Black Cherry Multi Grips

Hi Everyone,

Happy Spring! We're in full swing here this week with pleasant temps and abundant sunshine. The flowering trees are doing their thing and our eyes are itching and our noses are running from the pollen...always my favorite time of year regardless.

I've been preoccupied with spring cleanup chores and a variety of other endeavors but progress has still been made, slowly but surely. I'm working on a new Mini Prybaby design that will fit in nicely with my past ideas and I think you will enjoy them. Also starting work on the steel version of the little Gremlins. And I have a VERY unusual tool on the way in a month or so that will surprise everyone, an older idea finally brought to fruition...I'm still working on the rest of the titanium Wiener Dogs and will have those done in just a few days. And after a minor last minute setback, the titanium Termites are very close to finished as well so there is lots of nifty ti stuff on the immediate horizon.

Today I have the next offering finished in the series of Multi Grip beads. These hard anodized aluminum Lanslide beads came out even nicer than I expected. I wanted to tone down the color a bit so I gave these a gentle matte finish before sending them out for anodizing. I was anticipating something similar to the Red Zombies last year so the result really surprised me. These are a rich, deep, dark red that I'm calling Black Cherry. Paired with a gray camo cord they are simply stunning.

The Black Cherry Multi Grip Lanslide beads will run $30 each plus shipping and the limit is 3 per customer on them. The link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping in folks and have a fantastic weekend ahead!


Black Cherries are gone, thank you so much folks!

Wiener Dogs!

Hi Everyone,

Well, that merry old trickster Mother Nature gave us another blast of winter this week and laid a thick  blanket of that pesky white stuff on the ground. With the frigid temperatures the snow will be hanging around for a few days but I think by next week we will be free and clear...well on our way to warmer and sunnier days ahead.

I don't have too much to report as far as projects go. I've been catching up on paperwork for taxes and thinking about taking a few days off this month as soon as the nicer weather arrives for good...but I keep chipping away at it all so rest assured, lots of new goodies are on the way.

Today I have the second tool done in the Little Jimmy series. These cute little guys are called "Wiener Dogs", simply because of their long skinny nature. They are about the same length as the original Little Jimmy, 3.5 inches long, and are made of the same .200 thick krinkle texture titanium. The Wieners replace the rounded pry/push tip of the LJ in favor of a combination cap lifter and 5/16" open wrench and offset screwdriver/extra leverage pry tip borrowed from the 2015 Hatchling design. This style gives the tool a little more versatility and function as well as a nice grippy head to grasp on a key ring. I think they look very cool and I've really enjoyed testing these on my own keys these past couple of weeks.

The first wave of Wiener Dogs will be in a plain non anodized finish for a change instead of my usual anodized colors. Lots of people have request plain textured ti tools recently so I will split this batch up and offer them both ways. The anodized half of the batch will be coming in a week or two but today all I have finished are the plain ones. Let me repeat that: I have ONLY non colored ones finished right now, haven't started anodizing the others yet. :)

Wiener Dogs will run $65 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping in everyone and I hope your week is shaping up to be a great one!

Plain ones are sold out, thanks again everyone, much appreciated!  

P13 Metric Prybabies

Howdy Folks,

And a Happy April to everyone! This is my favorite time of year for a variety of reasons and I'm certainly looking forward to the warmer weather and blooming flowers ahead.

Well, it was a tough week this past week. My computer died and ended up in the shop for a few days but luckily is all fixed up for now. But that distracted me and slowed down progress a bit in the shop. Then a problem developed in a machine which I am still working on fixing, but nothing critical, so the show will go on as they say...


Projects are moving forward despite the little glitches. The Wiener Dog tools are well underway and will be finished in a few days. They are the second in the Little Jimmy series and I think you will enjoy them. In other news, I continue to pick away at the Termites and those will be coming in mid April. I'm still working out the final forms, but a really fun little Mini Bermuda Triangle piece is coming as well and I hope to deliver a surprise TWIST to them. And if I ever get my lazy butt in gear and get some cord cut and tied I will have another Lanslide offering. This is what is great about April 4th...even though the Red Sox probably will suck this year at least they provide a little entertainment while I tie bead cords.

