Monday, January 23, 2017

Copper Multi Grips!

Happy Monday Everyone!

Hope the 2017 winter is being kind to you all. It's actually been sort of mild here lately and not too hard to take this year, especially when the sun comes out. As long as we don't get any prolonged cold snaps or power outages I'll be pretty happy.

There's very little to report project wise...lots coming up though over the next two weeks so I'll be shifting gears from designing new stuff to doing finish work, packaging, photos, etc. It can be tricky at times to juggle it all when you're a one man show and everything takes twice as long as you think it will.

Today I have some new Multi Grips with rifle knurl done, this time in lovely tellurium copper. This material is very reactive to oxidation and it is already starting to build patina after just two days. These will become a rich warm brown eventually with bright copper highlights on the edges that get wear and handling. You can hasten the patina process in a sealed container by exposing to cooked egg yolk or other sulfur containing substances over night. Once darkened, allow to dry and then buff with a polishing cloth to shine up the edges and create contrast.

The Copper Multi Grips will run $30 plus shipping and I'll stick a limit of 3 per customer on this first wave. I have a few more on the way though for a future sale or for anyone who wants to email me. Thanks for dropping in today, and stay warm my friends.


Sold out for today, thanks again everyone!


Monday, January 16, 2017

Attention: Gear Heads!

Hi Everyone, and Happy 2017!

Hope the New Year is shaping up nicely for you. Things are moving right along here with much underway.

I just sent the CPM 3V steel 12Point tools out to heat treat and so those will be finished in a couple of weeks. More steel projects are in the middle of grinding so I'll be sending those out shortly as well.

A new Keyton version that I mentioned a while back, the K4, is now about halfway done too, just need to do finish grinds and the many final finishing steps on those.

Several bead projects are now underway and those will be coming on starting in a week or so, copper Multi Grips will lead off on those followed by new 5 flute Megas...Also the stainless steel mini shot glasses are close to being ready send out to the passivation step and then they will be coming along as well. The end of this month and all of February are going to be quite busy indeed!

And there is much more. I have been working on new drawings this past week and several of those have been finalized. A sexy new SuperBug17 in steel will be an interesting addition to the lineup this year. I plan to revisit the Wrunt this winter and possibly the Ghost, so those will be fun ones too.

I'm not a big fan of cold weather so the winter time is great for coming up with new ideas and drawings. I have greatly enjoyed working out new designs these past two winters and that important creative time has given me much to work with over the ensuing years. Hope to repeat the process this winter.

Well, today I have something a little different. Who says Lanslide beads have to be turned from round stock? Not me. In fact, I've been thinking about doing some kind of  "tool bead" from flat plate stock for a very long time. This concept may very well turn into a series. There are several possible material candidates and endless design possibilities. We'll see how far this idea goes but so far I really like them.

This first batch of Gear Head Lanslide beads are made of my exclusive krinkle textured titanium. They are the same diameter as a 5 flute Mega, so 5/8" in diameter. I have elected to anodize this first batch and they will come in my usual wide range of solid colors and fades. The center opening will hold a 1/4" hex bit (bits not included) so they essentially can transform from a bead to a miniature thumb driver. The deeply scalloped edges provide a ton of grip obviously, and they can be stacked with other beads in imaginative ways to form "compound grips" for normal lanyard applications. Pretty nifty stuff.

The Anodized Gear Head Lanslides will run $35 plus shipping. It's a modest sized batch so I'll make it a 2 per customer limit on them please. Thanks for stopping by today and for your continued interest and support in 2017!


Sold out for today but a few more on the way. Thank you everyone!