​Some very cool stuff for you today - let's get right into it...

A "Quick and Dirty" Titanium Concept

​I've been asked many times over the years to make a belt-buckle - but, honestly, never really prioritized it.

But now, as I learn cnc-machining, I'm finding it a lot easier to get something from concept-in-my-head to product-in-my-hand.

​I've started kind of playing with some ideas. There are two things that I know right now are almost certainly going to be features:

#1 - Ultra-simple and clean design

and

#2 - Machined from a solid billet of titanium (no screwing together of parts or anything like that)​

​One of the toughest parts will be the actual machining on the cnc machine (my machinist typically not only did production of my parts in the past ...but he'd do the prototyping as well).

​I've come up with a rough concept (not near finished at all) just to help me try and figure out how to hold the titanium so as I can machine it.

​Thought it might be worthwhile showing you the concept in case you have any feedback on it. It's nothing "fancy" - just a clean, simple design made from a solid chunk of Grade 5 Titanium.

​Again, this is a rough concept and nothing is final on this design 🙂

How It's Made: CandyCan "XL"

​We filmed a video recently of the the making of the CandyCan "XL" from start to finish.

The video is slightly different to previous videos I've done (a little more fast-paced)​ ...but hopefully you see clearly how this CandyCan version is made​.

​We made a few extra of the CandyCan "XL" on the last run and so we still have some available (typically they are not in stock).

Click here to check it out.

​New CNC Machine

​If you recall in the last blog post...

I mentioned that we could be purchasing a new cnc milling machine. Well, the deal has gone through and the machine should be delivered tomorrow.

​Hopefully it goes smoothly. The reason I say this is because it's meant to be pouring with rain tomorrow (which is funny because we've literally had only a handful of wet days over the last six months here in the Bay of Plenty in New Zealand where I live).

Also, this machine is a bit of a beast - around 5.5 tons. I've opted to get specialized machine tool movers to move it because it's a fairly high-end machine.

I'll do another blog post soon about it ...assuming it all goes well!

​A couple of cool things for you today - so let's get straight into it!

First up...

​NEW Titanium CandyCan™

​Building on the huge success and popularity of the original two CandyCans™...

I've just designed and made and handful of these - the CandyCan™ "Trinity" Version:

​The design is a little more "aggressive" than the original rectangular-shaped CandyCans™.

​Here's the thing...

I knew, before I even started the design, I wanted to have a shape close to the piston in the Wankel engine​.

The design got pretty close to the Wankel piston but I made it a little more angular.

I received quite a bit of feedback about the initial design not being deep enough. So what I did is make it deeper on the outside and machined away more on the inside of the lid and base.

​The internal depth is now just over 11mm (0.44") - which I think is a nice balance between functional depth and also feeling very slim in the hand. The external height is 14.3mm (0.56").

Personally (and this is purely my own preference)...

This is my favourite CandyCan™ version so far (the CandyCan™ XL was a little deep for me ...but that depth is what others wanted - so who am I to argue! :-D).

There are a couple of little details different with this new CandyCan™ "Trinity":

NOTE: These photos are of the raw, untumbled CandyCan™ because it had just come off the milling machine! These will be tumbled and surface finished before shipping.

#1 - The outside "step" for holding onto has a radius instead of a 90-degree corner like on the other CandyCans™:

​I did this for aesthetics. It does not affect the function/grip when opening the CandyCan™ - and I think it looks good on this version.

#2 - On the inside edges of the base I also put a radius instead of a 90-degree corner:

Part of the reason for doing this was to give it a "smoother" look inside ...but I believe it will also improve the function (i.e. if you have, say, pills in the CandyCan™ ...then it should be easier to get them out because they should slide up the side - if that makes sense).

​If you like this new CandyCan™ "Trinity"...

I currently have a handful of them sitting ready to ship right now (and I'm making some more on the CNC machine literally as I type this).

​Here's the deal:

If you see them on the website for sale (and not "SOLD OUT"), then they are available and will be shipping either right away (or the next working day).

>> Click here to ​order your NEW CandyCan™ "Trinity" Version<<

Okay, next up...

​Utility Knife (Prototype Update)

​In my last blog post I ​revealed a prototype utility blade knife.

​Now, here's the thing...

Usually when I design something I spend most of the time playing around with the design, geometry, function, etc. in my head ...before I go to sketches or 3D CAD.