Well, today I have the long promised CPM 3v steel Metric P13 Prybabies done. These are my usual .160 thick stock so they provide a decent weight and thickness without being too heavy on the keys. The wrench sizes are my old odd number metric scale, 5-15mm, because these tools were actually cut a year ago and I'm just now finally getting around to finishing them! BTW, I noticed this morning that I incorrectly wrote on the cards that the wrench sizes were 7-15mm but I double checked and they are indeed 5-15mm. At any rate, going forward, when I make metric tools I will only be using the newer all inclusive wrench scales, 7-12 for Minis or 7-14 for full sized tools.

The 3v Metric P13 Prybabies have a light antique patina finish on them. They will run $70 plus shipping and the purchase link is below. The batch is not very big so it's on per customer on them as usual...have a wonderful weekend everyone and hope spring is coming to you soon as well!

These are sold out, thank you so much everyone!

 

    

Titanium Gremlins!

My Dear Friends, 

I never mentioned this to anyone, not a single soul, but it happened one extraordinary night last September. I still don't know what to make of what I refer to now as The Incident, but I can tell you this: it's amazing how much can happen in the span of a single crazy minute.

It was a warm evening so the windows were still open. Light breezes wafted in bringing with them the delicious scent of decaying leaves and damp earth. Perfect sleeping weather, or so I thought.

I woke up in the early hours to strange glowing lights outside my window. At first I thought there was some kind of accident out on the road, but then I realized it was happening right on my lawn. I threw open the window screen and peered outside. Blinking rows of blue and red lights were coming from a large cigar shaped object hovering silently just above the ground with a small circle of crab grass and dandelions clearly illuminated below it. 

Just as I was considering running to the other room for my camera, out of the corner of my eye I spied my trusty Area 51 Chigger on the bedside table moving mysteriously of it's own accord. I tried to react, but I was too late! The Chigger danced just outside of my flailing grasp, then flew out the window as a powerful tractor beam pulled it rapidly towards the craft. Briefly the little tool was enveloped with a brilliant white light and then I lost sight of it completely as it disappeared inside. 

Suddenly, as quickly as it had appeared and without a single sound, the entire craft lifted off and then vanished, and the yard returned to an inky darkness. An distant night bird called and then all was quiet except for the ceaseless chirping of the crickets. I was left wondering, was this a dream or did it really just happen? I looked over at my table for confirmation and sure enough, my precious Chigger was gone!

Well, I'm happy to report that the Chigger was safely returned some months later in the US Mail, in a plain brown wrapper with no return address. Or maybe it was just an hour that felt like months... Whatever happened during that time we will never truly know, but it's safe to say that various bizarre and mysterious quasi-medical procedures, plus alcohol, were probably involved. 

Anyhow, the Chigger has recently given birth to a large litter of adorable bouncing baby tools (who knew that the Chiggers were female? Really, I had no idea...good thing I had named mine Sam...) so we can assume that the Alien experiments were a resounding success! I'm calling the cute offspring with their fat little cheeks Gremlins. 

Titanium Gremlins will run $55 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping in everyone, have a great weekend, and remember...keep your windows closed tonight. ;)


Gremlins are gone for now, thanks again folks! :)

 

3V Mini Wedgies!

Hi Everyone,

Well a big happy Wednesday to you all! It's a lovely day here in Massachusetts and we seem to be well on our way to the earliest spring in memory. We'll certainly take it without complaint.

Projects have been rapidly rolling along towards completion here at Atwood Studios. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at some of the neat little items that are on the way over the next few weeks...the tiny little titanium Gremlins are just about done and will be revealed in another couple of days. The 3v steel Metric Prybabies likewise are nearly finished and will also be done shortly. Titanium Termites are not far behind either as are a cool new bead offering. Lots more is underway too so there will be no shortage of nifty new tools, accessories and toys in this next period of time.

