Special Atwrenches™

Of course I could not resist monkeying around with a couple dozen of these...:) They are drying now. The next batch will probably all have the edge grinds as I think it makes the tools look a bit more dramatic:

FunnyBOnes

Lots more coming later today. Thanks!

Atwrenches not until tomorrow at the earliest...

Nada

I was hoping to see my stuff back from heat treat on Friday but alas, no UPS man this week...maybe Monday or Tuesday. Have a nice weekend everyone!

Sneak Peek

Mini FunnyBone on top and Atwrench™ on the bottom. These are quick protos. The finished ones will have a stonewashed finish and a few may feature extra grinds...

New Tools in the Pipeline

Well, those Crawdaddies went faster than I expected. Thanks again folks, your support is always very much appreciated. :)

I have new stuff on the horizon as usual. Probably by the end of next week I should have a couple of major new offerings ready to go. I've spent much of the past two weeks grinding and milling, working on two new batches at a time. Also managed to squeak in another smallish batch of Nibbles so there will be more of those in the near future too.

But the big batches are of Mini FunnyBones and the new Atwrench™. These new tools show a return to simpler designs (no captive bits) but they nevertheless are packed with functions. The Mini FunnyBones feature 7 American SAE wrench sizes and 7 metric wrench sizes in one compact 3 1/4" overall length tool. Also has my standard bottle opener/wrench opening. I really like the feel of this tool in the hand and I'm excitedly anticipating getting them back from heat treat so I can claim one for my own pocket. :) A titanium version of this tool will probably be in the future if these do well.

The Atwrench™ is my updated version of the old Proto Screwdriver tool. Many people are familiar with this classic keychain screwdriver design which has been made for probably 80 years or so. There have been many similar pieces on the market but the Proto is the most iconic of them, instantly recognizable with it's distinctive forged shape. Snap-On and others have also done their own stamped versions. My idea was to start with the basic overall shape of these tools and size it up, adding features to it as I went. The end result looks like it's on steroids. It incorporates 7 American SAE wrench sizes, a bottle opener and a pry tip. And, just so my world wide fans don't feel left out, the companion metric version will be coming along sometime this summer.

Crawdaddy 2: The Thickening

Howdy folks, I'm finishing another batch of Crawdaddies and I made a few very minor changes as I mentioned in earlier posts. For these I adopted the slightly wider body of the SharkTooth and RingLeader tools to provide for an improved grip. In addition, this gives me the ability to put on a thicker and stronger O-ring. Otherwise the tool is just about the same as the first series.

I have a few dozen of these to offer today and when my bruised and battered fingers recover (LOL, these thick O-rings are HARD on the fingers!) I'll be finishing the rest of the batch. :)

Nibbles are Back!

I have a few dozen Nibbles back in stock. The beefy Crawdaddy 2 will make it's appearance Tuesday or Wednesday.

The Drawing Board

Well, looks like the stretch of nice weather is coming to a close. It's supposed to be cloudy and cooler with showers for the next week so maybe now I can get out of the rest of those honey-do chores that I've been stuck with lately. Most of the spring cleanup stuff has been done anyway and besides, the first of those darned biting black flies have been appearing like clockwork every time I step outside now. So it's just about time to get back in the shop and get some stuff cranking again.

Currently in heat treat is a batch of Crawdaddies and a small batch of Nibbles. I have a whole bunch more Nibbles to finish grinding and they will go into the next heat treat batch. But the current batches should be back very soon, maybe by the end of next week or early the following week. The Crawdaddies have been beefed up slightly and I'll be using larger O-rings on them.

Just finished the drawings for two cool new tools. The first is the compact version of the FunnyBone tool that I showed a few posts back. I eliminated the captive bit feature and shortened the whole thing so it will fit onto a keychain if desired. I think I have all the sizes so that they will work, no small feat there. The bottle opener is retained and I added a few scallops for added grip on the top edge. I think it will be a dynamite little piece and will be making a lot of them.

The second brand new piece draws on two old designs for inspiration. I have been a collector of keychain tools for years and always have enjoyed the old Proto Screwdriver design. There are a lot of other keychain screwdriver designs as well including a nifty little one from Snap-On that features a small wrench. Both of these have been in my collection for a few years, snagged off of Ebay or scrounged from yard sales. Well, I drew on those two designs and did a little updating and Atwoodizing. The new tool, tentatively called the Atwrench, is much larger than those tiny originals but it will pack a whole lot of function in comparison and still fit onto a keychain. Pics coming soon... :)

Another Speed Bump

This serpent was from the Bermuda Triangle though. :)

Yuck! But it's getting better... :)

That's all I have to say about it. A nasty little stomach bug has had me laying low for a couple of days now. Hopefully will be feeling better tomorrow and can get back to it.

This is also the one spring week here in New England where we're having perfect weather. It's just the right humidity and there are wonderful temperatures in the 60's and mid 70's. The biting bugs are still sleeping and the pollen hasn't yet been released in any great quantities. It's also yard cleanup season. So I expect I'll be slacking a bit all this next week or so...will try to get a few things done for the end of the week though.