​So often there is not too much testing and tweaking of the physical prototypes before I can start producing them properly.

​BUT dear lord! This little knife has been a challenge and a half to say the least!

​Here's the front currently looks - it's a bit of a Frankenstein's-Monster (I say this because I've been experimenting with different ​"slider" designs ...and so this slider below is a mash-up of two difference designs):

And here's currently how the rear of it looks:

​However, there are still some issues with the function (mainly the locking mechanism) and so the design of the rear shown above is going to change ...possibly quite a lot.

​You know, it's funny...

Quite often I think, "how come someone else hasn't come up with this simple design?"

​But, ​after an obscene amount of hours, I start to think, "Man, no wonder nobody has done this - it's bloody hard!"

​I am going to continue with this though - I believe it is worth it and the end result will be spectacularly functional and minimalist (my two favourite things! :-D).

​New Machine (Possibly)

​Although not directly related to titanium-products-with-impossibly-high-standards...

​We may possibly be getting a new cnc milling machine soon.

​One reason for mentioning this is, truthfully, I'm kind of excited and just wanted to share it with you! 🙂 (...but, equally, apprehensive as well :-/)

The other reason for mentioning it is that, if we do get this new machine, then we should be able to get products made and shipped faster.

The cnc machine I currently use will be able to do a LOT more prototyping ...which means we should be able to come out with a lot more ​NEW designs for you.

I'll leave it at that and possibly update you on the potential new machine next week. 🙂

​Quite an exciting couple of things to share with you today... (well, I'm excited about them at least :-P)

​First up:

​I have a new titanium prototype I've been working on. I'm fairly pleased with how it's coming together and thought I'd ask for your thoughts on it before I start going for production (just in case it's super un-popular)...

​Titanium Utility-Blade Knife (Prototype)

I'm going to be flat-out honest with you here...

The design I'm about to reveal to you is something I am fairly confident is going to be popular.

I'm damn excited about this design. It's super-functional ...minimalist ...fully-titanium ...and will be made entirely in-house by me. 🙂

However, here's the truth:

I want to make sure I'm not mis-guided or over-confident because, let's be honest here, this could be a poor product and I'm not seeing it objectively.

The design is 95% finished ...and I just have a handful of small tweaks to go to finalize it - so what you will see is a decent representation of what the finished product will be.

Oh, and one more thing...

Typically, when I design products, the longer it takes me the simpler and simpler the design gets.

So, ironically, the simpler and more "basic" the design looks - the longer I have spent on the design (this played out with all my designs almost without exception!).

The design is simple - but it has taken me a long time and a ton of frustration to get there (yeah, I know, it probably doesn't look like it when you see the end result).

Here is a short video with a little explanation and showing the function of it:

(NOTE: This is a prototype and not the final product ...there are more design tweaks to go!)

​And here are some photos to give you a better idea of it:

IMPORTANT: The final button design will likely be fairly different to this. The button below is a little "busy" (the final design will be cleaner looking).

​Here are a few "features":

• Fully Grade 5 Titanium
  
• Simple two-part design (Frame + Slider)
  
• ​Blade can be replaced without tools
  
• Loop at rear for attaching to keychain
  
• ​"Clicks" into position when closed (and does the same for the open position)
  
• Accepts standard "Stanley" utility blade
  
• ​Blade extends out around 21mm (or 0.83") - more than most similar tools
  
• One-handed operation
  

The dimensions:

• Length: 70mm (2.75")
  
• Width: 25mm (1.00")
  
• Thickness: 5mm (0.20")
  

​Curious as to ​your thoughts on this? Please do comment below - thank you!

Next up...

​Custom Knife-Grinding "Jig"

​Over the last few months I've been sharing the progress on the Flixx™ - Friction Folder knife.

We have had various production issues - but the issue that's caused us the most grief is the blades.

The blades are CNC machined and, if you take a look back at the last handful of blog posts, you'll see we've tried different approaches​ ​machining the blades.

​Long story short:

After one or two more "failures" we've finally figured out a method that now works.

The downside is that the blades are not now 100% cnc-machined only. There is now an element of hand-madeness (is that a word?) to the blades.

We now give the blades a light skim on a knife-grinding machine to "clean up" the main bevels on the blade before tumbling/heat-treating.

​It's working very well and we're starting to ship blades again (after endless problems for the last couple of months).

Now, here's a little secret about me...

