#a56 :: Atwood Tactical Whistle

Peter Atwood hand-makes the most exquisite pocket tools.

I discovered his work last summer via Kevin Kelly’s Cool Tools newsletter.

That one post, search and a subsequent re-post at BoingBoing made the New England tinker suddenly rock-star famous – and made his marvelous little wrenches, price knives, prybars and uncategorizable nifties virtually impossible for anyone with a day-job or without an industrial-strength web-bot to snag:

The moment Atwood hand-finishes a batch of tools and posts their availability, they’re snapped up and treasured – or by some of the more unscrupulous, flipped straight onto eBay where they enjoy a sizeable markup.

I was lucky enough to buy two of his tools before fame put that barrier between his work and his fans (there’s no barrier with him personally – he’s an industrious and extremely affable blogger – Hi, Peter!) and I can’t decide which tool is my favorite …
This stainless steel Atwood tactical whistle with a rifle knurl is the single most earf&@#ingly loud thing I have ever had, and that includes a variety of gnarly college stereo systems, a Chinese-made electric guitar, a blown-mufflered Volvo and two small children.

And it’s endless fun to fiddle with, as is the other Atwood tool on my keyring – which is even more exotic, and about which I’ll post here in a few weeks.

Anyway – just a howdy to all the readers of Planet Pocket Tool – I linked HLO in a feverish comment on Peter’s blog and then realized to my dismay that in all my daily posts at HEAVY LITTLE OBJECTS, I have not once featured an Atwood tool.

Well, I hope this rebalances that. Thanks again, Peter. Cool stuff. Some day I’ll manage to hit that page when something’s actually available.