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!

Limited Quantities

I'm a small batch maker of tools and knives. Although I make a fair amount of stuff there are always people who are unable to get my creations because they are often all gone by the time they see them available. Lately I have been hearing from more and more of these folks and how unhappy they are that they can never seem to get in on the latest release of goodies.

What has been much commented on lately has been the pattern of new items showing up on Ebay at hugely inflated prices. These are mostly brand new items, never been used. So obviously a few people have been buying good sized quantities of stuff for the sole purpose of reselling them for profit. I think it is interesting that many of the items actually sell at these prices and I am grateful that my work is held in such high esteem that somebody would actually be willing to pay $65 for a whistle for example. But I have to say I am not entirely comfortable with the situation. I think it is really unfair for the folks who just want to add a new piece to their collection or even just buy ONE piece, sometimes their very first Atwood tool.

Not everyone can check my site for updates and releases constantly during the day and I realize that. I have made comments in the past about robots being run to check my site. A few of them are still being run despite my polite request for the perpetrators to stop running them or at least curtail their use so as not to inflate my bandwidth. A few of these resellers may in fact be running bots in order to swoop in and grab some goodies the moment they are released.

So here's the thing....in order to level the playing field a bit...if I think you are buying items in quantity for the sole purpose of reselling for profit I reserve the right to deny you the purchase of multiple items. I'm not saying I won't sell you one of the new Widget X, I just won't sell you 4 of them. I'm also not saying that people can't buy something and then decide they don't want it, then put it up on Ebay. That's fine too. But when I see a pattern develop of multiple item purchases and then up they go on Ebay for scalper's prices then it's not OK.

I apologize in advance to anyone who that may piss of but the fact of the matter is I'd rather piss off a few people than continually frustrate hundreds. Fair is fair.

A Few Knives Available

Will be posting them as they are finished all weekend, or as long as they last, whichever comes first. :) MBOBlades first...

Sigh, Small Delays

Will be back in the shop today. Yesterday I had some unexpected business to attend to so nothing got done here. That in turn throws off my intended schedule for the week. But ya'll can take solace in the fact that my time yesterday was WELL spent and will result in nifty future offerings....good stuff is definitely coming just around the corner and I will be able to post teaser shots of some future offerings next week if all goes as planned. :D

Fall is Late This Year

But it has finally arrived. Although I dread what is coming next, this view out my study window is worth a thousand words.

Very Small Wave of Goodies

I know there hasn't been much on my site lately but I do actually have a few small items tonight. Not a lot though...will try to get some diamond knurl whistles finished over the weekend and I did make further progress on some knives today so they will be here soon.

Here Come the Fakes

I knew it was only a matter of time before someone started ripping off my designs. I'm not talking about folks making items that are similar, I'm talking out and out counterfeits. And not so surprisingly it turns out to be Chinese in origin. This titanium "Prybaby" showed up recently on a popular Chinese version of Ebay. Price $12. It is the first I have seen of what is obviously a blatant rip off.



http://auction1.taobao.com/auction/50008962-1718/item_detail-0db2-d5fd8aace59ec199235d77090e4afe47.jhtml

It really begs the question, why? Why is it that the Chinese can't come up with their own designs? Why is it that they make these copies instead of innovating? Why do they not have a sense of pride in their own creations and feel that they can just copy whatever they want? Why do they not respect what others have created? Why are they focussed only on making money at any cost including human and environmental costs? Why do we as a nation put up with it just so we can have our cheap dollar store goods and our Wal-Marts?

I'm not the only one who has had this happen of course. It is something that all companies must deal with and I have seen others going through all kinds of crap while trying to combat the fakes. I suppose it is a sign that I have "arrived" in some way and perhaps I should revel in this achievement. But somehow it still feels like a slap in the face.

BTW, In the above remarks I made broad reference to "the Chinese" as if all the Chinese people are guilty of this. Obviously they are not, it is certain people within their country and their government probably does not always cooperate in enforcement. I apologize for painting the situation with such a broad brush.

Slogging Away

I've been putting my nose to the grindstone lately and getting a lot of stuff done. Just got through with the big load of Crawdaddies and they are already gone! Currently I have a small wave of Bottlebugs and then after that I am still undecided on what to finish. I suppose I will have to buckle down and finish up more knives which I have been putting off as long as possible...I also have a few more Ti Bug Out Bars to get through and some misc goodies such as whistles of all sorts.

Here's a couple of damascus whistles that recently sold:

Update

I appreciate all the kind words everyone! I have been feeling unwell for a few weeks, experiencing symptoms of abdominal pain on the right side. I thought it was referred pain from stomach inflammation or ulcer and the docs thought it was gallstones. After various tests and an ultrasound and then days and days of waiting (I had to call them 7 times on Friday to get a damn answer!) I finally heard back that there were no ulcer causing stomach bacteria and no gallstones found and they didn't have a clue.