​While I really enjoy coming up with new designs for products that will end up in hundreds (and sometimes thousands) of peoples hands ...I also enjoy designing and making things that only serve the purpose of improving our own in-house production.

​This last weekend I spent two days designing and making a custom "jig" for the sanding of the bevels on the Flixx knife.

​It's totally over-built - but I needed to guarantee the rigidity of it:

I had to wait until Monday to see if it was going to work. The reason for that is I have never ground a knife blade before - but Nathan has done quite a bit of it ...and so he was tasked with the testing of it.

​Turns out it's working even better than we ​hoped - woohoo!

​So, yeah, like I said ...this new jig is finally letting us finish the blades and ship them (the project is already late).

​And that's all I have for you today. 🙂

​Before I continue - let's have a quick (but little late) Easter Sale:

Use this code at checkout and get 20% OFF ​EVERYTHING in the store right now: ​[REMOVED]

​I'll pull this coupon down fairly soon - so you gotta be quick!

​Easter Sale now over.

Now, onto today's blog post:

We've been making the CandyCan "XL" recently ...and they typically sell out within an hour whenever they go on sale.

​But here's the thing...

​I don't like having these limited numbers for sale to be honest (which is why I typically crowdfund ...so everyone has a chance).

The problem right now is that our cnc machine just can't make stuff fast enough. We're absolutely maxing it out. Long-term we're hoping to get another milling machine. But, short-term, all we can do is make what we can and offer it.

​In saying that...

NEW Titanium CandyCan™

​Here is a new design I've been playing with...

​IMPORTANT: This design is not finished. There are some details not yet added - but this should give you the rough concept 🙂

​I don't have final dimensions - but, roughly, it would be around 60 to 70mm (2.3 to 2.8") outside diameter ...and perhaps around 8 to 10mm (0.3 to 0.4") internal depth.

​Truthfully, I really like the shape - but perhaps it's not for everyone. If you have any thoughts on it ...then fire away!

Back In Stock...

We've just recently made more PillPots™ and they are now all in stock on the website and ready for shipping (I've had a number of emails recently asking for these):

​Original CandyCan™ Production

​After the hugely successful Kickstarter crowdfunding project (over 900 CandyCans™ to be made!) - production has started!

​My machinist was going to make these - but we've decided to make them in house ourselves. Part of the reason for this was that we totally blitzed the machining of the TiWallets™ over the last couple of weeks and all pre-orders have been shipped (note: we now have them in-stock and ready-to-ship right now).

​In terms of the CandyCan™ production...

I spent this last Easter Weekend designing and making the fixtures for holding and machining the CandyCans™.

Here's what some of that looks like... (making three different fixtures in total)

​Start with a chunk of aluminium:

​Design and simulate the machining of one of the fixtures:

Put it in the vice and ​"clean up" the aluminium so I know it is dimensionally correct:

​Nice clean pallets ready for turning into actual fixtures:

​Time to drill some holes:

​Test just one position on the fixture and mill a CandyCan™ base to make sure it's going to work:

​Machine the rest of the pallet:

​Did some filming of the process (which I will post later) - and this is how I do it:

​Milling one of the other pallets:

​First pallet loaded-up and ready for Op1 (that's short for "operation #1"):

​...and that's all I have for the machining of the CandyCans™ right now.

​More photos (and video) will come soon.

And that's all I have for you today - thank you!

​Been a while since the last blog post...

​Things have been going both well and not-so-well recently (and you're going to hear all the "dirty little details" of this today :-D).

First up...

Flixx Knife Blade Issues (Again!)

​Yes, we're STILL struggling with machining of the blades on the Flixx™ Friction Folder Knife.

​In the last blog post I showed a photo that pointed out we were getting "dots" in the plunge line of the blade. I cannot seem to stop this happening.

​So, this last weekend I spent some time coming up with a new fixture to hold the blade so we can machine vertically (as opposed to sitting the blade horizontally and machining it with the tip of the end-mill only).

Take a look at this photo:

​The idea with the fixture above is that it will be held in the milling machine vertically just like it is shown here.

​Although difficult to see... the blade is actually tilted back at 4.5-degress (this allows us to skim the end-mill across the face of the blade and get the nice bevel you see in the above photo).

So far it seems to work. And, if it does work, then it will speed us up hugely. Fingers crossed!

Wallet Production Going GREAT (woohoo!)

