White 5 Flutes

Happy Friday Everyone!

Summer is creeping up on us this week and we finally got a few brief rainstorms to relieve our parched lawns and gardens. We could use a whole lot more though and it does look like more storms are in the forecast this coming week. I can't remember having a spring this dry before in my whole life. Crazy weather...

I'm rapidly finishing several minor projects this week and have some items ready to go. Today I have beautiful 5 Flute beads in white Delrin. This is a high strength plastic material from Dupont, also known as acetal resin, and it is very tough and lightweight. It also machines well and so is used widely in industrial applications and in countless products. It does not stain or hold dirt so is a great choice if you want something extremely durable in a white color that will stay white no matter what happens to it. I paired it up with a fantastic "Rockstar" rainbow cord and the two work very well together.

A sister batch of black Delrin 5 flutes will be done next week so that will make for two permanent 5 Flute color choices that are colored through and through and do not rely on coatings or anodizing to maintain color.   

White Delrin 5 Flutes will run $25 each plus shipping and no limit on the batch. As always, thanks for stopping by and have a fantastic weekend everyone!

White ones are gone for now, thank you so much!

GripCoins!

Hi Folks,

We're headed into the holiday weekend and the weather is simply glorious, albeit a bit dry. We could use some rain here soon or the farmers are going to be suffering.

At any rate, the projects are moving full steam ahead. P13 Prybabies are at heat treat and should be coming back in a week or so. I am almost done with Mini FunnyBones and hope to get them sent out in a couple of days...The little T-Wrex Roid tools that I posted on the ToolBook will be on deck for grinding right after FunnyBones. And two new Prybaby designs got added to the queue just this week as well as another updated older item.

Coming up around the end of next week will be Carbon Fiber RubRats. These are a slick little keychain spacer item to help prevent your fancy pocket tools from getting scratched up by your other keychain items...like keys for instance. :)

Also coming are Chilly Beans. These are my stainless steel version of the "whiskey stone" and are a turned item. Basically a Giant Super Mega Bead.

Also on the way are ultralight black delrin 5 flute beads...and also white delrin 5 flutes. These are turning right now and I will be tying a lot of cord this weekend in preparation for them.

Today I have the long promised GripCoins finished. What exactly is a GripCoin you ask? Well, this is an interesting concept that I have been thinking about for quite some time. On older cameras especially, the ergonomics are such that using one for any length of time can result in severe hand fatigue. And hand fatigue means you may miss the shot. If you study the evolution of camera design you will see that the big manufacturers began to incorporate better grips starting in the 1980's. Very aggressive grip designs have appeared in the more recent cameras of the past decade or so, often making them quite bulky. Some notable exceptions are Leica which apparently will not relate to this issue whatsoever. If you look around you will see add on items meant to address the problem such as the Thumbs Up or leather half cases with a thumb bump built into it.

Anyhow, the minimalist design ethos absolutely predominates in today's smaller point and shoots and in other electronic devices such as cell phones and tablets. Manufacturers are looking for the simplest and cheapest method of production and ergonomics for the user appear to be an afterthought. Instead they rely on more and more complicated software features to keep us mesmerized and distracted from physical design. They make these devices so darned slippery that it's a wonder anyone can hold them....so I set out to find a simple solution.   

Enter the GripCoin, a concave stainless steel disc with a low profile and 3/4 inch diameter. The inside of the GripCoin is stepped to provide both a visually appealing and a positive grip surface for fingertips. The outside is knurled to create a second way to grip the disc, by wrapping fingers or thumbs AROUND it. The round shape means that this becomes a 360 degree custom grip point that can be added to virtually any clean flat surface.

To adhere GripCoins to devices I turned to specialty adhesives. It turns out that our friends at 3M have the solution, a special high tack thin film adhesive called 300 LSE. This stuff is available in precut discs which work perfectly for this application. It's slightly expensive but well worth it. The adhesive is very sticky and can even take considerable side pressure without coming off. But, if you want to remove it and reposition the GripCoin it is very simple, just warm it slightly with a hair dryer and carefully pry it up with fingernail or pry tool. (You do have pry tools available right? :D) Any tiny amount of remaining residue will easily come off by rubbing with a finger....

GripCoins are definitely repositionable but I recommend that you try a piece of doubled up painter's tape or Scotch tape first to get a firm idea where you want the grip to be, then go ahead and use the provided adhesive disc for permanent positioning. I will be including two discs of adhesive with each GripCoin so there will be a backup if you mess up or exhaust the sticky surface of the first one. And I can provide additional adhesive discs for a small cost. 

