What's a Wedgie?

Well, the traditional definition involves a dastardly deed in which the unlucky recipient has their underpants grabbed from behind and forceably pulled up their butt crack. Unpleasant to be sure. But I decided that it would be a great name for a new tool....

The Wedgie is what I call a "Kubatool". It measures 5 inches long by well over 1/4" thick and is made of the super tough CPM 3V steel. It is configurable, that is you can take the cord wrap off and make it into a koppo stick or use it bare. There are 5 evenly spaced holes drilled in the tool so you can cord wrap or tie finger loops in several different ways. The tool could go on your keyring or in your pocket and comes standard with a protective piece of tubing slipped over the end to keep it pocket friendly. I will also be making optional kydex sheaths for them for neck or belt carry. Can be used as a kubaton, a koppo stick or my personal favorite which is prytool, chisel or wedge.

There have been many other kubatons on the market before but I think this one is rather unique. Definitely puts the phrase "giving a Wedgie" in a whole new light. :) Will have the first batch available in a couple of weeks.

New Wharncliffes

I'm having a lot of fun with these two new pieces!

The CPMS30v Wharncliffe Booger is really cute on the keychain and makes for a very practical small blade. Wear it around the neck and it just about disappears under your shirt. I will be appropriating one for myself I think. :)

The CPM 3v Wharncliffe Scout makes for a slightly larger package but it is even more useful as a utility blade. Nice EDC piece for a belt or as a low profile neck knife.

Been Experimenting

Here's something new and different, a damascus belt buckle! Made of Mike Norris Raindrop damascus with a nickel silver backing and exactly sized for a 1 inch wide belt. The buckle was a collaboration with my good friend John Moore who has been a jewelry and buckle maker for 25 years. His father of the same name may be familiar to some readers as the owner of Mission Knife and Tool. This is a one off piece and I'm not sure if any others will be made or not, will be extremely limited quantities if so.

Tanto Booger

This was the last of a series of 3, Mike Norris Raindrop damascus.

Another Tool Knife

I'm really digging this little guy. Calling it the Scout. First in a series of protos...

NutBangers

My buddy Brian has started making these cool little flat fobs. These are the latest and feature 3 titanium 1/4-20 nuts tied into them. I believe he will be offering them in plain, bead blast, or anodized finishes. The nuts make great worry beads for twiddling. :) (you can turn them) He's on vacation for another week or so but we'll be seeing lots more of this stuff coming.

More Nano Madness

This was the ? piece from below. I thought it turned out quite nice from such humble beginnings. :) On it's way to a new home today.

Fan Mail

I have gotten some very cool letters over the years. Lots of fine folks have taken a moment to thank me for my tools and service. I appreciate everyone who takes time to send me a note! It really makes my day when I know that my gear has arrived safely and that the recipient is enjoying it.

Every once in a while though something comes over the transom that is just too cool for words. Got this today from a good customer who also just happens to be an archaeologist:

"Hello, Peter!

I just returned from Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia on Tuesday and thought I'd drop you a line to tell you how much good use I've gotten out of the tools you provided. The whistles were especially helpful in keeping track of one another in deep canyons and the knife was constantly on my hip all summer...I used it for everything from cutting rope to skinning a sheep and it works just great. Of course, I'm now unable to function without a PryBaby on my person, so I'm looking forward anxiously to having one in Damascus some day...

Anyway, thanks for all your great work, Peter!"

That was definitely the letter of the week! :)

What Is the Next Cool Thing?

That's the question I am trying to answer every day. Here are some of the other questions that often pop up at the same time....

What would that cool new thing be? If I did come up with something how many should I make and how should I make them? How much would it cost to make them? How much time would it take me? How many steps would be involved and can any of them be eliminated? Is there a better way to make this thing? Is there a cheaper way to make it? Is there an element that would give it something extra and would that be worth considering? What if it doesn't fly, then what?

So I make a proto. Damn, this thing is pretty neat! I bet I could sell a couple of them anyway so it's probably worth putting them out. Which brings me to the next round....

How much should I charge for them? What if that price is too much? What if it is too little? Can I afford to discount them to dealers? What materials should I use? Do I have enough material in stock? If I add another thing to my lineup will I still have time to make everything else? If this thing turns out to be a big seller will I have to drop other items in my lineup just because I don't have time to make all this stuff by myself? Will I lose my mind trying to keep up with it all?

