Uncle Howard

I thought I'd say a few words about my dear old Uncle Howard. He passed away a few years ago at the age of 90 or so and I wish I had gotten to spend more time with him before he died.Uncle Howard was my great uncle, my Mom's uncle. He lived in CT and worked at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft for many years in the experimental engine department. Before that he had worked at Chance Vaught in the 1930's, one of the early aviation companies. He had met Amelia Earhart on a few occasions and he knew Igor Sikorsky very well and used to have lunch with him...

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Sick of Damascus Yet?

Gotta love that Sunstorm damascus! These were left dark, love the way they came o...

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More Dam Whistle Shots

This is a new Damasteel pattern. Don't know the name but it sure does make a purty whistle....

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The Man with No Butt

That's right, I'm working it right off lately. :) LOL, trying to keep up with all the Christmas requests so I've been a little quiet lately. Have a few new items to post this week and I will as soon as I can snap some pics. I'm looking forward to taking a few days off after Christmas but right now it's strictly all work all the time with a small dose of football in between.Into the category of failed experiments goes the carbon fiber whistle. We tried to do one this weekend and unfortunately it just disintegrated into a mass of hairy fibers. Oh...

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Another Son of a PryThing!

Another Son of A PryThing rescued from the Old Shed in the Area51 complex. This one definitely shows signs of Alien intervention.......

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High Voltage Imp

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Five Turn Twist

Five Turn Twist Damasteel has a very natural looking wood grain kind of pattern that I find most appealing. Especially when it's on a teeny tiny Son of PryThing with rubber cordwrap. This is my personal carry piece lately....

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Whistle Closeups

Had a couple more Whistle shots so I thought I'd post th...

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Closeups!

Here's a couple of closeup shots of an Odin's Eye Damasteel Nano card. I really liked the second one in particul...

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Nose to the Grinding Belt

It's that time of year. Leaves, lime and one last mowing to take care of the lawn and button it up for the winter. We've been having some very mild weather this fall and so the grass keep growing. The oaks have finally given up most of their leaves except for a few stragglers and there were a few big piles to haul away. The good weather is nice for working in the shop as my heat is not the best and I'm dreading the days when it will start to get really cold. It isn't uncommon to see temps in the lower 50's down in the shop on the coldest days,...

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Also, Some Random

Apparently Mike Norris doesn't make much stainless random pattern dasmascus so when I heard about a few pieces that were available I snapped one up. Might have to try and get mo...

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Mike Norris Sunstorm

I picked up a piece with this pattern recently. Beautiful stuff!...

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Dam Whistle

Here were a couple of shots of a recent damascus whistle. This one is happy in its new home in CA but there may be more coming in the next few wee...

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Double Your Pleasure, Double Your Fun

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Scooter

My new little shop buddy. Well, actually he's not allowed in the shop but he's good for after hours diversions....

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The TT Returns

I finally got around to finishing a couple of these that have been sitting around for way too long. I'm really digging the rubber cord even though the 3/16" diameter stuff was a major pain on the bigger piece. The finished effect is really nice though, offering an incredibly comfortable and secure gr...

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Tray 'o Boogers!

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Knives!

I finally got off my lazy butt and ground a few knives recently. This is just a small sampling of what I just added to my site. Micro Bug Out Blades in several flavors...

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Damascus Imp

Made from thick Mike Norris Gator damascus with rubber cordwrap. A unique piece!...

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Coupla Scouts

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Visit with the Engineers

I had the great pleasure of a visit to my shop yesterday by the two top engineers from Norton Abrasives engineered belts division. My cousin happens to be one of them and he has graciously sent me various belts several times over the years for testing. For those that don't know, Norton and 3M are the two major manufacturers for the belts that knifemakers use on their grinders. Although 3M is the big player in the industry, Norton offers some outstanding products as well that often equal and in some cases exceed the high quality of the 3M belts.Anyway,...

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Treading H2O

That's what I feel like I've been doing lately. Waiting for the energy wave of work to come back up. Hopefully I'll be able to take a deep breath and dive back down for some more pearls very soon....Got a few new ideas that I'm slowly working out. Some of these things take forever and some can happen pretty quickly. It just depends and usually you can't predict how it will go. A lot of it has to do with how busy it is and how much energy I have.All I can say is stay tuned, more goodies to come....

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Rough Weekend

Sheesh, talk about your lousy weekends...I was taking it easy this weekend trying to give my aching wrists a rest. On Saturday, after my usual morning visit to the post office, I decided to run down the street to my favorite little drive-in diner for a cup of coffee. It was raining lightly and pretty gloomy outside. I chatted with the owners who are good friends of mine, got my coffee and headed out the back door intending to say goodbye to another friend who works there. I stepped onto the thankfully short back staircase and the next thing I...

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Odin's Eye Booger

More of the fabulous Odin's Eye Damasteel. I did a good long acid etch on it and it really brought out the contrast. This piece is on it's way to a new home in Oregon....

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Random Pics

Here's a few random pics of the handful of Wedgies that are completed so f...

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Feeling like Fall

It's starting to get chilly here in the mornings but there is still only the faintest hint of color in the leaves. One of the nice things about New England and particularly our yard is the fantastic display of sugar maples, sumac and birch trees as they go through their yearly transformation. For a few weeks the color is brilliant, especially since there are a few yellow pines and spruce in the mix which adds some vivid green to the palette. The CT River is situated only about a mile away and usually at this time of year the falling temperatures...