​The production of the TiWallet™ - Titanium Wallet has been going really, REALLY well.

​This last week we managed to get almost 100 wallets machined without too may issues. For a couple of days they were coming off the milling machine consistently and passing quality-control (i.e. me checking each one myself :-D) with flying colours.

Not only are they machining well ...but they've been going through the tumbling processes without too much drama too.

It's awesome to have things going well ...because, truthfully, that rarely happens. So when it does I take time to soak it in and appreciate it!

Here's more wallet blanks about to be machined (they are a range of colours because we stress-relieve them in the kiln before machining):

​It's great to have products that sell so well that we're quickly out of stock...

BUT, it's actually not that great at the same time (because we get email requests, we have to keep updating the website, etc.).

​We've just got the new "V3" TiTweezers™ - Titanium Tweezers back in stock again.

Also, we're mostly in stock again of the Titanium PillPots™ (but, we're finding it kinda tricky to keep these in stock as they are fairly popular). We don't have all the PillPots™ in stock right now ...but we do have most of them:

​The NEW CandyCan™ "XL"

​Last week we produced a bunch of the new CandyCan™ "XL" ...and they sold out pretty damn fast (within an hour if I recall).

The production of them is going fairly well - if a little slow because they take so long to make!

​On our cnc machine it takes almost 1.5 hours to machine (which, compared to a bigger and fancier milling machine is a helluva long time!).

​Here is a photo of the titanium water-jet cut blanks ready to be heat-treated:

​Next we heat-treat these titanium billets to stress-relieve them for machining - and they turn a rather fetching blue:

​We then do MORE sanding of the surface as the heat-treat tends to leave surface marks that don't come out in the tumbling process:

​Finally it is onto the cnc milling machine to remove an obscene amount of material:

Yes, we do these one set at a time. The base and lid are done together ...and then we flip them over and do a few more operations to chamfer the other sides. I'll get a video on this soon.

In terms of tumbling/finishing the CandyCan™ "XL"...

Below is a photo of the partitions we had made up for the large tumbler. We already have partitions - but they are not working well for us because the media would go from one compartment to another ....but would not come back again (which resulted in some compartments being empty of media and others being packed full - which is bad!):

​I designed and had these new acrylic partitions (not the best material - but it was a "proof of concept" really) made of the weekend ...and they are working really well.

The idea was that the media could flow easily between compartments. And, amazingly, the media does flow and all compartments maintain the same level of media. It's nice when you have an idea ...and it actually works. Rare. But nice. 🙂

One more thing...

We have just done another short run of these new CandyCan™ "XL" - and they will be shipping in the next few days:

​I have just opened the order page for the ​CandyCan™ "XL" right now - but, again, they will sell out fairly soon (so my apologies in advance if you miss them).

Click here to check them out.

Titanium Keyholder (prototype)

​Take a look at this prototype keyholder:

​Yes, I know, it's a little beat-up and scratched (and the screws are not a proper fit) - but if you can ignore that for now that would be great. 😀

​I've been carrying this keyholder on me for over a year now - here are a couple more photos:

The screws are custom-made and Grade 5 Titanium (because, I must confess, they are similar screws to the ones I designed and made for the Flixx​™ - Titanium Friction Folder Knife).

The washers that slip between the keys are phosphor-bronze (yes, the same washers that going into the Flixx knife I mentioned above).

Like I said...

I've been using this for a year or so (but only upgraded to these new screws recently) and it's been great.

There are a whole load of other keyholder on the market - but this one is my take on it.

​Thinking about making this - do you have any thoughts?

​Various titanium-based topics to touch on today...

​The CandyCan™ "XL"

​In the last blog post I showed a 3D computer render of a larger CandyCan™.

The comments were positive ...but, almost everyone asked for the CandyCan™ to be deeper.

​So I ignored my own ego (because I personally wanted to make a slimmer version) and prototyped a deeper version this last weekend.

Here are some photos:

The photo below has a credit card for scale - to help you better visualize the size of the new CandyCan™ "XL":

​The internal dimensions are:

-- Length = 2.5" (64mm)
-- Width = 1.5" (38mm)
-- Depth = 0.5" (12.5mm)

​This "XL" version is essentially a scaled-up version of the original CandyCan™.

​The base and lid are each machined from 1-inch thick Grade 5 Titanium plate (man, what a waste ...cutting away all that amazing titanium! :-D).