One word of warning, the adhesive appears to be totally safe for most surfaces but does have the potential to damage delicate leathers if you lift up at a sharp angle. So you are on your own if you stick them onto older cameras with fine leather coverings. Use some common sense!

The difference in ergonomics that this tool makes is often dramatic and is instantly apparent. Stick them onto fine film and digital cameras, pocket point and shoots, sporting goods, large flat folding knife handles and the backs of cell phones and tablets. I think there may even be some applications in some sporting goods and perhaps certain firearm grips. I leave it up to the creative and inventive EDC community to find ways to use these that I may not even have thought of...and if you have no grippy use for them then they also make neat little "worry stones" for your pocket.

The GripCoins will run $25 each plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a relaxing weekend ahead!

GripCoins are sold out for now, thank you very much everyone!

Bronze Roll Bars

Hi Folks,

Well, it's been a slow start to the spring for us this year but we're finally warming up here in the northeast. I've been swamped with a zillion house and yard chores, many of which have been put off for way too long. But great progress has been made, much to my better half's satisfaction, and I'm starting to turn my attentions back to the old grindstone.

.........................................................

Project Updates:

I've been putting in many shop hours lately despite all the other distractions and am happy to report that tools are once again moving steadily through the pipeline. I just sent the CPM 3v P13 Prybabies out to heat treat. And I have a second CPM 3v tool that I'd like to send out at the same time, a chunky little thing in full Roid thickness called the T-Wrex. Very excited about this one and I had to move it to the head of the list to get them done. Hope to get them out to heat treat by end of next week. Also well on the way to being finished are Mini FunnyBones and those will be going to heat treat next week as well.

And then there are the Wheelman bike tools in titanium. This is a new design and I have a large batch that I am working on, plus a second batch in CPM 154 steel for later in the summer.

I finally finished the small stainless steel GripCoins. These are small machined discs that can be adhered to slippery cameras, electronics and sporting goods using super high tack 3m adhesive dots to provide a 360 degree customizable grip point. They are so slick and handy...they look cool and work exactly as I envisioned. The difference they make in the handling and ergonomics on these devices is amazing. Pics and more info coming soon.

More 5 Flute beads will be coming this spring in delrin and hard anodized aluminum. They should start turning by end of next week.

Carbon fiber RubRats are in production and will be coming in 2-3 weeks hopefully. What is a RubRat? You will find out shortly and your keychain tools will thank you. :)

And there are other projects in the works as well, about a dozen more at least. I'm going to try to make a push to get some of these completed soon so please stay tuned!

..............................................................


Today I have a sweet batch of Alloy 655 Bronze Roll Bars finished. These are gorgeous and are starting to get a nice patina on them already. I can't wait to see how they will look after some wear and age but I'm guessing they may turn out to be the prettiest Roll Bars yet.

The Bronze Roll Bars will run $58 plus shipping and I will make this tool a two per customer limit on them. The order link is below. As always, thank you for your patience and for stopping by, it's always much appreciated!

Bronze Roll Bars are sold out, thank you everyone!

P10 Prybabies

Hi Folks,

Sorry for the long silent stretch but I've been very busy catching up on spring yard chores, painting the house trim, staining the deck, fixing roof leaks, doing taxes, cleaning the shop, fixing my tumbler and other machines and trying to work on tools in between. This winter was so brutal that a ton of maintenance stuff got put off and I've been paying a heavy price this month. Plus I had to take a few days off on the warmer days just to relax for a change.

Anyway, I just got the new P10 Prybabies back from heat treat. This is an updated Prybaby design with a few small changes. The P10 is made of CPM 154 in the usual 5/32" thickness, overall length is slightly longer thank previous Prybabies at 3.5", wrench sizes are Imperial 1/4-9/16... I added a dedicated lanyard hole so that a lanyard will no longer interfere with the wrench openings and can also be used as a keyring attachment point. And there is an additional dedicated 1/4" hex opening. This results in a slightly larger tool but it has great ergonomics.

Another way that the tool could be carried would be on bead chain or cord by threading the chain through the lanyard and hex openings so that it could be hung on the neck. So there are lots of possibilities there for you to personalize the P10 to your favorite EDC requirements.