Today is the big day that many have been eagerly awaiting these past several months. It took me a ridiculously long time to get to them all but finally the Mini Wedgies are done! These little monsters are made from the identical massive CPM 3v stock that I made the T-Wrex tools from so they are quite formidable. The thickness measures a respectable .280 on average so they are very thick indeed. The length is 3 inches. They feature a large pry tip with nail puller V notch, a snug 1/4 hex opening that accepts bits one way and an O2 wrench which doubles as the lanyard or key ring opening. There is no left or right on these, they are all stamped the same way. And no grind variations or decorative stamps, all are straight up.

The finish did not turn out quite as dark as the T-Wrexes so although most of them have an antique looking finish they tend to look more red than black in the crevices. I have not oiled these so if you want to keep them from developing surface rust then you should oil them with any kind of light machine oil, WD-40, household oil, even olive oil. Personally, I like the patina that develops on tool steels from the combination of surface oxidation, oiling, using and abusing over time and I would encourage folks who worry about such things to put such concerns aside and Embrace the Patina. Remember, In Rust We Trust. ;)

Mini Wedgies will run $80 plus shipping and it is a one per customer limit please. The order link is below. As usual the batch is probably not big enough but it would be nice if most of the folks who really want one of these can score one. Thanks to everyone for your great patience and enthusiasm and I hope a pleasant early spring is headed your way as well.

Wedgies are sold out! Thanks so much everyone. :)

    

 

Push/Pry: Say Hello to Little Jimmy!

Hi Folks,

Happy March to you all! That sun is getting stronger and the temperatures are starting to warm up a bit lately. Spring is definitely on the way, my favorite time of year.

Project Updates: The 3v steel Mini Wedgies are at heat treat now so will be coming back in a week or two. Same thing with 3v metric P10 Prybabies. Meanwhile there is all kinds of new titanium stuff coming as well, and some of those projects are in the final stages towards completion. Rest assured there are a ton of new items coming this month and the festivities will continue well into April!

So today I have an interesting new item to offer. This was something that was suggested to me last year by an older gentleman and I thought it was a great idea. He wanted a slim stick that he could keep on his keys or in his pocket that he and his wife could use to press elevator buttons, ATM buttons, etc in public places so as to cut down on the spread of germs, especially in flu season. I'm a little late in getting these out in regards to flu season which is winding down, but I figure it's a timeless concept as those nasty microbes aren't going away anytime soon.

Anyhow, at first I was thinking of making something round for this project. But after much thought I decided that I would be limiting myself in functionality because it's just too costly and too difficult to add useful features in lathe turning. So I turned back to flat stock designs and my favorite new Krinkle Titanium material.

The Little Jimmy (aka FluFob or SikStik) measures a slender .45 inches wide by 3.5 inches long and a hefty .200 inches thick. The features include a rounded push/pry tip, 1/4" hex opening and oxygen wrench/lanyard opening. There are plenty of grip areas along the tool that will make this a nice addition to your key ring. The tool could also be used as a last ditch self defensive tool or pressure point stick as well. And, a second variation design with even more features is on the drawing board and will be coming this spring.

These are anodized in my usual wide variety of solid colors and color fades. I can't promise certain colors, I'll send you whatever I send you, but they are all gorgeous! 

These will run $65 plus shipping and the batch is small, so one per customer please. Thanks for stopping by today and as always, thank you so much for your continued support.


Little Jimmies are gone for now, thanks again everyone!

Fancy Hangmen

Howdy Folks,

Started out a bit dreary today but it's now sunny and very mild this afternoon here in Massachusetts. Compared to last year this winter has been a breeze and we are all looking forward to an early spring, which is really only just a few weeks away.

I've been working steadily on several projects at once this past week. So even though it doesn't seem like much is happening, it's actually just the opposite. This is the time of year when I tend to have a lot of ideas too, so lately I've worked out a bunch of new drawings and have started preparing for a whole lot of nifty new tools.

The prep work on the Mini Wedgies is finally getting closer to finished. The milling is done on them at long last and I just have to do the extra grinds and final cleanup to get them ready for heat treat. Same with the P10 metric Prybabies. Both of those projects are 3v steel.

