Titanium Trio with Titanium Clips

Here are a couple of pics of the front and back of the first 3 of the titanium clip tools, including the one from the pics/post below. On the next two, I added a small mosaic pin to each of them. I only have a couple more in titanium to finish up for now, and then will begin working on the batch of S30V tools that will have these same titanium clips.

The Titanium Version

Here are the first pictures of the titanium version of the Steel Flame collaboration tool shown below. These are a little thinner and lighter than the steel (CPM S30V) pieces; otherwise, the dimensions are pretty much the same. The tool and clip are both 6Al4V titanium. Derrick of Steel Flame is responsible for how nicely the clips came out, including the stone-tumbled finish. Keep your eyes on the website for a few of these very soon:)

I will also be doing the first official "run" of the S30V versions (other than the few that were at The Gathering) shortly.

The First of the New Tools

This pair was inspired by an older Peter Atwood design that he called the KeyCutters. Each tool is completely handmade and ground, and so the specs vary slightly for each. As a general guideline though, for both of these, the blade lengths are just a hair under 1 inch with the tools being 2 13/16" long overall. Both of these are very sharp, and the bottleopener should only be utilized when the tool is sheathed. Both are made from heattreated CPM S30V, and the sheaths are kydex. I haven't thought up proper/formal names for these yet, though I do think they resemble the Minnow and Pryranha tools with blades instead of the pryends. If I can't come up with something good, I may hold a contest to try to name them:) I will try to put these up for sale on the website tonight, after doing some reorganizing.

I thought I would announce that there are big changes (out of necessity for continuation) coming to JDR Knife and Tool. I started doing this as a hobby a couple of years ago, and never set it up/planned for it to be self sustaining. All of my tools are completely made by me from scratch, and have hours invested into each one. Old pricing may cover my time, but not the materials, electricity, equipment,etc., all of which are very expensive. I've actually gone into some real debt pursuing this dream, and have to make an adjustment to survive. To my knowledge, this is the only line of entirely custom tools, consistently available for order. They cannot be priced alongside similar offerings that were machined or made in any kind of quantity. I'm going to keep doing my old customs, but want to announce that I'm fortunate enough to be able to collaborate with my favorite jeweler and artist, Derrick Obatake of Steel Flame. Coming soon will be a line of tools a little larger than my keychain sized offerings, one of which is pictured above. Based on the Mini Makemake design, these debuted at the USN Gathering recently. The one above is made from CPM 3V toolsteel, and features a clip designed by Derrick with his trademark accents:) These pieces will still be handmade but will feature some design elements, such as the hex hole driver, that can only be achieved with the use of a waterjet. More of these, as well as a couple other designs, are in the works and should be available soon. We will try to get them done in a variety of materials including titanium and stainless steel, and there will be options for clips etc. as well.

Update

I've been quiet lately, trying to focus on getting some non knife/tool-related things taken care of. It's also been murderously hot in the shop this summer, and I seem to only be productive for a few hours in the evening. I do have some new stuff coming out in the next month or two, including some of the edged items.
I'll be attending the USN Gathering in Las Vegas (my first time) at the beginning of September, and need to save a little spending money, so I'll be listing a few pieces at a discounted price on the website soon. There is just one of each piece so snag it if you see one you like.

2 More Mokume Crosses: Ladder Pattern

Pics of Mokume Cross 3 & 4, made from Chad Nichols' 3 tone Ladder mokume.

Business Cards +

I finally got around to ordering business cards. I had a few refrigerator magnets and a return address stamp printed up also:)

Mokume Cross

The first piece I made from Chad Nichols' mokume was a cross that I kept for myself from the Ladder pattern. This one is made from his Scrambled Eggs pattern, and is also composed of copper, brass, and nickel silver. A short time at just over 500 degrees brings out the colors of each material.

Large Stainless Damascus Batch: Installment 3

Here are the last 4 pieces from the recent batch of Chad Nichols' stainless damascus.

left to right:

Constitution Baby Pacu

Iguana Baby Pacu

Iguana Hammerhead

Lizard Minnow

Assorted Stainless Damascus Installment 2

2nd group of 4 from the last big stainless damascus batch.

left to right

Constitution Pacu

Iguana Pryranha

Lizard Mini Makemake

Lizard Unnamed Tool (Finless Pryranha, or Choil-less Baby Pacu)

Stainless Damascus Makemakes and Thumbnails

These five are the most recent I've finished from the latest batch of Chad Nichols' stainless damascus.

top left: Constitution Makemake

top center: Iguana Makemake

top right: Lizard Makemake

bottom left: Constitution Thumbnail

bottom right: Lizard Thumbnail

High Carbon/Contrast Damascus Mini Makemake Batch

Here are front and back pics of the first actual "batch" of high carbon damascus that I just finished up. All vary in thickness, according to that of the barstock each piece is made from.

left to right/bottom:Raindrop, Lizard, Calligraphy, Iguana, Crooked Iguana (I turned it diagonally when making it), and Cheetah (one of my new favs).