I'm going to make some of these available soon* - and so you may get an email from me when they are available (oh, and it takes an entire hour on the milling machine to make each one - so I'm not able to make too many at a time unfortunately!).

​*Actually, I wasn't going to do this until later in the week ...but I have 15 of the CandyCan "XL"  available right now you can order (click here to order). They will sell out fast for sure - so please accept my apologies if you see the "SOLD OUT" button.

​Wallet Progress

​We've been cranking out the TiWallet™ over the last few days...

Here's what the blanks look like after water-jet cutting and stress-relieving:

​And here's what they look like after cnc-machining:

​The Titanium Wallets are coming out really well. We've tumbled a bunch of them and they are ready to ship (fulfilling a fairly large pre-order).

The Flixx™ Knife Progress

The Flixx™ Friction Folder Knife is proving tough...

We're having issues with one part of it in particular and that is the "plunge line". Take a look at the photo below:

Those orange arrows above are pointing to the plunge line area of the knife blade on the Flixx™.

We are getting little "dots" in that area of the knife. I believe the issue is something in the cnc-machining. I've been testing and tweaking loads ...but it's proving very difficult to fix.

Not all the blades have this issue. Some are fine and some are no good. The problem is... the number that are "no good" is fairly high ...and I really need to get that number down.

I've got an idea I'm going to try which I'm hoping will solve the issue. It's different to anything I have tried before ...and I will update you in the next blog post as to whether it will work. Stay tuned!

I have a bunch of interesting stuff for you today.

​Some behind-the-scenes as well as a ​Limited Edition product.

First up, more on making the Titanium Wallet:

More Making Of The TiWallet™

​In the last blog post I showed you some photos of the making of the TiWallet™.

I said I would get a video out - but have not yet made that video (it is coming soon though). Truthfully, I've been tweaking the wallet as we get into "full production mode" on the cnc mill ...and hence little time spent on filming.

​The TiWallet™ project (well, a whole load of pre-orders) are, shamefully I might add, LATE!

​We are about to start shipping - but we will not get all the titanium wallets shipped in March as I had hoped. We're going as fast as we can without compromising (i.e. making each wallet as flawless as I can).

Here's the first few off the cnc - but before any surface finishing has been done:​

Limited Edition - "Blast" Flixx™ Knife

​I offered a limited BLACK Flixx™ knife here a couple of days ago - and now I'm offering something different again.

This time I only have 3 available (which is half as many as I had of the black ones ...and they all sold out in a few hours!).

​The finish on these is a super-smooth bead-blast finish.

This was a bit of an experiment that ended up working very well. The photos really don't do it justice to be honest (the scales of the knife look an ordinary gray colour ...but there is a VERY nice satin texture to them in the hand):

​There are only three available (so I'm not going to write one of my long order-page​ things because I have a feeling they'll sell quick enough).

Remember...

These are not the ordinary Flixx™ knife. This is the one where the scales are a one-off I made because the blade was slightly larger than it was meant to me. These are not "rejects" or "seconds" (I NEVER sell anything that is not 100% as good as I can make it!).

​If you're interested (and it's still available) then click the Buy Now button below:

​Large CandyCan™ (Concept)

​Curious as to your thoughts on this...

I've just done a 3D model of a larger CandyCan™ I'm thinking about making.

The original CandyCan™ was hugely popular (raising NZD100,000+ on Kickstarter recently) and we're starting to manufacture those now.

​But here's the crazy thing:

​I had an absolute ton of people asking for a larger CandyCan™ - which I totally understand because the original was designed to be small enough to fit into "that small, square pocket in your jeans".

​I may make a few different larger CandyCans™ - and so the concept below is the first one.

As with most things I design I typically put my own personal criteria first ...and, weirdly enough, a lot of others usually find that design works for them.

​My personal preference this time is for a CandyCan™ that is twice the size of the original ...BUT, is actually slightly slimmer. The reasoning here is that this larger version will be more pocket and bag friendly because it will be (roughly) 9mm (0.35") thick.

​Here are a few ​3D renders for you:

​I'm thinking the INTERNAL SIZES might be something like:

​Length 60mm (​2.3")
​Width 40mm (​1.6")
​Depth 6mm (​0.24")

Yes, I know, this is pretty slim - but that's the idea! 🙂

​Before I go ahead and start machining titanium... do you have any thoughts on this?