Also well on the way to completion is a cute titanium mini pry bar tool which I mentioned previously, the Little Jimmy. Krinkle Ti Termites are about to be milled also. A brand new design, the Gremlin, is a definite go and that one will be cut shortly along with some variations of it I think, in a variety of materials. I have several more bead projects coming up shortly, as well as the next design in the shot glass series, slated for late spring. There is a brand new mini tool on the drawing board for those of you who like the really small items, and two new Prybaby variations that I think you will find quite intriguing. I'm also looking at a Krinkle Ti Mini G3 Keyton variation and reprises of several older designs which I am still considering. Tons and tons of cool new stuff ahead this year!

Today I have a very small batch of fancy Hangman 2.0 tools finished. These have alternate style grinds, some extra grinds and most have two tone contrast anodizing.

The Fancy Hangmen will run $70 plus shipping and the link to purchase is below. Thanks for stopping by today everyone and I hope your weekend is delightful!


Sold out, thank you folks!

 

Ti Sweethearts

Hey guys, just a reminder, coming up next Sunday is a VERY significant day....and you sure don't want to forget about it because I hear the Dog House is rather chilly this time of year! Haha...

Besides that critically important sentimental card, the lovely flowers and the really good DARK chocolates you might want to consider some other small token of your affection. I recently came across the remaining titanium Sweethearts, finished them up and thought I would offer them this weekend as a cute little something for the sweetheart in your life. Definitely a much smarter choice than a vacuum cleaner, trust me on this...

These simple key fob openers are made of brushed titanium, .160 thick. Most of them are various shades of pink and UV purple, with a few rainbows and colors fades as well. She'll love it even if Every Day Carry culture isn't exactly her thing!

The ti Sweethearts will run $50 plus shipping and the link is below. Thanks for stopping by and have a great Super Bowl Sunday.


Ti Sweethearts are all gone, thanks again everyone!

 

Stamped Zirconium Mini P15s

Hi Folks,

Happy Super Bowl Weekend! After a long period of relatively mild temps and bare ground we are finally getting some of the white stuff falling today. It's light and fluffy though and I don't think it is here to stay for very long as it will be in the 40's F. this weekend. Sure is pretty at the moment.

Well I have a cool little surprise for you today. After much hemming and hawing I finally decided to do another Zirconium 702 tool. I could have done almost anything but I chose the SAE Mini P15 as it is one of my current favorite designs. These tools are made from my "normal" thickness stock, .160, so they have just enough heft to them, the weight falling squarely between titanium and steel. The material has a subtle sandy texture to it which is the natural mill finish on the sheets. The deep black finish comes from a long process of sanding, tumbling, blasting and burnishing. Finally they are slowly and gently FlameWashed, one by one, and then oiled to bring up the final shine.

In addition I have stamped these Prybabies with a wide variety of both my antique and modern stamps. Great fun and a nice way to showcase this rare and exotic material.

The Zirconium Mini P15s will run $110 each plus shipping and obviously it's a one per customer sale. The link to purchase is below...have a terrific weekend everyone and enjoy the big game on Sunday.

These are sold out, thank you once again everyone!

  

T-Wrex Winner List!

Wow, another terrific turnout. Thank you so much!

Without further ado, here is the randomly drawn list:

5 Ansel1

47 Elysium1230

48 tmw

81 Andwoodle

82 Hammertime

112 JHS

138 stnphoto 

161 Eskerbillion 

165 parallax

172 kevinK

177 Joe

178 SexyT-Rexy-baby!

186 alva

192 Bkturnr

229 Kahowell13

250 Jalessi

355 buckerroo1

366 NickNardone

380 artmax

392 Han

393 BadKarma

394 Hope to get it

405 jdbeltran

420 bluejay68

Thanks again everyone, will send the emails out shortly!

Xtra-Wrex!

Hi Everyone,

Well, January is rapidly drawing to a close and I'm always happy to see it go, because it means spring is not too far away now. This year we have lucked out big time, especially compared to the miserable winter we had last year. Luckily the big storm last week missed us entirely and we currently have no snow cover at all. That's hard on some local wildlife and certain trees but it's quite pleasant for humans and for my winter heating bills!