For the P Series I've decided to beef up the V notch area. I eliminated the traditional angle cut which tends to get chewed up if folks actually use the tool hard and is nearly impossible to fix once the steel is hardened. The old style V looks cool but is less practical in some ways. I think this simpler configuration will prove to be stronger in the long run although traditionalists will no doubt give me grief over it. I will have another version coming later this spring (the titanium G6) with the old style V notch as well so no worries.

Also on the way in a month or two will be a metric version of the P10 and those will be in CPM 3v steel. And there is a batch underway already of the P13 which is also CPM 3v steel. The P13 is identical to this design but it has my Sine Wave style grip that you have seen for the past year or two on many tools rather than the Hexi style edges.

The P10 Prybabies will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. It's a small batch so limit of one per customer please on them. Thanks for stopping by and hope your week is warm and pleasant!


P10 Prybabies are sold out, thank you so much!

 

Bermuda Triangles with Hexi Edge

Hi Everyone,

Looks like a very reasonable week ahead here in New England...temperatures should be in the 40's and even the 50's so hopefully we will get rid of a lot more of that pesky white stuff. I'm looking forward to some warmer days, especially in the next week or two so I can catch up on some long neglected house and shop maintenance. Winter has taken its toll and the shop is long overdue for a good cleaning.

I'm getting much closer on the first batch of CPM 154 steel Prybabies. Those will be going out the door and headed to heat treat by the end of this week. The second batch of CPM 3V Prybabies is also already well underway and if I can just keep my nose to the grindstone those should be following sometime next week. After that I will be grinding more steel tools...GripCoins are getting closer too as well as something heavy, round and unexpected.

Today I have a small batch of 5/32" thick Titanium Bermuda Triangles with fine stonewashed finish. I've been doing a lot of anodizing lately so I thought I'd slip in a few ti pieces for the Vanilla Crowd...there's no shame in that btw, just ask my wife: when presented with 24 flavors of ice cream I usually pick vanilla!

Anyway, this batch has a different edge shape than the previous Fractal Edge series. I'm calling this one the Hexi Edge version and it features my familiar hex shaped grip edge. I think they have a terrific elegant look to them and combined with a long slow tumble they have a soft feel in the hand.

The Hexi Edge Bermuda Triangles will run $65 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for stopping by and have a great week ahead!

Plain Hexi Triangles are gone but anodized ones are coming soon. Thank you!

The Hatchling: It's a Roid, It's a Roid!

Happy Spring Everyone!

It can't get here too soon in my opinion, still pretty cold here in the Northeast.

I can't remember where I first saw little openers in this style. It might have been at a backyard keg party in college or maybe it was at someone's house during a March Madness basketball game. But for a while it seemed like they were everywhere. Usually they were made of aluminum but then over the years I have even seen them in hard plastic with a metal insert.

The one thing that has been a constant is that I always found them lacking in one way or another. Sure, they open bottles just fine but the lanyard hole is always too small and they just don't have much else going for them aesthetically. Lately I have seen some that were much thicker than the old ones as if thickness alone would fix the poor overall design decisions...although why making something so thick that it crowds out your keys is beyond me and besides, what if you don't have a huge keyring?

Anyway, for several years I have thought about making a new tool that would take this simple design to the next level. I wanted to add a little more function to it and up the ante on the overall aesthetics of the piece. This is a first attempt at doing just that.

The Hatchling is a cute little thing, and I think you will agree that his arrival is just right for the season. Even though he is small, at only 2.5 inches long, his massive .260 inch thickness certainly qualifies him to be a member of the Roid Family of tools. The hungry little mouth is a 5/16 hex wrench and of course he is very thirsty too. The tiny egg from which he came is a 3/8 hex wrench. And if you turn him on his side his nose becomes a screwdriver which doubles as a Mini XL Pry Bar.

Even though I consulted my Sibley's Guide to North American Pocket Tools, I'm still not sure just what species the Hatchling is, but he comes in a wide variety of colorful plumage. There are some solids, color fades, rainbows, and even some unexpected effects. Where possible I have tried to preserve some of the texture of the thick titanium plate stock to add character. Some of the resulting textures and color combos are very interesting and unusual.

And for those of you wanting a plainer and heavier piece, I have a big batch of these coming in 1/4" CPM 154 steel in a month or so.

The Hatchlings will run $65 plus shipping. I'll make it one per customer on them and, as usual on these mixed up color batches, I will send you what I send you so no color choice. As proud new parents though, I think everyone will be delighted and get along fine with the new arrival!