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Micro Card

This one is on it's way to a new home...more Mike Norris Hornet's Ne...

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Stirring Up the Hornet's Nest

Hehe, Mike Norris Hornet's Nest that is. This is some of the prettiest stuff I have worked with. I had a bar of it some time ago and had to get another one. This is a new take on the little Skeeter keychain kni...

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More Fob Craziness

This is something Brian whipped up this past weekend...He doesn't have a name for it yet so I'm calling it the Alien Nutsack. Orange glowcord with this really cool glow in the dark fishing float inside. Will have to test it out but I suspect it will float a small kni...

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I've Been Kinda Quiet Lately...

....But I promise I will shake myself out of my late summer torpor and get back to posting soon! :) I have loads of knives and tools about to go into heat treat. My heat treating oven element broke on me last week and put me out of commission for a few days but I ordered a new one and a spare now so things should be good to go. Installed the new parts on Friday and did a quick test to confirm that it was indeed the element that was the problem. Keeping my fingers crossed as I have Spanners, Keytons, Imps, Bug Out Blades and Boogers going into...

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What's a Wedgie?

Well, the traditional definition involves a dastardly deed in which the unlucky recipient has their underpants grabbed from behind and forceably pulled up their butt crack. Unpleasant to be sure. But I decided that it would be a great name for a new tool....The Wedgie is what I call a "Kubatool". It measures 5 inches long by well over 1/4" thick and is made of the super tough CPM 3V steel. It is configurable, that is you can take the cord wrap off...

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New Wharncliffes

I'm having a lot of fun with these two new pieces!The CPMS30v Wharncliffe Booger is really cute on the keychain and makes for a very practical small blade. Wear it around the neck and it just about disappears under your shirt. I will be appropriating one for myself I think. :)The CPM 3v Wharncliffe Scout makes for a slightly larger package but it is even more useful as a utility blade. Nice EDC piece for a belt or as a low profile neck kni...

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Been Experimenting

Here's something new and different, a damascus belt buckle! Made of Mike Norris Raindrop damascus with a nickel silver backing and exactly sized for a 1 inch wide belt. The buckle was a collaboration with my good friend John Moore who has been a jewelry and buckle maker for 25 years. His father of the same name may be familiar to some readers as the owner of Mission Knife and Tool. This is a one off piece and I'm not sure if any others will be made...

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Tanto Booger

This was the last of a series of 3, Mike Norris Raindrop damasc...

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Another Tool Knife

I'm really digging this little guy. Calling it the Scout. First in a series of protos...

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NutBangers

My buddy Brian has started making these cool little flat fobs. These are the latest and feature 3 titanium 1/4-20 nuts tied into them. I believe he will be offering them in plain, bead blast, or anodized finishes. The nuts make great worry beads for twiddling. :) (you can turn them) He's on vacation for another week or so but we'll be seeing lots more of this stuff comi...

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More Nano Madness

This was the ? piece from below. I thought it turned out quite nice from such humble beginnings. :) On it's way to a new home tod...

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Fan Mail

I have gotten some very cool letters over the years. Lots of fine folks have taken a moment to thank me for my tools and service. I appreciate everyone who takes time to send me a note! It really makes my day when I know that my gear has arrived safely and that the recipient is enjoying it. Every once in a while though something comes over the transom that is just too cool for words. Got this today from a good customer who also just happens to be an archaeologist:"Hello, Peter! I just returned from Tibet, Mongolia, and Siberia on Tuesday and thought...

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What Is the Next Cool Thing?

That's the question I am trying to answer every day. Here are some of the other questions that often pop up at the same time....What would that cool new thing be? If I did come up with something how many should I make and how should I make them? How much would it cost to make them? How much time would it take me? How many steps would be involved and can any of them be eliminated? Is there a better way to make this thing? Is there a cheaper way to make it? Is there an element that would give it something extra and would that be worth considering?...

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edcforums.com

I just have to say a few words about the gadget and gear forum edcforums.com. The guy who started and owns the board, Jon S. Burlison, is just a total class act. He is a very bright and generous person who I have spoken to a few times on the phone and exchanged quite a few emails and messages. Jon is full of cool ideas and really has his head on straight as far as I can see. Recently I tried to send him some funds in support of the forums and he called me to tell me that he was returning the funds, that he felt I had already done alot to support...

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Damascus #2

Here was piece #2 from the batch below. Man, I love that Odin's E...

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The Elements of Design

There is a rule of thumb in the knife and tool world that when you are about to make something that might be close to someone else's design that you contact the other maker out of courtesy and ask if the design or even elements of the design are too close to theirs. I have done this with other makers and people have come to me and shown the same courtesy. It is the polite and respectful way to go about it.Usually the concern is nothing to get excited about and the prospective maker was being a little too sensitive and overreacting to a specific...

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Damasteel Mini

Hey, remember the Odin's Eye Damasteel pieces I had shown below? Here's how the first piece came out, the Mi...

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A Peek in the Oven

A peek in the oven. Temp was at about 1700F. on it's way to 195...

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After Heat Treat

Here are some pieces after heat treat. You can see the thin scale and discoloration. After bead blasting these will become a uniform gray in appearan...

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