Ancient Artifact Bronze Beads

Howdy Folks,

It's a warm and humid week as we settle into the heart of summer. I've been busy on my gardens, trying to keep them watered and fighting off the critters. Deer have been a particular nuisance this year but some selective fencing seems to be warding them off for now.

Projects are piling up as I have finished the milling phase on several tools. I will have the tiny ThumbNail tools coming up very soon, and also some special Keytons. A mini PryDaddy Junior tool is underway and those will be coming next month as well. And I continue to play around with the Ancient Artifact series as well so look for a few more of those very soon.

Today I have a tiny batch of just FIVE of these really cool hand made solid bronze beads. These are highly unusual and feature wild textures and stamping. A little preview of the upcoming Ancient Artifact tokens that I have underway. They are mounted on shock cord as the opening on them is a bit too tight for paracord. I am not sure if I will be making more of these or not, so this might be it for these, or perhaps I might explore this concept more up the road now that I am getting better at manipulating and understanding the material, we shall see.

Bronze Ancient Artifact beads will run $55 each plus shipping and it is one per customer as the batch if so tiny. As always, the link is below. Thanks for popping in today and I hope your week is going great!

Gone in a jiffy, thank you so much!

 

Atwood Artifacts!

Howdy Folks,

Happy 4th of July weekend! Sorry for the long radio silence, but as you know there has been lots of stuff going on, everywhere and all at once. 

For the past year I have been spending a lot of time thinking about objects and our relationships to them, as well as the history of humanity, inventions and the development of societies. I'm fascinated by all that has come before us and what that tells us about ourselves and where we are headed, as well as my own humble place in the very long line of makers and artisans. Although I don't necessarily have any answers, I think simply being a curious observer is an important role that we all can play as we try to make sense of the rapidly changing world.

At any rate, as you all know, I have long been interested in symbols, as my stamped tools and pottery objects clearly show. I have always liked the idea of bringing very ancient and mythical symbols together with the craziest ideas and modern materials. And so we get dinosaurs and UFO's together on the most enduring materials currently known to humanity such as titanium or zirconium. Some of these materials, like pottery before them, are destined to literally last forever. But pottery is wonderfully durable itself and that is lucky for us because it gives us some of the oldest evidence for how ancient humans lived and what they thought. And sometimes the fragments left behind are as interesting and enigmatic as a whole complete piece would have been.

Today I have for you the first in a series of Mysterious Ancient Artifacts. These are stoneware clay tokens or worry stones. They vary in size from about a dime to silver dollar size. Crudely struck, they sometimes resemble ancient hammered coins or medallions, and many have tiny cracks and fissures that give them a wonderful ancient feel which is further enhanced with pigments during the firing process. I use many symbols on them which range from ancient to modern, with every subject under the sun, including heraldic images, whimsical portraits, aliens, Bigfoot, nature, dogs, weapons, monsters, bugs, pirates, and abstract patterns. Most of these are double sided and they often have wildly different themes on front and back. A few are name stamped, but most are not because it seemed important to me to take my own ego out of it and let these objects speak to future generations anonymously.

Atwood Artifacts are designed to be carried in your pocket, or keep them on your desk or windowsill. I have lots of these underway and so will have more batches coming up this summer. I also have a limited series in other materials coming up soon that I am currently experimenting with. 

These Ancient Stoneware Tokens will run $15 each plus shipping and the link is below. Have a great weekend folks, and stay cool!

All gone for now, but more on the way. Thanks again!

 

Zirconium Mini Hexy Beads

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Well, today is the day, the AC must go in. It's only supposed to be around 80f, but tomorrow it will get into the 90's and that will last for a couple of days. So I guess summer is officially here despite the crazy cool spells we've been having. We just aren't acclimated to it yet this year...

Today I have a couple dozen plain Zirconium Mini Hexy beads for you. These are a great size and weight, and the hard torch blackened finish will wear just about forever. That layer of zirconium oxide that forms from the heating is so darned tough and scratch resistant.