Thanks for stopping by everyone and hope your weekend is a relaxing one.


Hatchlings are gone for now but more are coming soon, thank you!

R25: Ti Rulers Return!

Howdy Folks,

We are finally getting some melting here this week! A minor ice dam caused us a little leaky roof trouble this past weekend but thankfully now seems to have healed itself...I continue to climb up into the attic and monitor it every day though just in case. Pain in the butt and I will be happy to see the end of this tough winter.

Well, I am still fighting this R25 Ruler batch but am making great headway and I finally have enough done to do a sale. Originally I had hoped to split the batch in half and do one sale for plain ones and one sale for anodized but for a variety of reasons I decided to just do one batch of anodized pieces for now. I'm afraid those who wanted plain will have to wait until I can get to a batch of the 3 inch stainless or bronze ones. Hopefully those will be forthcoming at some point this spring or summer. However I will have to get a handle on production costs because I can't believe what these ended up costing me to make, let alone all the time I poured into the finishing.

At any rate, I am so pleased with how these tiny ruler tools have turned out. They are made of .160 titanium so are quite hefty for the size, sort of like a little ti nugget. They feature a simple 2 inch scale on the front side and a 5cm scale on the obverse. Hence the name R-Two-Five which stands for "Ruler: Two Inch, 5 Centimeter". The marks are CNC engraved rather than laser marked so they are deep, V shaped for accuracy and will be quite permanent. An O2 wrench, 1/4 hex opening and cap lifter complete the tool.

Although the R25 could be carried on a keyring I had originally envisioned them to be used as a pendant so they are drilled with two small holes to accept the included length of bead chain. They are anodized in a wide variety of solid colors, simple rainbows and color fades. Sorry, I can't give a color choice, I will send you whatever I send you, but rest assured they are all gorgeous!

The R25s will run $65 each plus shipping. The batch is a bit smaller than I had originally hoped for so I will have to make it one per customer please. The purchase link is below. Thanks for stopping in and here's to warmer days just ahead!

Rulers are gone for now, thank you so much!

Roll Bars Militare

Happy Weekend Everyone!

We're finally getting a tiny break from the bitter cold and that should get the maple sap starting to run finally, albeit a week or two later than usual for sugaring. Maybe if we're lucky we might even see the edges of the enormous piles of snow and ice start to melt just a little bit this week. Of course more snow is on the way tonight.

So much neat stuff is on the drawing board that I'm just about bursting at the seams to tell you about it.

Progress is once again being made on the little R25 ti rulers and they are coming along nicely. The engraving will be done in a few days and then I can start finishing them up. I posted some teaser pics on the Toolbook group for any of you who aren't on FB already. Hopefully I will have the R25s ready by end of next week.

In other news, several new Prybabies are on the way. The first batch of CPM 154 pieces is now ground and I'm just waiting on some carbide drills and new diamond files to get the prep work finished so they can be sent to heat treat. The second batch is CPM 3v and those have had the first steps of prep work completed but I still need to grind them, etc. so they are a ways off. The third batch is titanium and they are about to get milled. The fourth batch is metric and in CPM 3v. They are still on deck for cutting.

Then I have a bunch of other projects drawn up, some of which are already underway. I'm really excited about the Wheelman (in both steel and ti), the 80's Classic Roid (steel and ti), R37 Ruler Tools, GripCoins, Qubes, Wrants, more Tombstones, updated Mini FunnyBones, the Small Fry, StrapOns, the Lobsterman and a few others. Yes, I have been very VERY busy this winter thinking about new designs, improving older designs and playing with new EDC ideas. I can't wait to start getting some of these done so I can get them into my own pockets.

Today I finally have the HA III Aluminum Roll Bars completed. These are made of 7075 Aluminum, very similar to the grade that they make M16 receivers and extension tubes from. It's incredibly strong for an aluminum alloy and also featherlight. I have given these a fine bead blast finish and then sent them for Natural Finish Hard Anodizing so they have a tough, low light, military look and feel to them. The black o-ring and hardware really complete the package. Throw some matte black gaffer tape (find it at Amazon) on there and you will be ready for wherever the action takes you.

The AL Roll Bars will run $45 each plus shipping and the link is below. I'll make it open quantities as the batch is generous in size. Thanks for stopping in folks and for continuing to support me in my efforts to explore new designs, materials and ideas. As always, I'm extremely grateful!

