# 100mm Petty Passaround, looking for feedback



## Tim Rowland

Hi everyone,

I wanted to do a simple pass around to gather feedback from home and professional users as I continue to hone my skills as a craftsman.

The knife I would like to pass around is a 100mm laser petty.

Basic info on the knife:
Blade is made of .040" AEB-L hardened to 62rc and given a cryogenic treatment.
Handle is a frame construction Wa handle made of Micarta, g10, and Spalted Hawaiian Koa

I was thinking a group of 8-10 people, US only, active well known or senior members. Use the knife for a week, send it to the next person and a review outlined below.
Of course any additional feedback is greatly appreciated.
Please tell me exactly what you think, I have thick skin and take everything constructively.

Simple Rules:
-Use the knife, sharpen it only if you think the edge has degraded enough to warrant it. If you do sharpen or strop. Please add to your review so that I can track the edge retention.
-Please insure for $200
-Please make sure the knife is protected in the case provided and packaged with care to the next user.
-Enjoy it, but treat it like your own.
-leave a little review with the simple info below:

Review:

User: 

Dates used:

Initial Impression:

Likes:

Dislikes:

Sharpened? What stone progression?

Tasks performed:

Final thoughts:

Here is the knife














I will add the names in order below once we have the final users.

1. Existential Hero
2. Ian
3. M1k3
4. Horsemover
5. AT5760
6. Jchau890
7. mc2442
8.
9.
10.


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## milkbaby

Too busy but otherwise I'd love to see and use it!


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## ExistentialHero

Sounds fun, count me in!


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## ian

That's a 100mm petty? How tall is it? My eyes can't comprehend the scale, and think it's 160mm.


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## Tim Rowland

It is about 28mm tall at the heel.


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## ian

Wow, it looks like a really nice piece of work. Well done. I'll be looking forward to the results of the PA!


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## M1k3

I'm in. Looks nice.


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## Horsemover

I’d love to try it out. That handle


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## Tim Rowland

milkbaby said:


> Too busy but otherwise I'd love to see and use it!



Are you sure?
Use it for a prep session or two and send it off to the next person


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## Tim Rowland

ian said:


> Wow, it looks like a really nice piece of work. Well done. I'll be looking forward to the results of the PA!



Would you like to be part of the pass around?


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## ian

Tim Rowland said:


> Would you like to be part of the pass around?



Well, sure. I was initially just going to hold off, but if you want some extra opinions, I’ll be happy to help out. Looking forward to it.


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## AT5760

I’d be up for giving it a try.


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## Tim Rowland

Anyone else want to test this knife?
If not I will be sending it out tomorrow to the 1st user.

Pic in hand for those curious.


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## Carl Kotte

Wrong continent, otherwise I wouldn’t hesitate. It looks awesome!


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## ian

Tim Rowland said:


> Anyone else want to test this knife?
> If not I will be sending it out tomorrow to the 1st user.
> 
> Pic in hand for those curious.
> 
> View attachment 81635



Funny. It looks so different in this pic! Yum.


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## Chang

Any way I can get in on this? Seems fun.


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## Tim Rowland

Jchau890 said:


> Any way I can get in on this? Seems fun.



I will add you to the list.


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## ExistentialHero

The knife landed on my doorstep today! I only had a chance to attack one shallot with it tonight, so I'll hold off on a full review for a few days, but here's some pictures:


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## ExistentialHero

And now for the review!

Review:

User:
Me! Home cook, no pro training. Also briefly tested by my wife and by a family member with some culinary training.

Dates used:
2020-05-31 to 2020-06-03 (so far)

Initial Impression:
This thing is *thin*! It's super light, but nicely balanced, and the long handle makes it comfortable even in my largeish hands, though I might prefer one a little thicker. For my size, 100mm is somewhere around the boundary between a parer and a petty, so I used this both on the board and in hand for small jobs, and I found it really comfortable for both once I found the right grip, a sort of half-pinch with one finger on the blade:






Likes:
* The handle is really lovely and complements the blade nicely. I'm a big fan of the ferrule-less look for this knife. The black and green stripe in the middle looks really sharp.
* The finish on the blade is slightly textured (blasted, maybe?) so it's easy to grip despite its small size.
* The tip is nice and pointy for fine work.
* The heel is tall enough that I could still get it on the board while holding the knife as shown above.
* The overall blade shape, especially with the long neck, is quite distinctive, and I like it a lot.
* This size was a great addition to my kit--small enough to use for some paring and peeling, but big enough to use on the board for things like grapes and cherry tomatoes too. My wife (with somewhat smaller hands) used it exclusively on the board but also liked it a lot.
* Being so thin, the blade turns easily in product, which I found really useful when peeling potatoes.

Dislikes:
* For my hand size, a slightly thicker handle would be nice, though this worked fine once I got the hang of it.
* One of my sub-testers thought the textured finish looked weird. (Obviously, this is a matter of taste.)
* With such a thin grind, skinny neck, and pointy tip, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was going to break the thing. I didn't, though 

Sharpened? What stone progression?
Out of the box, it didn't want to go through a tomato skin--maybe it suffered a bit in shipping? I gave it a quick cleanup: Shapton 1k, Shapton 2k, and an Aiiwatani to finish to leave some bite on the edge. This edge held up fine for the rest of my time with the knife.

Tasks performed:
Cutting up carrots and celery, slicing grapes and cherry tomatoes, peeling potatoes, a few test cuts on a shallot, and cutting up one peanut butter sandwich for my toddler.

Final thoughts:
I really like this knife! I don't have a ton of small-petty experience, so I can't compare it to the rest of the market, but I'd be very happy with this as a permanent resident.

I'll have this on its way to @ian soon!