I began experimenting on my own because it seems like our health system is so screwed up that we literally have to be our own doctors these days. I had read that wheat gluten can cause inflammation in the stomach and sure enough, after cutting out all wheat products for just one day I felt better. After three days I felt totally normal. I'll continue to eat this way for a week or two and let it all calm down and heal itself. I do NOT have Celiac disease BTW, just an irritation of the stomach lining.

So, I'm on the mend and getting stuff done in the shop this week. This morning I will be getting a big load of Crawdaddies, Bottlebugs, G2 Mini Prybabies (all righties) and A51 Mini Keytons into heat treat and hopefully have them done for Friday or Saturday. I have a zillion things to finish up here and will try to get to some of it while I'm waiting for the heat treat to be over.

Under the Weather

I've not been feeling my best lately so progress has been spotty. We'll see how it goes over this weekend and if I'm feeling up to finishing more stuff.

O-Ring Size

People have asked what size the O-Rings are on the new tools. They are #109 on the O Ring size chart and measure 3/32" wall, ID 5/16", OD 1/2". I'm using the standard black Buna-N type but almost any of the materials available would work.

The Glow in the Dark style are usually made of silicone which is much stretchier. So would probably require a smaller size with thicker wall to produce the same degree of tensile stength. If someone figures out a size and source for good GID O-Rings that fit I'd like to know about it. :)

Check 'Em Out

These were actually electrically anodized on an experimental basis.

Wave of Ti Whistles

I've got a few ti whistles up on the site today. I have plain satin, electric blue and some wild heat colored ones. The heat coloring is impossible to control so the effect ends up varying a great deal from piece to piece. They look cool though and the layer of oxide on the surface of the metal is pretty tough.

Back up

Site is back up after being down for several hours yesterday afternoon. I'm also receiving my email again although it is still a little pokey.

Preview of Things to Come

G2 Minis

I've been wanting to do this for awhile. The new Generation Two Mini Prybabies have had a small facelift to bring them up to speed with my current designs. The 3/8" wrench adds another potential element of function. I really like the new look and hope you all agree. :)

Will have some finished up tomorrow afternoon, including at long last a few lefties. Imagine that, I finally remembered to do a few up for the patient and long suffering lefties out there. :D

Grinder Maintenance

I have to change out the bearings on my grinder in the next day or two so not sure how long it will take me. I may be down production wise for a day or two. It sucks that this would happen now but no time is a good time I guess so this is as good a time as any...

Temperature Gradient

Atwood BugBite!

I thought I'd do a few of these little guys in titanium. Overall length is just about 2.5 inches. I have applied an orange peel texture to the metal and then heat colored these for a more durable finish. The surface is much harder than conventional electrical anodizing and it resists fingerprints very well. The trade off is that it is impossible to achieve an absolutely uniform color over the whole piece, but that just adds to the charm in my opinion and makes each piece unique. Plain satin finish with orange peel will also be available.

Antique Pocket Tool

As you can see the thing is pretty crude but the idea is there. I should note that I had the idea of the captive object in the skeletonized handle even before seeing this piece with the wrench cut outs. Anyway, the piece is heavy duty, made of about 5/32" thick steel, obviously stamped out then the end had a very rudimentary screwdriver tip forged out from it. I estimate that is certainly early 20th century vintage if not earlier.

Well I'll be darned! A customer emailed me with information from the US Patent database and this tool or one very similar to it turns out to have been patented in 1898 by Vaughn and Bushnell and sure enough it bears the stamp V&B right on it. So it is likely right around 100 years old. Awesome!
No idea where he got it, but huge thanks to the Gadget Guy for sending it to me last winter. :D

Bug Are Up!

Got a few of the new tools ready today and posted them to the website... :D

Next Generation of Atwood Tools

I've been working through some ideas lately. Some of this stuff I've been dreaming about for a couple of years and I'm just now able to make it happen. My original idea for the O ring retention system kind of morphed into something else and I'm very pleased with the results. It's interesting how these ideas evolve and take shape and it's a lot of fun for me to go through the process. It's especially good when I can finally get to a finished design.

The BottleBug tool features a 1/2" wrench opening in the bottle opener area and a small pry tip/screwdriver.



The Crawdaddy tool takes the concept even further. It is loosely based on a late 19th century or early 20th century antique wrench tool that a good customer sent me for my collection. The antique tool had machine filed teeth and showed evidence of crude forging. I updated the design considerably and limited the sizes to just six: 1/4, 5/16, 3/8, 7/16, 1/2 and 9/16. The two holes where his "eyes" would be are sized for a bead chain for a convenient neck carry option if desired. The Crawdaddy is just over 3 inches long so it will ride well on a keychain or in a pocket too.