First wave of these are gone for now, thank you so much! 

Bermuda Triangles Revisited

Hi Everyone,

Bitter cold here this week (-10F this morning!) and the snow has been unbelievable so far this year. The piles are getting higher and higher with no real melting in sight. I sink nearly to my crotch in the yard so this is about as deep as I've seen it in a long time. I would think that the flooding on the Connecticut River this spring will be spectacular.

Well, it's possible that the first ruler project might start moving forward again this week, we shall see. Once they finally get going with the CNC marking then the final finishing should go fairly quickly as I already have put many hours of preparation time into them.

The first wave of new Prybabies are moving along quickly and should be ready to go to heat treat in a week or so. I was able to put in two days on them this weekend and will be grinding them next on the schedule.

Hard Anodized AL Roll Bars are back from plating and I should have them ready shortly as well. They are feather light and look fantastic!

Well, I had mentioned that I was going to be revisiting some older designs this year and today I have the first of several of those designs ready to go. The Bermuda Triangles were first made probably 6 or 7 years ago or so, I really can't remember now. But I always loved the fiddle factor of them. Recently I was trying to find one of the old ones to play with amidst the chaos and clutter of the shop and office. I couldn't locate any after a brief search so I decided to simply take a look at the drawing and see about making an updated version. Sometimes it's really nice to be a maker!

Anyway, this is version 1 of the new Bermuda Triangle and a second version will also be forthcoming soon. These are cut from .160 titanium and feature a new edge treatment design I'm calling the Fractal Edge because it uses the same 120 degree angle as the main triangle shape, only smaller. I decided to ditch the cap lifter in favor of a closed edge shape and I think the design is much stronger now. The tool has 1/4 and 5/16 wrenches and O2 wrench in addition to the main 7/8 hex opening. The fiddle factor of these is off the charts...I tried to vary the anodizing on these as much as possible so they are as different as I can make them although there are a few repeats and some solid colors in the batch. I can't give a choice of colors, I will send you what I send you, but they are all really neat and the colors are vibrant.

The Bermuda Triangles will run $65 plus shipping, one per customer please, and the purchase link is below. Thanks for stopping by today folks, and stay warm this week!  


These are sold out for now, more on the way soon though. Thank you so much!


 

Zirconium 5 Flutes

Happy Friday Evening Everyone!

Today I have a teensy little batch of Lanslide beads to close out the week...these are made of the exotic and expensive material Zirconium. This was the first time I have worked with this metal and I gotta say, it's really weird stuff. Kind of reminds me of a very dense and heavy titanium in that you have to be careful sanding it because the dust is highly flammable. With Zr the fumes are also quite unhealthy and it requires heating with a torch to achieve the final blackened finish. So a good respirator and adequate ventilation are a must when working with it. It's interesting stuff and I'm glad I tried it finally after all these years of hearing about it, but not something I will probably bother with again. Cool finish and final look though.

Anyway, the Zirconium 5 Flute Beads are $45 plus shipping. It is a strict one per customer limit on them please since the batch is very small. Thanks for stopping in and have a great weekend!

Zr 5 Flutes are gone, thank you!

Plain Titanium Roll Bars

Howdy Folks,

It's been cold and just a little snowy here lately as winter grinds on. Not much relief in sight either.

As much as I hate being cooped up in this type of weather I have to admit that it is probably good in the long run. Being bored at home removes a certain amount of distractions and it gives me a chance to work on new drawings. And I have sooooo much new stuff on the horizon both for this winter and well into the spring. I feel like a kid in a candy store and am just frustrated that it all can't happen at once. Better that it doesn't though because slowing things down gives me a chance to make sure that the ideas are really fleshed out to be all they should be.

Update on the rulers: The first one will be a tiny one and if all goes well on it I may have some finished in about a week or so. I have another ti tool in progress that I think will appear before the end of the month. For steel tools the progress has been much slower and I need to squeeze in some time for grinding. But there will be four brand new tools coming over the next three months and at least two reprises/updates to older designs. And possibly a couple more too depending on whether they perfect that cloning technology and make a few more of me. Hehe...

Well, today I have the remainder of the Titanium Roll Bars done. These are plain with no anodizing. The batch is very small so it will be one per customer on them please. The link to order is below. Thanks for stopping by today everyone and I hope your week is a warm and toasty one!


These are sold out, thank you so much everyone!

Titanium Roll Bars!