​As usual - a few things for you today...

Titanium Buckles

​A few weeks ago I mentioned collaborating in a Kickstarter project ​with my friend Steph from Kohi Point.

​The project was for a handmade leather bag with titanium buckles. The project was successfully funded and we are now producing the bags.

​Steph received the leather direct from Italy and has started cutting the various leather pieces before starting to stitch the bags together. It was then upon me to make the titanium buckles.

​Now, here's the crazy thing:

I made the buckles during the last weekend and ....nothing went wrong.

​Yeah, I know, don't be so pessimistic Magnus, right? Well, stuff just goes wrong all the time. Issues, problems, etc. Things usually do go wrong - so it's nice for that not to happen for a change. 🙂

Here's a photo of what the buckles look like when they come off the water-jet cutter:

The Titanium Buckles for the bag went incredibly smoothly. From the initial water-jet cutting ...to the machining ...to the engraving ...and, finally, the polishing. It's so nice when things go well sometimes.

​In fact, things were going so well, I made a video of the making of the titanium buckles:

Titanium Tweezers ("V3" Back In Stock)

​It's been a while since we had the titanium tweezers in stock - but we're doing another run of them again (that are literally in the tumbler having the surface finish done as I type this).

If you missed them last time...

They will be ready in a couple of days - so click here to check them out.

Oh, and I've still got a *SPECIAL OFFER* going on with them.

​We are making the TiWallet™ right now and, just like the bag buckles I mentioned above, they are going fairly well (although, in all fairness, the initial setup and tweaking has been tough).

I don't have a video for you yet - but I do have some photos in the meantime...

Here is a photo of the 12.5mm (1/2") thick piece of titanium plate we water-jet cut the wallet "blanks" from:

​Here are the titanium blanks:

​And, finally, here are the blanks in the over for heat treatment:

​Yeah, I know what you're thinking...

​You've never heard me talk about putting titanium in the oven before, right? Well, truthfully, I've never had to do it before.

​Long story short...

Metals typically have different stresses in them - especially when they have not be "stress relieved". ​When you start with a chunk of metal and machine areas of it away ...then these stresses show themselves and the result is that the metal part your machining will bend and warp in various ways.

The issues I was finding with the Titanium Wallet was that the "bridge" that connects the two sides was arching (kind of like how you arch your back when you stretch) as I machined it.

​Turns out the titanium had not been stress-relieved at the mill where it was produced.

It's a fairly easy fix...

Put it in the oven for three hours at 600-degrees and then let it cool slowly in the over (typically we leave it overnight). And that's it!

​Limited Edition - Flixx™ Knife

​Next up, I've got a quick deal on a handful of knives...

​During the initial production of the Flixx™ knife I made some blades that were slightly t​oo large (yeah, bit of a long story on that one).

​Since the blades are not cheap to make ...I decided to make some one-off scales for these blades. I have just finished them and am selling these one-off knifes at a decent discount.

These are not seconds or rejects or anything like that. In fact, if anything, these are somewhat limited edition because the scales are different to the original Flixx™ knife scales - and they have also been Cerakoted Matte Black.

NOTE: the finish on these is very Matte (i.e. the surface looks and feels like a chalkboard) - and so has a very nice, "grippy" feel to it

​I've purposely left the hardware the natural titanium colour (yes, all the hardware is titanium as well :-D) as I really think it look great in contrast to the black.

​I've only made 6 of these and they will be ready to ship at the end of this week. I may make more of these ...I may not ...not sure at this stage.

Click here to grab yours right now.

I think that's all I have for you today 🙂

12 Hours Left... (Last Chance)

The Titanium "CandyCan" project has a couple of days left until it ends on Kickstarter.

One of the Rewards on there is a *Kickstarter Exclusive* (which is a damn good deal and includes getting a CandyCan for FREE) ...and it will NOT be offered again - so I urge you to check out the project right now.

Titanium Wallet Prodution

​​I have just started production on my long-awaited Titanium Wallet (which I call the TiWallet™).

It has been a long time coming - but production should be fairly quick because I spent a long time coming up with a solid way to hold the titanium "blanks" while I machine the wallet out of them (in other words... there should be almost no "issues" in production going forward).

Here's a quick look at a couple of "blanks" on the mill about to be machined:

​...and, skipping forward a whole bunch of steps, here is a finished wallet:

​The wallet above still needs to have the surface finishing done though.