What about all those things people are clamoring for? What about that batch of such and such that I promised to So and So about two months ago. If I make these now I won't have time to get to So and So's stuff. How about Dealers A, B, C, and D? I don't have a clue when I'll get time for them but I really do have to keep them happy.

What about the holidays? It sure would be nice to have some of these for the holidays. But if I make these now what about all the other stuff I was thinking I will need for the holidays? Like whistles and Prybabies® and Bug Out Bars and Imps and Goblins and Micro Bug Out Blades and Micro Cards and Boogers and all those titanium versions of items?

Damn it! They're too cool. I HAVE to make some.

So you see, that's what I'm up against everytime I think about the next item. Will it be worth it? I sure hope so. What will that next thing be? Well, you'll just have to wait to see for yourself. :)

edcforums.com

I just have to say a few words about the gadget and gear forum edcforums.com. The guy who started and owns the board, Jon S. Burlison, is just a total class act. He is a very bright and generous person who I have spoken to a few times on the phone and exchanged quite a few emails and messages. Jon is full of cool ideas and really has his head on straight as far as I can see. Recently I tried to send him some funds in support of the forums and he called me to tell me that he was returning the funds, that he felt I had already done alot to support the forums and get it going. Then he followed that with an order for my gear. Wow. Hat's off to you Jon! :)

I also have to thank Monica for a great job in maintaining the forums and the other great moderators such as Karen, Heath, Todd, Bravo 25 and probably others that I am forgetting. You guys are just great! I would also be remiss if I didn't mention a few of the wonderful members such as GG, DH, Knightrider, TKC, KMCrawford, M Tex, Joe G., Badgerboy, Stillphoto, Jem, Simbad, Colby and many many others. Every board needs a bunch of hardcore regulars to keep it going.

What I really like about the edcforums crowd is that the group is very diverse and that helps give a fresh perspective on things. Since the board isn't focussed primarily on just one thing such as knives or guns as most other boards are, it allows for a lot more discussion on other pieces of gear, general carry methods and day to day strategies for preparedness. And it tends to bring in a lot more of the flashlight and techie folks into the usual mix which I think really adds a nice dimension to the discussions.

Damascus #2

Here was piece #2 from the batch below. Man, I love that Odin's Eye!

The Elements of Design

There is a rule of thumb in the knife and tool world that when you are about to make something that might be close to someone else's design that you contact the other maker out of courtesy and ask if the design or even elements of the design are too close to theirs. I have done this with other makers and people have come to me and shown the same courtesy. It is the polite and respectful way to go about it.

Usually the concern is nothing to get excited about and the prospective maker was being a little too sensitive and overreacting to a specific element that they thought was similar to the original. Often there is no cause for concern and the original maker gives their blessing and seal of approval to carry on. But if something does prove to be a little too close then the parties have a chance to work out the differences and avoid public embarassment and confrontations.

Recently I came upon an instance where there was a disagreement but we have resolved our differences to the satisfaction of both parties. Lessons learned on both sides and we're both the better for it. :)

Damasteel Mini

Hey, remember the Odin's Eye Damasteel pieces I had shown below? Here's how the first piece came out, the Mini:

A Peek in the Oven

A peek in the oven. Temp was at about 1700F. on it's way to 1950F.

After Heat Treat

Here are some pieces after heat treat. You can see the thin scale and discoloration. After bead blasting these will become a uniform gray in appearance.

What's for Dinner?

Or I should say, what's in the oven? :)

It's finally not as hot and humid today so I'm running the heat treat oven. Managed to scramble the last couple of days and got a lot of stuff done. In this load are a couple of Son of PryThings, some Mini Prybaby® XLs, some Prybaby® with spanner XLs, some Imps, a few Micro Bug Out Bars and a few regular Bug Out Bars, some tanto Goblins, the damascus goodies that I wrote about and photographed below and last but not least some wharncliffe Boogers. Not a particularly big load for the kiln but enough to keep me busy afterwards for quite a while.

Heat treat temperature has to go up to 1950F. and be held for approximately 30 minutes, then the pieces are removed and either press quenched between aluminum blocks or set onto thick metal plates (in the case of the Prybaby® pieces) to air quench.