Happy Sunday Everyone!

Well, no football games today so for the first Sunday in several months I'm not sitting in front of the TV watching sports and packaging up items, tying strings, etc. That's OK though, I'm anxiously looking forward to next weekend which should be quite the game. We'll see if my team prevails or if our hopes will be deflated. :p

In other news, they are calling for a huge snowstorm Monday night and into Tuesday with at least a foot or more coming our way. So I thought maybe I better get my butt in gear and get a sale in today so that everything can ship out tomorrow ahead of the weather.

Today I have a very special offering...brightly anodized titanium Roll Bars! These are so gorgeous that it's killing me to part with them but I guess I will have to.... Anyhow, these little beauties are anodized a variety of brilliant colors. Some are just one color such as UV, electric blue or bright green, but mostly they have various color fades, multi color effects, etc. I was having fun with them and trying to vary the batch as much as possible. Sorry, I cannot honor requests for specific colors, I will send you what I send you, but rest assured every single one of these is a keeper.

This is the first wave of the ti ones and probably I will have just enough for one more sale in a week or so. But the first batch is fairly small so I will make it one per customer on them please. They will run
$65 plus shipping and the link is below....thank you as always for stopping by and I hope your weekend has been a great one.

Ti ones are gone for now, thank you everyone!

Oh yeah, just one more thing...Go Pats! :)

Plain Ti Atwrenches

Happy Tuesday Folks!

Man, it's cold this week again, supposed to be below zero again tonight. At least we have the sun today. It's definitely not my favorite weather but it's good for getting some work done.

The Roll Bars are all on their way as of this morning. I'm not sure yet what I will be making next but I'll keep plugging away at it. The first of the little ruler tools will be at least 2-3 weeks away probably. A few more Roll Bars will be underway by next week...

Today I have the remaining titanium Atwrenches done. I decided to leave these with plain stonewashed finish for the folks who are seeking simpler user tools. If there is one thing I've learned over the years it's that for every guy who likes "Chocolate Fudge Brownie" there's always one who prefers "Vanilla", as I often do myself. :D

The plain ti Atwrenches will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. The batch is small so I'll make it one per customer to give more folks a chance at them. Thanks for stopping by today and have a terrific week ahead everyone!

Ti Atwrenches are pretty much gone, thank you everyone!

More Roll Bars with Rifle Knurl

Howdy Folks,

Today we're recovering from a somewhat nerve wracking but ultimately gratifying football weekend here in New England. The snow is falling steadily and I just heard the town plow go by...we're supposed to get at least 4 inches of the fluffy white stuff according to the weather forecast. Looks like a good day to stick around the house and do a little sale.
Today I have another wave of stainless steel Roll Bars with rifle knurl completed. They are $48 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping by today and hope everyone has a great week ahead!

Roll Bars are gone for now, thank you everyone!

Rolling In 2015

Hello Everyone,

Well, the holidays are now behind us and I hope it was a great time for you all. I was contending with a nasty stomach bug for most of last week but am back to my old self again finally. Winter has truly arrived here in western MA and we are looking at a thin layer of snow and ice on everything. Temps are frigid right now and going down in the single digits or below 0F overnight most of this week. It's to be expected this time of year and honestly, aside from the Thanksgiving snow and power outage we are getting off relatively easy so far.

I have numerous projects underway or in the planning stages as I map out what I want to do for 2015. I have some stuff that I did not get to last year that I need to finish up such as the second round of Tombstones. There are still a handful of bead projects yet to get to and a few other odds and ends.

Some winter projects for 2015 will include a brand new ruler tool. The R25 (that's R-Two-Five) will be a tiny tool with 2 inch and 5cm scales. Following that, I will be doing a reprise of the original ruler tool with few minor changes (R37) and then perhaps a couple more new variations after those. We'll see how they go from the production standpoint but judging from initial tests I am confident that I can achieve the high quality that I am after, far better than my previous attempts with this genre.

Also coming will be some updates to a couple of older favorites, details coming soon. So far I do not have any knives planned but the year is very very young so we'll see how things unfold.

.........................................................................................

Today I have the first wave of 2015 Roll Bars done. I decided to switch to my favorite rifle knurl and am absolutely thrilled with the results. These are just gorgeous... I find the rifle knurl to be very elegant and by far my favorite look.

Anyway, Roll Bars are turning all this week so this is just a first wave and more of them are on the way. I'm considering some other materials and/or variations, so there may be others coming this month as well.