Much progress has been made this week. I worked on a broad variety of projects. Almost ready to send CPM 3V P10 Metric Prybabies to heat treat. 3V Mini Wedgies will be next on the steel to do list and they are already well underway. Krinkle ti Termites are cut and I started prep work on those to make them ready for milling. (They will be straight btw, no XL bends because bends on interrupted edges cause micro cracking and high rate of tool loss.) I also came up with a couple of brand new drawings, one of which is headed for fast track production: Little Jimmy, aka the SikStik. And in other news I managed to secure a nice supply of the gorgeous Krinkle textured ti material before it disappears forever, enough for several years of future projects. Lastly, I am finishing up the last steps for some rather special Mini Prybabies and those will be forthcoming very soon.

Today I have a little Sign Up Sale for you. I have a couple dozen heavy duty Roid CPM 3V steel T-Wrex tools with extra grinds and vintage finish. These are the remaining pieces from last year's batch and I just got around to putting the final touches on them. They are identical to the originals but have extra grinds, mostly of the face grind variety.

The Xtra-Wrexes will run $90 plus shipping and the link to sign up is below. (If the link is no longer there it means the sale is over...) The Sign Up period will run 30 minutes, from 2PM eastern time until 2:30 PM eastern time, after which I will remove the sign up link, sort the entries and pick the winners. PLEASE ONLY SIGN UP ONCE! Duplicates will be discarded.


Sign up is over and I will post the winner list shortly. Thanks again folks!

List of Entrants

Sign Up Sale Rules, Please Read!

Do You Live in Hong Kong or Singapore? Also, Postage Rate Changes

Hi Folks,

Just a quick note...paypal shipping labels have changed and I'm having trouble with certain Asian cities...if you live in Hong Kong, Singapore or Taiwan please take a moment and go into your paypal account and make an address change.

The problem is that those cities are also considered countries. You need to make sure that you put down for example, Hong Kong, as BOTH your country AND your city. Otherwise, the paypal software does not allow me to edit your address and add your city. In other words, there is no city address field to which to add the correct city and so the software rejects it and I end up having to tediously create the mailing labels by hand.

Also, I just noticed today that the postal rates (including US) have changed across the board. New International Priority Mail rates are as follows:

Most International: $29-31
Canada: $23

I know there are a bunch of folks using remailing services in the US so that they can pay the US shipping rate. I am not sure exactly how that works but it is definitely worth looking into if you buy a lot of stuff from the USA. Maybe someone can chime in here and let us all know how those services work.

Thanks for bearing with me! 

      

Plain Hangman 2.0

Hi Everyone!

It's a bright and sunny week here in Massachusetts, although seasonably chilly. Certainly there are no complaints here though, this winter has been very mild compared to the brutal temps we had last year. And it's looking like the big storm that is bearing down on the mid Atlantic states will miss us. We'll take it.

Not too much new to report with projects. I'm slowly working on a few things and will try to get at least one batch of steel items out to heat treat this month. More will follow next month too.

Today I have the rest of the Krinkle Titanium Hangman 2.0 batch done. These are the plain ones, without anodizing. They will run the same as the previous ones, $65 plus shipping. The batch is fairly small so it will be one per customer on them as usual. Thanks for stopping by folks, and I hope everyone is having a great week!

Hangmen are gone for now, thank you as always!

Hangman 2.0

Well, Happy 2016 Everyone!

I hope the New Year is treating you well. Mine started off a bit rocky with a nasty stomach bug but I'm long past that now and settling back into a nice work routine this week.

I still have a pile of projects left unfinished from last year and I will be working on those over the winter as well as a few new items. Those 3v steel Mini Wedgies (same thick stock as the T-Wrexes) are still lying on the shelf taunting me and I will have to start grinding those pretty soon. I still have a batch of Tombstones that need grinding and milling and hope to get them going in the next month or two as well as 3v steel P10 Metric Prybabies.

Then there are some brand new items. A newly redesigned and updated Termite in Krinkle Titanium is already cut and on the bench as well as two more textured ti tools on paper. There are a couple more bead variations coming as well. And for those fans of stamped and textured items, something completely new and different will be forthcoming later this winter if I can get it all working to my satisfaction.