One of the things I like about this series is that you can store any standard one inch long 1/4" hex bit that you want. So if you want Phillips you can have it. Square drive, Torx in any size, 1/8" hex if you want one for your Strider pivot, tamper proof bits of all kinds. There are literally dozens to choose from but I will be supplying a nice USA made #1 Phillips with these.



The O rings keep the bit plenty snug and the bit is accessible from either side so the tool is ambidextrous. The last O ring partially covers the 1/4" hex opening and so when you stick the bit in the hole, again from either side, the tension from the O ring holds it in and keeps it from falling out on the floor. The bits are easy to slip in and out of the handle "breech", and indeed it kind of reminds me of sliding a shell into a rifle or shotgun.




These are underway and should start to be available in a week or two. And I have a couple of related pieces in mind for the future so it’s going to be an interesting fall....I should also mention that these things have the highest Fiddle Factor to date of any of my tools. :)

Still Grinding

Title says it all. I haven't forgotten about you all, just plugging away. It seems like I'm kind of stuck in a cycle of making without actually finishing anything. Hopefully the payoff will be a whole lot of stuff this fall. I have some new items up my sleeve that I'm anxious to share with everyone but not quite ready....stay tuned.

Regular Mini Keytons will be back this week.

Further Updates

It's cooling off here for a few days so I'm torn between working and playing. The playing part has been really good and I'm happy to report that there are some really nifty brand new tool designs that will be coming in a 2-3 weeks. These are related to my previous offerings but are also very different. Stay tuned!

Spannerbabies of any kind are permanently discontinued. I've made quite a few of them and it's time to move on. I cannot possibly make everything in my lineup as it is and so I'm going to be making room for new items. There are other makers out there who are working on new spanner tools and I'm sure they will be offered soon.

Shot glasses are still in the works but are being delayed a little longer. I had the choice last week to start working on them or make another run of titanium whistles so I chose whistles this time. Hopefully they will be done in a more timely manner than the last batch! I never did get the marking issue resolved with them but it really doesn't matter....they are simply gorgeous in person and ultralight weight. There are still a couple left from the current batch so please email me if interested.

What's Ahead?

I'm working on a small batch of Hexbabies which will hopefully be ready mid week. For tomorrow I am just finishing a very small batch of 3V steel Bug Out Bars and Micro Bug Out Bars. The next batches of these will be in titanium and will be similar to the one shown below...those will be available in a few weeks. Trying to get to more whistles this week and also the last of the talonite MSOPThings. Should be less distractions this week and I'm feeling a little better so more will get done this week I think.

Slow Week

Kinda slow this week while I work through some minor injuries but I'm still getting a few things done. I have a nice batch of Keychain Prybabies and a few 3V steel Bug Out Bars going into heat treat tomorrow so maybe by the end of the week I can at least get those back on the site. More regular steel and brass whistles are also coming. I still haven't gotten to the Ti Mini Keytons that are sitting in the final stages before completion but will try to real soon. Also a couple more talonite MSOPTHings...

In the meantime, here's a prototype for those of you looking for a little eye candy. :) I hope to do some of these in September. Full sized 6" x 1" x 3/16" thick titanium Bug Out Bars with O2 cutout for first responders and 1/4" hex drive hole.

Keychain Prybaby vs. Original Prybaby

With the recent batch of Keychain Edition Prybabies I have several people write and ask if they received the correct one. I have increased the size of the Keychain Edition Prybaby slightly in this last batch and it is now 10% smaller than the Original, rather than the earlier batches which were 15% smaller.

Thus, the new Keychain Prybaby is 2 7/8" long compared to 3 1/8" long of the Original. It is not a lot but I felt that the first batches were a touch too small and my intention was that I wanted to give people what I feel is the best product that I can make. My apologies if some feel they are not small enough.

Missing Galleries

My One of a Kind and Past Work galleries are turned off temporarily until the crazy blog traffic calms down. I was mentioned in the Cool Tools blog last week which caused my traffic to increase to astonishing rates, literally several thousand people per day coming through. A couple of days of this caused my bandwidth to exceed the current limits and I had to move my whole site to a different server. Cost me a ton of time and a lot of money for my webmaster to do three days worth of changes. I should be in a lot better shape now though with a new plan that allows much greater bandwidth in case this happens again or if the higher traffic is sustained.

Server Switch

We have had to switch servers for Atwoodknives.com because of certain technical reasons. We are no longer on Phlaunt.com. The new URL is below:

http://www.atwoodknives.com

I'm hoping the move was glitch free and so far it seems to be. Thanks! :)

Making a Kydex Sheath

Here's a 5 minute clip of the steps involved in making a kydex knife sheath. Had a lot of fun making this one and fiddling around with the editing software.

Handwork!

Check out these moves as I debur one of my favorite little tools. Notice how I lean into the piece a little on the straightaways for a heavier removal. But then I back off and just barely pop the prytips where I want to preserve the square edges.