This is Cool

Check these out! My friend Kenny down at the local machine shop made these neat little keyfobs. It's like a ball inside of a cube and the center is hollow with little satellite cubes. They are machined from solid aluminum and then anodized black, supposedly with hard coat but I'm not sure if it's HA III or not. At any rate they are nifty and he has some available, think he's asking $25 for them, might be slightly more, not sure. If anyone is interested please post here and I'll take a count. If enough folks want one I might ask Gary Moore if he's interested in carrying them as Kenny is not set up with email.

Update

I know it's been pretty quiet around here for the past few days. I have a bunch of stuff almost ready to send out to heat treat but I was hoping to grind a few more pieces before I do so that the batch is cost effective. So maybe by the weekend that will happen and we can get the ball rolling again. This batch will have Nibbles and slightly redesigned Crawdaddies. Maybe the Mini FunnyBones if I can get them cut in time. And I have something brand new, a neat little tool in the works as well.

I have had a bunch of distractions keeping me out of the shop too...end of the quarter paperwork before taxes, general kicking back for a few days before I burn myself out completely and the arrival of a few days when the sun has *actually* been out for the whole day and the snow has *almost* completely melted from my yard have all conspired to keep me from my work. What a hard winter it has been around here this year! Just miserable...when 70 degrees and sunny finally gets here there will be a few days of serious kicking back going on I can tell you that! :)

Anyhow, there won't be a whole lot happening on my site as far as available tools go until early next week. I need to finish the sheaths for the rest of the SharkTooth batch and I have a few other items to finish as well. Mostly just dribs and drabs...a few steel G2 Gasbabies, those mini Keytons I mentioned a while back, a couple of ti Bug Out Bars I finally cord wrapped, some BugBites, etc.

South American Speedbump?

My uncle just sent me this pic from a colleague who was down in South America. Them anacondas sure do grow big down there... =:0

SharkTooth Teaser

Got a sample piece back from the tumbler yesterday. Awesome finish on these and it looks like they will be coming back to me early next week. Then it will be sheath time...so we're getting closer. :) Meanwhile here's a little preview to whet your whistles:

Metric Question!

Hey Metric Heads, we Americans are not as familiar with your system as we probably ought to be. Or at least this American isn't.... :D

Here's my situation: I'm playing with the FunnyBone drawings and looking at common metric wrench sizes. Now, the ideal size progression on my tool is 6,8,10,12,14,16,18mm.

It is my understanding though that 13mm is a very important and common size. It also happens to be very close to our American 1/2" which is an extremely common size here so I can see the attraction. My question is, how critical is 13mm? The reason is, if I include it then it throws off the whole progression of sizes on the tool and they need to be 2mm apart to work out and be stepped correctly.

So I guess I'm wondering, what are the most important metric sizes that the rest of the world needs? I have other configurations worked out if the above mentioned list isn't good enough.

Glimpse in the Notebook

Couple of rough sketches and trying out various names...This is close to what the RingCutter will look like. The other drawing is of a possible future double ended wrench tool that I am calling the FunnyBone. Metric on one end and SAE on the other. :)

I'm always tweaking, doodling and coming up with these while I'm reading or watching movies and during commercials when the football games are on.

Going to be a Good Weekend

Finishing up some small stuff today. :)

OK, here's something new. This is the SharkBite variant that I had mentioned in an earlier post....called the RingLeader. Same specs as a SharkBite basically but it has a nice 3/4" diameter ring opening. This was a small test run of these and I still have a few more in the shop to grind and what not. So there will be this wave of stonewashed ones, a wave of bead blasted ones and then another very small wave in a couple of weeks. I may cut more though if the response is strong and if so will make a few little tweaks. I'd like to see the larger bottle opener of the Nibble and maybe nudge the ring to 1" diameter.

In Progress: SharkTooth

The upcoming SharkTooth...these are a couple of rough "in progress" shots to get an idea what the tool will be. Basically it's a Pop n Chop morphed onto a BugBite with a SharkBite thrown into the mix.

These are super handy little guys. I've been carrying a proto for a few weeks now and I can tell you that I am more than pleased with it's performance. Talk about a great little tool... I was using it to open packages this week, break down boxes in the garage and popped a couple of beers with it too. :) And I'm doing the sheaths so that the bit will be accessible without removing the whole tool from the sheath. Neat little piece.

Still weeks away though from being finished...check out how close to the same I ground all these. Whew! :D

Web and Email Trouble

The Atwoodknives website is just having a heck of a time lately. My web host is having major problems with their server for some reason and for the past week it comes and goes frequently throughout the day. I have to call them every couple of hours it seems to get them to reset the server. This is really starting to tick me off and I'm afraid I've been losing some email lately too as this is also my email server. So please bear with me if you can. If they do not get it fixed soon I may be forced to move the site to another server and that will mean a ton of down time and a bunch of work. So I'm trying to put it off and see if the problems will resolve but it seems to be getting worse every day....

What's Coming?

In the weeks ahead this is what I have planned:

BugBites
Flat Ti Gasbabies
G2 Gasbabies
Crawdaddies
Bermuda Triangles
Triangle+
A51 Keytons (small batch)

Also a few new things are in the works, one is a SharkBite variant and the other a brand new tool with a cutting edge.

I'll be grinding for a few days so there won't be much action on the Available Tools page.