Today I have the first wave of new Hangman tools. These little hooks have been one of my most popular offerings in the past year or so and for very good reason. They not only look cool but they are so handy to suspend your keys from the inside edge of your pocket. I hate having my keys and tools bunched up at the bottom of my pocket and have grown rather fond of keeping them tucked up towards the inside where they almost disappear into the crease of my leg.

You cannot imagine how many variations of this tool I have played with over the past three years. I tested sample after sample, at least a dozen, before finally settling on the existing design. So when I set out to update it I tried yet again to make a larger and more complicated configuration and finally concluded that you just can't beat small, strong and simple.

The new Hangman is made of thick Krinkle textured titanium so is more robust than the first version and of course they look fantastic as well. I added a little extra length at the bottom and ground a small pry tip, but they are essentially the same footprint as the originals. These are anodized a wide variety of colors, mostly solids, and there are some rainbows and color fades here and there too. If there are enough left for a second wave I will probably leave them without anodizing for all the plain vanilla fans out there. (You know who you are!)

The new Hangmen will run $65 plus shipping and it will be one per customer on them. The link is below...thanks again for your patience everyone and for making 2015 such a great year for me. Lots of goodies ahead for 2016 so stay tuned!

These are gone for now, thank you as always folks! :)

The List!

Thanks everyone, I always appreciate all the participation and kind words! You guys are the best. :)

So without further ado, drumroll please...

33    PUZI
37    Glen
86    Mark B
100    Randy
125    JohnnieBlade
139    wellthisiskj
164    double-edge
175    Rayray
188    Ladusway
189    Billylin93
207    markdjr
259    Merry Christmas
273    Thorn
282    DismalScientist
291    snowewhite00214
293    Cerhio
310    blueumbrella
322    Strured5
325    Jimmmyz
338    Andydoc
353    STLWill
355    Nibs and Coffee
391    whopperjr
406    bebrown1075

I will send out emails in a few minutes. Thanks so much everyone and Merry Christmas to all!

Fancy Stamped Nibbles: SUSale

Hi Folks,

Hope you all are having a nice relaxing weekend! The holidays are often a bit stressful but it's also a great time of year and one that I look forward to. Spooky warm this year though.

So, how about something a little different? I was having fun when I stamped this batch of Nibbles and I went a little crazy on some of them. As I was doing the stamps it occurred to me that some of them seemed to tell a little story. Or maybe they suggested a phrase or perhaps a title to me.

Anyway, I finished the batch and sent them off to heat treat but I kept thinking about the multi stamped ones and those words kept running through my mind. So when they came back from HT and I finished them up I decided to put these aside and write a little something on each card. Some are pure whimsy and some are very descriptive, others are simple stream of consciousness and association; whatever came to mind in the moment. Kind of a performance art kind of thing I suppose...I hope you enjoy them!

There are a total of 24 of these and I will send you whatever I send you, they are all cool though.

The Fancy Nibble SUSale will run until 11AM Eastern Time so one hour. After that I will shut it down and pick the winners via random number.

These special multi stamped Nibbles will run $85 plus shipping and the Sign Up Sale link is below. If you have not participated in one of these before please do read the rules! There is a strict one entry per person and please make sure your email address is valid or I won't be able to contact you in the event that you are one of the winners.

Sign up is over and I will post the winner list shortly. Thanks so much everyone and have a great holiday week ahead! 



List of Entrants

Sign Up Sale Rules: Please Read!

     

Ti Multi Grip Beads!

Hi Folks,

Happy Friday! I'm looking forward to the weekend myself and taking a day or two off. We're supposed to have a little bit of sun too which is always nice during these darkest days of the year.

Today I have a sweet treat for you. These Multi Grip Beads in titanium came out so nice, absolutely gorgeous colors. I was able to figure out some new anodizing tricks this week and so the majority of these are rainbows, color fades and multiple colors of all descriptions and combinations. There are a few solid colors mixed in as well but by far most of these are multi colored. So much fun.    