The Roll Bars will run $48 each plus the shipping and I will put a limit of two per customer on them so that a few more folks will have a chance at them. The order link is below. Thanks for stopping in and I'm looking forward to a fun and productive 2015 ahead!

Roll Bars are gone today but more coming in a few days. Thank you!

With 1/2" neon "Spike" tape

   

Happy 2015!

Happy New Year Everyone! I'm just getting over a nasty stomach bug and am drained so no parties for me this year but that's OK. I will be back at it next week. Hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday. :)

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas!

I just want to wish everyone a wonderful Christmas and New Year's! I hope you all have a good time this holiday and stay safe and warm. Also, I want to thank everyone for making 2014 a really great year for me, one of the best yet. Much new stuff is coming up for 2015 so keep your seatbelts fastened, it's going to be terrific. :)   

Fancy Titanium Atwrenches

Hi Folks,

Thanks for the great sale yesterday.  I was able to raise $1100 for the three local organizations and the donations have been made. Thank you so much and I know that everyone in this area will be very grateful to have those services continue to be available. I may make some further donations as well when I get some time to take a breather from cranking out all these goodies. :)

As I mentioned below, someone at the post office late yesterday afternoon mistakenly set their scan machine wrong and so the tracking is messed up on the packages I sent out yesterday. Don't worry though, this happened once before and everything did reach the recipients in the usual time so no worries! Of course, mail is a bit slow this week due to the holiday volume but I am sure most everything will get there OK and I hope before Christmas for the US bound packages. If anything does go missing beyond a week or so just be patient or email me and we'll see if we can track it down.

Today I have a few Titanium Atwrenches done with fancy Vintage Style Anodizing! These are once again tough to photograph and get the vibrant colors right but you can get the idea I think...multiple textures and multiple anodizing steps make these very special indeed. The colors range from warm gold and orangey copper tones to bright pinks, UV purples, deep electric blues and minty greens. Some of these effects I have never been able to achieve before so I'm stoked for what they portend for future projects as well. I'm definitely keeping a couple for my own collection...

Anyhow, the Fancy Ti Atwrenches are $75 plus shipping and the link is below. I have a limited number of these so will keep to one per customer please. There are a few more on deck but not sure if I can get to them right away so this is all for now...thank you for stopping in today and as always it is much appreciated!


These are Sold Out for now, thank you everyone and have a great weekend!

  

Tracking

Hi Folks,

The PO received the packages I dropped off yesterday and they mistakenly scanned them as delivered in Turners Falls. This has happened before. All packages are on their way to the correct destinations so just ignore the screwed up tracking message. Thanks!

Peter

Titanium Sweethearts!

Hi Everyone,

Woohoo, the holidays are coming fast! At the beginning of December I always think that time is stretching on ahead in abundance but the closer that Christmas looms the more time gets crunched. I think we nearly approaching black hole compression levels now.

Anyhow, I'm still scrambling here to get some last minute work done. The days are quite overcast lately for the most part so it's a challenge to get nice light for photos...especially when those photos are of colored titanium, which is already very difficult to capture accurately. Therefore I can only give you approximations in my images but I think you will find these objects to be quite vibrant in real life.

Today I have a big batch of Titanium Sweethearts done. These are a bit thicker than the stainless ones and measure a hair under 5/32 thick while still weighing slightly less than their prior counterparts. I spent a lot of time playing with these little guys and the results are nothing less than intriguing.

The Sweethearts feature multiple surface textures and multiple anodizing effects. The final finishes are absolutely stunning. I have tried to vary not only the edge colors and surface plane colors but the textures as well to create both interesting contrasts and light catching effects. Even with the same general color combinations no two pieces are exactly alike.

As before, I will be donating a healthy portion of the Sweetheart proceeds to charity. In this case, given the time of year, I'm making those donations to several of my favorite local community organizations which are sorely in need of funds such as the Food Bank of Western Mass, the Brick House Teen Center, and the Turners Falls Public Library all of which provide vital services. It's always good to give something back to the local community.

The Titanium Sweethearts will be $55 plus shipping and I will make it a two per customer limit on them please. The link to order is below and if it is not there when you see this post it means the sale is over and they are sold out. Thank you as always everyone, I hugely appreciate your enthusiasm and support this year and hope that you all have a wonderful Christmas and New Years!


Ti Sweethearts are sold out for now, thank you so much everyone!