the opposite, actually shrinking the tool to a blade length of just two inches. Maybe the aliens need to try Toolagra or something because you know those female aliens are probably unhappy...

This shot isn't the best but it sorta kinda gives an idea of what it looked like. Maybe if it shows back up Billy can try again and this time his camera will be ready...

UFO Sighted in Western Massachusetts

Turners Falls, MA- November 6, 2007 3:15PM

Fact or Fiction? You decide.

There has come late word today of a UFO sighting in western Massachusetts. Eyewitnesses on the ground reported seeing a small well made object riding in the righthand pants pocket of knifemaker Peter Atwood. The Unidentified Folding Object was described as tiny and of the commonly seen framelock variety.

“I’ve never seen anything like it!” one man said excitedly. “It was weird, all angles and everything and it had a scary sharp edge. If it weren’t for the fact that I wanted it so bad I woulda took off running.“

Clearly he was the village idiot but he’s the only eyewitness so far. His reliability could not be confirmed as he was noted to have been wearing a tight white jumpsuit with the arms tied across his chest and his mouth was covered with frothy white spittle. Please stay tuned for more details which will be made available if and when we have them.

Prototype Bike Tool

Playing around this week a little. This isn't done yet, just a quick mock up to see what it might look like. Still needs to be surface ground to smooth the flats. It's about 4 inches long, CPM 3V, with a 15mm wrench for standard bicycle axle nut and room for one bit. I'm thinking 5mm for the insert bit but I may try another slightly different design and see if I can fit two bits in there.

The Trouble with Lists

The question has been asked many times…I have posted my thoughts on this in the past but will do it again for the benefit of newer folks who may have missed it or those who still do not get it.

Why is it that I am not keeping lists like all the other makers do?

Answer: Because I am not like all other makers. Show me another maker out there working solo who has offered runs of over 60 different items this year. Let me give you an example...

There are lots of guys making 5 or 6 different models of knives, maybe they have 2 folders and 3 fixed blades. The price points are much higher than mine (say $150-600) so right away their list is smaller. This is because generally speaking, the higher the price the smaller the pool of buyers who are lined up waiting. If you had 35 people waiting and most wanted one thing and only a few wanted 2 or 3 items then the list is workable even if it takes months or a year to get to all of them.

Now make that 100 people on the list, a list that is growing daily, and each wants between 1 and 12 different items. Some ask simply for one of everything as if that would make it easier. Let’s not forget my small pool of dealers too and the numerous emails I get from folks who wish to be dealers…at this point, had I continued keeping lists, I would easily be up to several hundred people and the wait time would in years.

Anyway, here’s the list of items they might be choosing from:

Skeeter, Sumo, Wedgie3, Wedgie 4, Wedgie5, basic Keyton, Area 51 Keyton, Ti prybaby, Ti keyton, Gasbaby, Hexbaby, Micro BOBar, full sized BOBar, Ti BoBar regular, Ti bobar gas wrench version, Mini ti BOBar, Ti whistle, Brass whistle with rifle knurl, Brass whistle with diamond knurl, Brass whistle with straight knurl, Stainless whistle wide straight knurl, Stainless whistle fine straight knurl, Stainless whistle rifle knurl, Stainless whistle diamond knurl, Damascus whistle blue tongue pattern, Damascus whistle twist pattern, Damascus mini prybabies, Damascus mini keytons, Damascus boogers, Damascus msopthings, Steel msopthings, Full sized SOPThings, Micro BOBlades, full sized BOBlades, Keykutter, Mini cc knives, Damascus mini cc knives, Drop point boogers, Original boogers, Wharncliffe boogers, Tanto boogers, Flat keytons, Flat spannerbabies, Regular spannerbabies, Titanium spannerbabies, Pop n Chops, Bottlebugs, Crawdaddies, Bug bites, G2 prybabies, Prybaby XLs, Mini Prybaby XLs, Titanium Prybaby XLs, Titanium bottlebugs, Ghouls, Goblins, Constellation prybabies, Constellation keytons, long keytons, Talonite skeeters, Talonite mini son of prythings, Perforated prybabies, Scouts, Glowhistles, Area 51 bug out bars, Tac straps, etc, etc, etc.

And on the titanium items they want special finishes and grinds. The cord wrap colors are blah blah and blah and can you include an extra piece of cord? And they really want a lefty not a righty. Can they have tiger stripes? Can they get bubble pattern on one with black cord and satin on the other with orange reflective cord? How about a slightly smaller one? How about a bigger one? Can they get it in damascus? Will I use their damascus bar they got from Ebay? Can you drill some extra holes in that? Can you make me one with no holes at all? Can you leave off the V notch on mine? If they order it without a teklok can I give them a discount? How about a sheath to go with that non-knife tool? Can you engrave my initials or my company name? Can you let me know when you will have more of them? Can they have it all shipped at once because they’d like to save on postage. And can they have it by the end of the month because they are going on vacation/getting married/giving it as a gift/deploying overseas and they need it before then. And how come such and such got theirs first when they have been waiting for months?

Then they change their mind and so now I have to go and find their listing on the spreadsheet and make some changes, all of which takes time when I could be in the shop making cool shit and dreaming the dreams which is where the new stuff comes from. Oh yeah, did I mention that they emailed me from their other email account and signed their name Bob and I have 3 different Bobs on my list and now none of the emails match? And they have the annoying habit of erasing everything from their previous emails so I cannot follow the earlier conversation and figure out quickly just what it was that they wanted…so I email them and then wait a day to hear back and clarify everything meanwhile forgetting our earlier email conversation because I’m so freaking busy and trying to keep it all in my head and since then 6 other people have emailed asking for stuff…

Starting to get the picture?

I’m telling you, it would make anyone FREAKING CRAZY trying to keep up with it all. I don’t think even the CIA could come up with a more effective means to break a human being. I was going nuts and getting so stressed out I couldn’t see straight so I said NO MORE! The heck with the damned list! I’ll make what I feel like making and post them when they’re done. Period. You would not BELIEVE how relieved I was after making that decision.

Since then my production has increased exponentially because concentrating on larger batches of one thing at a time is so much more efficient. Working off the list was draining my energy, keeping me permanently confused and I wasn’t getting half as much stuff made.

So there you have it. I could go on and on but it would just be redundant and bore everyone to tears. Bottom line, I am deeply grateful to the folks who have stuck with me through this and apologize to the ones who don’t like my system, but for the sake of my sanity that’s how it has to be.

Thanks Still Photo!