The Ti Multi Grips will run $33 each and the link to purchase is below. The batch is modest in size so I will make it a two per customer limit on them. Hopefully this winter I can do another run and get some more of them out there, maybe even a batch of plain ones, but for now these are all anodized.

All gone for now, thank you so much everyone!

Stamped Stainless Steel GripCoins

Hi Folks,

And a happy Wednesday to everyone! We're finally getting a break in the gloom and a little sunshine is brightening up the day here. I can't believe we've escaped that fluffy white stuff so far but I will certainly take the mild temps this winter. And they are predicting almost 60F on Christmas, crazy! Thank you El Nino.

I'm slowly but surely making my way through all these projects. I'm not yet sure what else I will be able to finish this year but almost certainly the titanium Multi Grip beads will be happening in a day or two. If we are lucky I might get one more tool sale of some kind in before Christmas and there is a strong possibility I might have something else done in the week between Christmas and New Year's. We'll see how it all shakes out and how ambitious I am. Whatever the case, so much is going on that January is certainly going to be a busier than usual start to the New Year so please stay tuned.

Today I have a small batch of 303 Stainless Steel GripCoins done. These have a variety of my familiar antique stamps as well as a few carefully chosen modern newcomers. I dug up several seldom used examples of the antiques too so there is an interesting variety of images here. Fun stuff and I think you will really enjoy them.

The stainless GCs will run $45 plus shipping and the link is below. One per customer on them please. Thank you so much as always for coming by today and hope you all aren't too stressed out from the holidays yet!

Stainless are gone, thank you everybody!

 

Multi Grip Bronze Lanslides

Howdy Folks,

Yup, me again! Did I mention that I have been a very busy boy lately? Oh so busy...this is what happens when I start too many projects, they inevitably have to all be finished. I'm just taking advantage of the gray and gloom again today to get one more sale in because we are supposed to have glorious temperatures in the 50's and partly sunny skies for the next week and I intend to take at least one day off and enjoy it while it lasts.

I've been mulling the possibility of creating a brand new bead design for quite a while. I wanted something a bit smaller than the very popular 5 Flute Mega design which we have enjoyed so much this past year. But what would this new design look like and what sort of features should it have? What materials to use and what exactly am I trying to accomplish? I gave this new challenge much thought and this is the kind of design problem that I really enjoy. I think about it at various times such as when I'm driving, standing at the grinder, sitting around or in the shower. Incidentally, I get some of my best design ideas in the shower it seems.

Anyway, for this new design I went back to the basics. Years ago I coined the term "Lanslide" to mean "Lanyard Sliding Bead". To my way of thinking, this type of bead should serve various functions...primarily I want the bead to act as an additional grip, so if it is used as a zipper pull on a gear bag or jacket it should be easy to grasp with thumb and forefinger and afford a positive grip. If it is to be used on a knife or tool as a lanyard aid it should be easy to nestle into the small fingers as an additional safety to prevent drops and add control for the user. Or it can act as an easy to grasp pull for retrieving a knife from a sheath or pocket. That's the functional part, but of course it also needs to look cool.

This new item could almost be called a Multi Grip Bead. It offers two distinctive looks and modes of function. The elegant hourglass shape provides multiple grip points and though small, ample room for your fingers to conform to the shape. If you wish, you can alter the look and the feel by adding a small rubber O-ring. The O-ring also can provide additional grip for wet conditions. Lastly, a double row of rifle knurling adds a classic beauty and even more non slip goodness. Go ahead, I absolutely DARE you to try to drop this thing! :)

The first wave of Multi Grip Lanslides are in 655 silicon bronze. Bronze is one of the most durable of the red metals and the lovely warm patina that it develops as it ages is very attractive indeed. These new beads measure 1/2" in diameter and are a little over 1/2" in length. The optional tiny black rubber O-ring is included. 

Bronze Multi Grips will run $30 each plus shipping. I will make it a limit of 3 on them and for now this is going to be the only batch. Up the road I will be making titanium and aluminum Multi Grips as well, coming soon, but today all I have finished are the bronze ones. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend ahead.


