Monday, September 18, 2023

Plain Titanium Prybabies

Hi Folks,

Well it was a glorious weekend here in New England. I participated in a rare wood fired kiln session yesterday and that was quite an interesting experience. Salt and baking soda are sprayed into the kiln at the end which create a glaze on the pots and subtle color flashing effects that are highly coveted by traditional pottery enthusiasts. It's hot and grueling work, certainly a labor of love for those who wish to preserve the old ways. I only had a couple of my most crude test pots in the kiln as I have no idea how they will turn out, but other people had beautiful items in there so will be fun to see how it all finished up. The kiln will cool down enough by Wednesday to open it and I will try to get over there for the opening...meanwhile, today it's pouring rain yet again.

Today I have a small batch of plain titanium Prybabies for you. This newest version is about the same size as the originals, so a full sized tool, just a tad over 3 inches long, my traditional 5/32 thickness, V notch and rear pry tip. I opted for my favorite crenelated thumb rest area and added a 1/4 hex for the lanyard opening. This is a plain ground batch with basic grinds on the front end, and no anodizing or stamping. I am working on stamps for the next group of these as well as various A51 style extra grinds, and will be anodizing them. There are a few lefties today and in the next group too if anyone wants to email me.

Plain Ti Prybabies will run $70 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for dropping by and hope your week is going to be awesome!

Gone in a flash, thank you guys! Fancy ones coming later this week!
 

 

Friday, September 15, 2023

Friday Update

Well hello everyone! Coming to you today from soggy New England where we are finally drying out for a few days after two months of near daily rain storms. The only creatures happy this summer have been slugs and mosquitoes, lol. The rest of us are ready for some sunshine and less humidity!

I've been puttering along on projects. New Steel Mini Superbugs are almost done with the milling. I have prepped out steel Atomic Wedgies and they are now ready to be milled. I have a nifty new drawing called the SupaWrench, and am mulling whether to cut them in steel or not as it would be very expensive, but I might make a small run...the rest of the Zircuti MikroSpikes have just been cut and are in my hands so they will be finished in a week or two. I will be cutting a few Prybabies in exotic materials this fall, but in the meantime I do have a big batch of 3v steel Prybabies that are already cut and are awaiting further preparation and milling.

Some of you might be aware that 20+ years ago I was an avid high fire ceramic artist for several years. I stopped making stoneware pots when I got into the knife and tool thing, but over the years I often have missed playing with clay. Recently I stopped by to visit an old friend who owns a pottery studio and shop in nearby Shelburne Falls, and I discovered that she now runs a community clay studio in the old Lamson Knife Factory building (more on Lamson later). Since there was an opening, I promptly signed up and have  made a few dozen mugs this past two weeks. It is taking a little while to get my pottery chops back, but I'm having a blast and can't wait to share some of these with you! These are definitely not dainty little tea cups for fussy ladies at the bridge club btw, and I suspect you will be quite surprised with what is coming. Think wild textures and custom stamps... ;)

I was going to have a sale today but due to a scheduling conflict I have to postpone until Monday. I have a small group of plain Titanium Prybabies ready to go and am starting the stamping for the rest of the Prybaby batch today. I will be cranking out some of the previously mentioned Zircuti MikroSpikes very soon as well since they are already quite far along. Have a great weekend folks!