Hammerhead in High Carbon/High Contrast Hiro Hito Damascus

My apologies for the overly blue hue of the pics. The white background coupled with the baby blue hue of the tools must have weirded out the camera autofocus settings.

This one is a Hammerhead handmade from Chad Nichols' Hiro Hito carbon damacus.

Mosaic Finless Pryranhas

Here is a custom order in titanium with mosaic pins that I just finished up. They are based on the Pryranha design and are more keychain friendly in my opinion, featuring what I consider to be the two most important functions in a keychain tool...a good bottleopener and a pryedge. One has a wider edge (more like my usual tools), and one is narrow. I'm thinking of making these a regular offering on the website.

JDR Lizard Stainless Damascus Hammerhead

Here is the first Lizard Hammerhead handmade from Chad Nichols' Lizard stainless damascus.

Stainless Damascus Mini Makemakes

Here is the latest group of Mini Makemakes. Each is handmade from Chad Nichols' stainless damascus. From left to right, the patterns are:

Lizard, Iguana, Constitution, and Kalipso.

BP Makemake in Hiro Hito Carbon Damascus

Here are a couple of quick shots of the front and back of the first tool I've made from high carbon/high contrast damascus. It's Chad Nichols' Hiro Hito pattern.

Mokume WorryStone/BottleOpener

Here's a neat piece I made both for myself, and as an experiment to see if it would make a durable bottleopener. It's made from Chad Nichols' 3Tone Scrambled Eggs pattern mokume.

black/blue= nickel silver

pink/red= copper

yellow/gold= brass

It's soft material, and feels and even smells like coinage, but has held up to opening a few bottles so far. It's good for "fiddling" with, and I use it much like a worrystone. It should show greater contrast and character as it ages, and fingerprint oils are actually good for this one:)

I may try to take another picture of it a little later to show how it has changed over time.

please pardon the whitish styrofoam dust that's clinging to it.

Mosaic Damascus Cross

Here is a cross I made from the last piece of Chad Nichols' Boardwalk mosaic damascus. This one's for my grandmother.

On another note, I just placed a large order for more stainless and high carbon/high contrast damascus.

Mosaic Damascus Anyone?

This is a Thumbnail I made from some material (C. Nichols mosaic damascus, I think) that a friend/customer sent me. I've had it sitting in the shop for what seems like forever, because I haven't known what to do with it or how to treat it. I figured it out today:) This stuff is actually the usual "silvery" metal color when in the raw, and heat is utilized to bring out the pattern and color. I have no more of this available for now, but after seeing how it turned out, have plans to purchase more stock in the very near future.

Latest Orders including a New One

Here are two pieces I just finished up. One is a plain titanium Mini Makemake, and the other is a newer tool I'm adding to the lineup. This is the second I've made and it works great as a dedicated bottleopener. This one will be tethered to a barbecue pit to open cold ones for the owner while grilling:) I still haven't thought up a name for it yet.

Steel Flamed Mini Makemake

Last week, I sent a few pieces to my buddies Derrick and Leonard at Steel Flame. You can see a couple of the pieces in a post I made in late April, and the third was a plain titanium Mini Makemake. I always try to do my best work, but because of how much I think of them, I really wanted to do a good job on these pieces. I spoke to Leonard on the phone a few times that day, and he assured me everything was good. Fast forward to a few hours later. I'm down in the shop grinding away in the heat, and the phone rings. I see it's Leonard, and so pick up right away. He puts Derrick on the phone, who begins with, "Please, don't be offended." Well, of course, I almost fainted, but brace myself for the forthcoming well-meaning criticism. D tells me that there's some pitting in the metal, along with some discoloration. I'm baffled by this (the pitting), since it's titanium, and some type of corrosion was what I was envisioning. He said he was going to send it back to me. Normally, I pride myself on being thickskinned and resilient, but must admit I've been bummed out on some level for the past couple of days. Those close to me could tell something was a little bit off, but I kept it to myself for the most part. I had sent in the "One" Warrior ring they had made me to have it resized, and was expecting it along with a couple of the SFI/EKI thumbstuds for my Emersons, and the defective tool. I opened the package, and this is what was there. One pitted, discolored Mini Makemake;)

BPMMM with 1/4" Sixgun Mosaic Pins

Here's the most recent one I've finished up. It's a BP Mini Makemake made from titanium and featuring two 1/4 inch mosaic pins. The pin are some of my favorites, and look to me like the cylinders (wheels) of a sixgun.

Central Texas Shop Scenery: Prickly Pear Flowers

more on the way!:)

I just wanted to share a few pics of Nature's Majesty that I'm privileged to look at when "at the grind."