Zirconium Mini Hexy beads will run $30 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks as always for checking in, and may the rest of your week be a productive one.

All gone, thanks again!

 

Happy June!

Wow, it's hard to believe we're at June already! It's been so cool and chilly here that it has felt more like early spring than summer. My garden is not entirely happy, but I did get my first Alpine strawberry of the season yesterday so that is great. Will be in the 90's by mid week, so that's just crazy.

I'm going to try to get some grinding done this week so hopefully will have more tools coming up shortly. I still have more Zr E115s to finish, and a few more Pocket Squares. Also underway is a tiny titanium tool called the ThumbNail, and some other neat items to be announced soon...

Today I have another round of the Classic Count Sporkulas. A handy little titanium tool, and I just used mine last week at lunch. 

Count Sporkulas will run $55 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks as always for stopping by today and I hope you're gearing up for a great summer!

Sold Out, thank you!

 

Zirconium E115s: Wroid Edition!

Howdy Folks,

It's another dark and cloudy morning here in New England. We've had a lot of that lately, with much cooler temperatures than normal. Very unusual spring, and especially month of May. But, I will have the first Alpine strawberries of the year ripening in just a few days, so that is super exciting!

Today I have a lovely batch of Zirconium E115 Tools for you, in Wroid thickness! These are obviously chunky, heavy duty pry bars and they feature regular grinds. I had fun mixing up the placement of the name stamp so these vary a bit in layout. All are stamped and they have been well tumbled to achieve a buttery smooth feel. The torch blackened, hardened and oiled surface will resist wear for years to come.

I have a couple of lefties available as well if anyone wants to request one. This is the first wave and a second group will be coming this summer.

Zirconium Wroid E115s will run $85 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks as always for dropping by today, and I hope your upcoming weekend is a great one.

All gone for today, thank you so much!

 

 

Fancy Pocket Squares

Howdy All! And a Happy Friday to everyone. It's a lovely day here, and looks like they will finally finish paving our road today. It's been a noisy couple of weeks with constant beeping, clanging, and diesel engines roaring. Right now they have a giant leaf blower on a tractor out there that is driving me crazy. Aaaaahh!

I've been chipping away at projects as usual. I'm almost done with zirconium E115s, so those will be coming up hopefully later next week.

Today I have the rest of the titanium Pocket Squares finished. These are all stamped, and then they had a couple of rounds of contrasting anodized colors laid down to give them a cool distressed finish and make the ruler scales pop. I have my usual wide ranging stamps, colors and themes. Lefties are sold out, but if anyone wants to email me I also have a couple with stamps but no coloring for those who are allergic to color. :)

Fancy Ti Pocket Squares will run $85 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for popping in today and I hope your weekend ahead is a great one.

All gone, thank you so much!

 

Plain Titanium Pocket Squares

Howdy all,

We've finally been having a lovely stretch of spring weather here and I have been flat out with trimming trees and brush, preparing the garden for the season and cleaning out the garage. So many things to do, but I have made great progress. In between I have been steadily chipping away at the various metal projects too.

Today I have a little wavelet of Titanium Pocket Square tools. These are totally plain for you vanilla lovers...this hefty .160 thick tool features a stout pry tip, 2 inch measuring scale and 1/2 wrench opening. I made a little relief cutout on the inside corner so that I could hand grind all six sides and produce a reasonably precise tool. These aren't quite at a "Starrett" level of precision, but they are certainly great for a quick reference. The finish is tumbled for a buttery smooth feel.

This group is plain but I am working on a larger batch with stamps and anodized finish which will be coming up shortly. I do have lefties available today for the plain ones and a few more lefties still to finish, so please email if you need a lefty.

Plain Titanium Pocket Squares will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for popping in, and I hope your spring is going great.

Plain ones temporarily sold out but more coming soon, thank you!