Bronze beads are gone, thank you everyone!

 

        

Steel Mini P15 Prybabies

Hi Everyone,

It's a gray and gloomy day here in New England. The air has that raw feeling this morning, the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up with a good book and a hot drink, although no amount of coffee will completely wake you up. But alas, looks like I'll be working instead...

I'm making steady headway on projects. Brand new bronze beads are on deck followed shortly thereafter by stainless GripCoins and then new titanium beads. The new HangMan tool is underway too and hopefully I can get the milling and finish grinding done before too long.

Today I have CPM 154 Steel Mini P15 Prybabies done. These are the SAE version and are identical in size to the earlier titanium ones released this year, but they are the "normal" .160 (5/32) in thickness. Still, they have a satisfying heft in the hand and maintain a slim and unobtrusive profile on your key ring.

The finish on these minis is a little different than usual. For these tools, the back side of the sheet had many scratches but the front side had a pleasing light raw bar texture. So rather than surface grind both sides I decided to give this batch a sort of Jekyll and Hyde two tone effect. Front side is light raw bar and back side is surface ground and stonewashed. Kind of fun!

This whole batch is fairly uniform. No stamps, no extra grinds, nothing unusual with these. A couple have raw bar on both sides, a couple are surface ground on both sides.  

The steel Mini P15 Prybabies will be $65 plus shipping and the link is below. Once again, smallish batch so it will be one per customer on them. Thanks for stopping by folks, and may your week shape up to be a great one!

These are gone for today, thanks so much everyone!

Return of the Steel Nibbles

Happy Friday Folks!

We're enjoying relatively mild temps here in Massachusetts this week and looks as if this trend will continue through next week. Let's hope El Nino gives us an easy winter this year.

Well, I've been slowly plugging away on current projects and finishing some tools up this week. Coming up will be steel Mini P15 Prybabies, a cool new titanium bead design for next week and maybe a SUSale or two. Just starting the milling on the new Krinkle ti Hangman tool as well. And I am working on a new round of drawings with some interesting directions for 2016.

Today I have a blast from the past! Old timers will no doubt remember the original Nibble and the closely related Sharkbite tools. I always liked that design as it is kind of a Keyton on steroids with a captive bit function added in. Anyway, the first Nibbles were made quite a few years ago, the batch was small and I thought it might be time for a reprise.

For this updated Nibble I decided for once to leave the original design relatively unchanged. I made a few small tweaks to soften the O-ring grooves and chamfer some of the corners but basically the design is true to the original.

The Nibbles are made of .160 thick CPM 154 steel and measure just under 3 inches long by 1.125 inches wide. In addition to the large main pry tip there is a smaller secondary pry/screwdriver tip on the bottom corner, a 5/16 wrench opening that doubles as a cap lifter and an oxygen wrench/lanyard opening.

Other features include the captive bit slot that will retain any standard 1 inch long by 1/4 shank hex bit. The bit is held in place by two large #204 O-rings and I am including a #1 or #2 phillips bit, whichever size I have on hand. A separate 1/4 hex opening will accept the bit and hold it in place with smaller #203 O-ring grooves. The bits fit tightly on most of these so the optional #203 O-ring is not necessary on most of them but I will include one anyway. Incidentally, I am including two full sets of O-rings so that you have a spare set as well.

Speaking of O-rings, to make the Nibbles flatter for shipping purposes I will give people the pleasure of assembling their own. This image shows the simple way to get the O-rings on. I really like this little trick and it can be used on any of my tools where there is an interruption that makes the O-rings hard to put on. Just slip a piece of string or paracord through the O-ring and pop it over the opening:

       
So not only do we have the Nibble reprise today but I played around a little bit with them too. There are a couple different combinations of grinds on them as well as a limited selection of my cool antique stamps. I have a few unstamped Nibbles in reserve as well for later but today I am offering the stamped ones.

The Stamped Nibbles will run $75 plus shipping and the link is below. There is a very limited number of these so it's one per person as usual. Thank you everyone and I hope you have a great weekend ahead!

Stamped Nibbles are gone, thank you everyone!