​Now, I know I missed out all the "little details" with the above photos - but, right now, that is all I have for you.

However, I'm going to see if I can get a video done for you very soon. Stay tuned!

Also, you can click here to check out the TiWallet™ (it is still on sale as an *INTRODUCTORY OFFER* while it is on pre-order ...but prices will go up very soon!)

The Last Titanium Spinners

​We've pretty much stopped selling Fidget Spinners now.

If you recall...

We launched a few titanium spinners that were a big hit. We keep coming up with new products all the time ...and so spinners are something we went away from.

​I did find some raw Titanium 'Ego' Spinners yesterday (i.e. they still had to be surface finished). I have just finished tumbling and assembling them now.

These are probably the last spinners we will do (unless I find some more hidden on the shelf somewhere).

I'm selling these last few (around 18 of them) at a solid discount (click here to check them out).

​Actually, I'll give you a little "behind the scenes" look at how the Ego spinner is made...

Firstly, we start with the round bar:

​The round bars are then machined down on the cnc lathe to result in "discs":

​After this they are then put on the milling machine to give them their shape:

​I've missed out a lot of the process here because these are some photos from a year or so ago.

It is unlikely we're going to make any more of these - so unfortunately I don't have any videos or anything else I can show you about these.

And that's all I have for you today 🙂

​A strange title for a blog post, right?

"SOLD OUT In 7 Minutes"

​​Well, I'm referring to the new titanium CandyCan™ design.​ The first run of them sold out in 7 minutes (I sat and watched the ​statistics of my online store in disbelief as the sales flooded in).

​I did another run of these soon after and they all sold out almost as quick. I received a lot of emails from fairly unhappy people who had missed the CandyCan™.

Unfortuntely, we are flat-out making the Flixx™ Knife right now and we also don't have much raw titanium material to make many CandyCans™​.

So the solution was to launch a NEW Kickstarter project - which I have just done.

And oh boy!

What a launch it has been - here's what the page looked like ​about a day or so after launch:

So, yes, it seems to have been worthwhile for both Backers and myself to launch the Titanium CandyCan™​ project on Kickstarter.

Oh, also, not only is it a fairly short project - but there are a couple of Rewards that are a damn good deal for you.

Heat Treating Knives

​Here's a super short video of part of how we heat-treat blades for the Flixx™ Knife...

The above video is only a little bit of the heat-treating process - but, for now, it's working very well. We're tweaking and adjusting things all the time though.

​Weirdly enough...

We have found the oil quench (Canola Oil) to work better than metal plates for the blades we've done so far. But, in saying that, these are somewhat "chunky" blades.

​Flixx Knife "Smoothness"

​Had a bit of an "issue" yesterday while assembling the Flixx™ knife...

Just as a reminder - this is what the Flixx knife™ looks like:

​I was opening and closing the blades during testing and was finding that some of the blades would be a little tight at certain points as they opened and closed ...and a little loose at other points.

​It was not something I really wanted on them. I'm really after something smoother than this.

After lots of assembling, disassembling and re-assembling...

I figured out that the phosphor-bronze washers are not working the way I expected - they seem to be "sticking" for some reason.

​Long story short:

I figured out that adding an extra washer on each side gives it the buttery-smooth and consistent opening-and-closing I had with the initial prototypes.

​So the issue here is that I've machined the scales to allow for one washer on each side - but I'm now going to fit two per side.

​What I'm going to do is machine in a recess into each scale so I can fit the additional 0.40mm (0.016") thick washer on each side.

Here's what the scales look like currently:

​And here is the change I'm going to be making on the scales...

​The "bad news" (not for you but for me)...

...is that I've already machined most of the scales (I think around 140 or something like that so far). And so I'm going to have to make a fixture on the milling machine to modify these. No big deal.

​The lesson here:

​I should have taken more time at the earlier production stages to test the functioning of the knife all the way through to the moving of the blade (and not just assembly only).

​​Now, here's what the inside of the scales are looking like with the new pocket machined out to fit the extra washer:

​The scales above are not finished (still have to be tumbled) - but I've been testing them as they come off the milling machine and the new "Double Washer" solution is working very well.

And I think that's it for today.

I've done a poor job of replying to comments in the last two blog posts - I am sorry. I will do my utmost to respond to comments if there are any this time!