Robots

Dear Atwood Fans,

My webmaster is giving me a hard time about people running automatic software to check my site for updates. There have been a couple of people over the last few months who are significantly running up my bandwidth and transfer rates by checking my site once every minute. I'm asking you to please knock it off as it is a total pain in the ass to block these robots and it is wasting her time.

Let me be clear: We're talking about people running up 65,000 hits per week, not the folks checking 20 times per day. I appreciate the interest in my stuff and I know I'm having trouble keeping up with demand but you'd do better by emailing me every couple of days if you are that interested in obtaining an item. Thanks for your cooperation.

New items coming at the end of this week: Gasbabies, Hexbabies, talonite MSOPTHings, more ti mini keytons, Nothing will be released for the next three days as I am taking some time off for a family related activity.

Bending the XL Prybaby

Just in case you were hungry for a bit more in the ShopFlix series....:D

Whack Whack!

The last step before heat treat. :)

Cord Wrap Video

Here's a little something for all you cord wrap junkies...

Keep 'em Coming...

I know, it's the dog days of summer and your thoughts have turned to cold beer and the delights of air conditioning...luckily it isn't too warm in my shop yet this year. It will get a lot warmer though if the hot and humid spells last too long. Well, it's certainly warm enough for me and unfortunately my production tends to suffer with the temperature rise. I figure slow and steady wins the race though. :)

Here's a couple of recent goodies. More coming in the next few days!


Blue Tongue Damasteel Whistle:




Satin finish full sized Titanium Keytons:



Titanium GasBabies:

John Russell Cutlery

I had a really fun time today visiting the site of the historic John Russell Cutlery building in Turners Falls, MA. I took a bunch of pics and put up a separate blog devoted to it. Fascinating stuff and if you'll pardon the pun, a real slice of Americana. :)

The Russell Cutlery was a very important knife and tool maker located on the banks of the CT River from the 1870's until the Great Flood of 1936 wiped it out. The famous Green River Knife produced at the Cutlery was one of the most coveted tools taken with the settlers during America's western expansion of the mid to late 19th century.

Anyway, here's a link to pics and comments:

http://johnrussellcutlery.blogspot.com/2007/07/welcome.html

HexBaby

Here's the proto for the HexBaby. As in the GasBaby, the bottle opener area features a 7/16" wrench. Then you have hex sizes in 5/16", 1/4", 3/16" and 5/32". Wanted to get 3/8" in there but couldn't get it to lay out right. Maybe I'll fiddle around with it some more next time.

I am considering a metric size tool and will explore what the common sizes would be that will fit on the tool sometime over the summer. It could possibly be a bike tool version, we'll see.

It's a Gas, Baby!

Thought I'd put up a little teaser of an upcoming project...these will be coming in about 2 weeks or so. The Prybaby CG takes the basic Prybaby concept a little further, incorporating a 7/16" wrench at the bottle opening area and adding a 1/4" hex drive hole on the bottom right. The Compressed Gas or "CG" part comes in with the oxygen cylinder wrench, an excellent option for first responders or others in the medical field. Further function is introduced with two standard sized Acetylene tank wrenches for plumbers, welders and other tradesmen. The 58 Rockwell CPM 154 steel measuring nearly 3/16" thick ensures that these wrenches will last just about forever. A second variation featuring hex openings only is also coming at the same time.

Working, working, working...

I was working on the Ghouls and SOPTHings all day starting at 7AM this morning.The sheaths are coming along very well indeed. I made huge progress and will have the Ghouls and a few of the SOPTHings up on the site for purchase tomorrow.

Ghouls Coming Back

Will have some more of the CPM 3V Ghouls coming along in a few days, probably after the full sized Son of PryThings. This will be the last batch of the 3v Ghouls and no more will be made when these are gone. For those not familiar, these are the small chisel ground drop point blades with the cord wrapped handle and screwdriver butt end. Neat little personal carry tool blades.

Son of PryThings

Got a few of the Minis available now and a few more in the finishing stages. The full sized ones are also in the final stages and will be up in a day or two.

Waiting

I'm waiting on inserts for the ti whistles and so will be a few more days until release I think. I may also have my logo laser engraved on these whistles because my stamped logo has always looked like crap on the curved surface and ti is particularly springy and uncooperative under the hand stamp. Depending on cost I may send the entire balance of this batch in all materials out for engraving and that will add yet a few more days. So patience is the idea here for now. ;)

Huh, Wonder What This Is? :p

Check it Out...

Couple of these are in the oven curing...

I Know What You're Thinking...

"But Peter, what about us lefties?" Well fear not my Southpaw brothers and sisters...I saved the last three titanium Prybabies for you.

What! Not Enough for You?

Two talonite Skeeters....:D