I usually squeeze quite a few packets of tools into the heat treat oven, two pieces per packet. I have had as many as 90 pieces in a single load if they are small and compact. This load has 68 in all and represents more than a week of work to prepare. The packets are made of heavy stainless steel foil that has been folded and creased over a couple of times. The idea is to exclude air but at the same time not so tight as to completely remove the air space around the parts. I have found I get less scale forming if the packets are left a little on the roomy side. This will translate into less work after the heat treat to clean up the little bit of surface scale which inevitably forms to some degree. The commercial guys don't get this problem because they heat treat in a vacuum environment in their special ovens.

Once the heat cycle is complete, the pieces are pulled and they are allowed to cool down to room temperature. At the same time the oven will be cooling down and when it reaches the 650 degree range I will put everything back in for the two tempering cycles. Each cyle is 2 hours and I let the oven cool back down to room temperature in between cycles. I leave everything in the packets for tempering as that covering continues to protect against scale formation.

One exception is the damascus. It has been double wrapped with two pieces of foil, a packet within a packet. This really helps to cut down on scale and I do it on special pieces. After heat treat the packets containing the damascus pieces are put back into a cooler oven for the tempering, usually around 350F. for about an hour. Once completed I can proceed to finish sand and etch the pieces.

The other exception is with the CPM 3V tools, which are the prybars and the Imp knives. They will go through two more cycles at 950F.

After all the heat treat tasks have been completed I can move on to blasting and finishing. Then will come sheaths for the knives and cord wrap for the prytools. The spannerbabies will go back in the oven after blasting for a final heat coloring tempering cycle at the same 600F. temperature for 30 minutes or so. Then they can be tiger striped.

Back Up and Running

Got the controller all squared away and running. Three cheers for Rob Frink, he's just great! :) Now my grinder is making a little noise on start up that I think might be one of the bearings. Won't be too bad of a fix if it turns out to be a problem but I am headed to the hardware store for a refill on my grease gun tomorrow and hopefully a little lubrication is all it needs.

Working on another load of stuff for heat treat. Boogers of all kinds, more Mini XLs and hopefully some Imps. It's rather hot and humid in the shop right now and progress seems painfully slow but I'm determined to get a bunch done this weekend. Looks like next week will not be as productive due to some unforeseen family obligations so I have to strike while the iron (and the titanium) is hot.

You've Got to Be Kidding Me

Those were the words that came out of my mouth followed by some choice expletives yesterday as I flipped the switch on my grinder. I have a variable speed controller for the 2 horse Leeson motor and for some reason it up and died on me just as I was about to sharpen a knife. I flipped the switch and nothing happened. No lights on the unit to indicate that it was getting power. I checked the circuit breaker, got out the multimeter and checked the outlet and it had power. So apparently it just stopped working. May have been due to a power surge or something as we were having some violent weather in the region yesterday.

Anyway, I got on the phone with Rob Frink at Beaumont Metal Works and explained the problem. For anyone who does not know, Rob is an outstanding businessman and he makes what is arguably one of the finest belt grinders that there is, the mighty KMG. Rob walked me through a few diagnostics and concluded that the problem was not something that could be determined over the phone.

The upshot is I will have the new unit overnight FedExed to me and then will send the present one in for repair. The unexpected outlay of $500 and some odd dollars was not entirely welcome but I cannot afford to be without a grinder for more than a day or two. I have a second more modest machine, a Coote that I purchased secondhand this past winter but it isn't hooked up to a motor yet. Now it looks like I will end up with a second variable speed controller so all I need for it is a motor and I will be styling with two variable speed machines! The Coote takes a smaller belt though so it is limited as far as function but still nice to have a backup machine. And worse comes to worse I can always swap controllers if need be.

Ah well, such is life. :)

Been Quiet Around Here

Hello everyone, sorry for the long absence. I've been up to my eyeballs with alligators as the saying goes. Just spent the weekend cranking out some basic stock. Mini Prybabies®, Spanners, Keytons and such. Have to cover the basics first before getting back to new knives. My plan is get my basics replenished so I can get things turned back on on the site.

I'm hoping to start some new pointy stabby things later this week. Might take off for a mid week overnight getaway with my wife up to Burlington on Tuesday but not sure yet. We'll see how we feel and how the weather is going to be. That is one of the cool things about being self employed, although I often work through the weekend I can sometimes make time when I need it.

Start at the Bottom

See the sequence of making these pieces by scrolling down the page. Then work your way back up.