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## Tim Rowland

Awesome feedback, thank you for taking the time to play with it for a while.


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## ian

Review:

_User: ian

Dates used: June 4 - June 11

Initial Impression: _It's a handsome knife. Different dimensions than I'm used to. I normally hate greens and blues in handles, but the green stripe in this one was pretty subtle and nice looking. It has a nice feel in the hand. The finish on the blade is unusual. 
_
Likes: _See above. It also sharpened quickly for stainless, and the burr was not too much of a pain to remove. It was only a 1 min touchup though. The profile was nice, too.
_
Dislikes: _The balance was the biggest problem for me. The blade is super thin, and so has basically no weight. The handle, on the other hand, is pretty big and heavy. So, the balance point is way back. This is fine for a parer that one uses in a hammer grip, but in that case you (or at least I) want the heel of the knife to be right against the handle. The shape of the choil and the length of the neck encourage a pinch grip, but a pinch grip is super unwieldy given how far back the balance point it. I also am not a huge fan of the finish on the blade. It's a bit grippy when going through some product, e.g. when splitting a small apple. Perhaps it makes the food release better, but with such a short blade I'm not so concerned with release. Also, it shows scratches easily (there's already a small one near the tip, not sure from when), and the finish can't be restored easily. Also, this general type of blade doesn't work so well for me. I have a 90mm Shun petty that I use, but its main strength is that it's indestructible, so I can open plastic bags, take really hard skins off of garlic, and do other tasks that I wouldn't want to use a fancy knife for. Personally, I don't do a lot of small detail work, but I imagine that a small laser petty could work better for someone who does.
_
Sharpened? _Yes. _What stone progression? _Gesshin 3000 s&g, just a quick touchup.
_
Tasks performed: _Minced some garlic, cut up some apples, supremed a small orange, cut some herbs, scallions, and a couple other things
_
Final thoughts: _Not much more to add. Sorry the negative part is so long! I should add that it's seriously impressive craftsmanship. I aspire to make a knife at this level at some point in my life, but it probably won't happen. Really nice work. 


----

@M1k3 is next? I'll send it out Friday.


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## SHOWERDOOKIE

The dislikes didn’t sound like ‘negatives’ to me, that was a good read! They sound like some positives to me, as I use this length petty for some small tasks pretty regularly for some more delicate things, and silver skin work which this sounds like a dream for. Watching this one closely, would love to get in on the pass around but my schedule has been and will be hectic for the foreseeable future. Looks like fun for those who get to try it out!


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## Tim Rowland

@ian ,
Thank you for the feedback this is a great write up and much appreciated.
I don't see dislikes as negative at all. I see them as personal preferences and bullet points to consider for when/if a redesign happens.

Also for everyone wondering. Yes the blade is blasted with a garnet/sand media.


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## Tim Rowland

@mc2442 has been added to the list.


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## M1k3

Received the knife a few days ago. Taking it for a spin tonight. Looks nice and well made. Will give my review after some time with it.


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## Southpaw

Hey I used to have a buddy in college named @Tim Rowland . You’re not from Scranton, Pa and went to iup by any chance?


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## Tim Rowland

Southpaw said:


> Hey I used to have a buddy in college named @Tim Rowland . You’re not from Scranton, Pa and went to iup by any chance?


Nope, I grew up in 29 palms, CA and moved to Georgia my senior year of high school back in 1999.


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## Tim Rowland

Any updates? Is the knife still with you @M1k3 or is it onto @Horsemover ?


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## M1k3

Tim Rowland said:


> Any updates? Is the knife still with you @M1k3 or is it onto @Horsemover ?


Bit of a hectic day. Sending it out today. 

Regarding the knife. Not sure what else I can say that wasn't already said. I felt it's well made. Nice ergonomics. Comfortable in hand. No sharp or protruding edges. Can't comment on edge retention or sharpening. It's still sharp. All around I think it's well put together and nice. 

Thank you for letting me participate.


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## Horsemover

Looking forward to giving it a run.


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## Horsemover

Just a quick update...still in transit to me. It’s been taking forever. I think the holiday weekend might have delayed it.


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## Tim Rowland

USPS has been super slow the last 2 weeks. I have had packages I sent with 2 day postage take 9 days.


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## 420layersofdank

is it too late to hop on the list ? This petty looks dope


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## Tim Rowland

420layersofdank said:


> is it too late to hop on the list ? This petty looks dope


Where are you located?
I haven't decided if I am going to add a second round for those outside of the US.


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## Horsemover

I received the knife yesterday. Haven’t had a chance to cut with it but initial impression is that it feels great in hand. I don’t typically use small knives. Just recently picked up a 180 petty and that’s my tiny blade. I know some didn’t like the light blade to large handle but it feels really good to me. I have tried some smaller petties and pairing knives and couldn’t deal with the tiny handle. I hope to put this to good use this weekend but could see this as great addition to the rack. Stay tuned but excited to use this one.


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## Horsemover

User: Home use...myself and son

Dates used: 7/10 - 7/16

Initial Impression: Felt really nice in hand. Wasn't sure about the blade finish. Super thin and light. 

Likes: Size...my smallest knife at the moment is a 180mm petty. I need something this size on my rack. I have tried to like smaller blades but the handles always seem too small or huge. This was perfect combination of blade length, height and handle size for me. Very handy to grab for small kitchen tasks but not so small that it is a single purpose blade.

Dislikes: Initially I didn't care for the blade finish but after some use I changed my mind. It has a cool look to it but I had concerns about durability. One week of use isn't really a good durability run but after thinking about it this has been shipped all over and used but quite a few before me. I didn't beat on it but gave it a good workout and the finish seems very solid. Initially I wasn't sure about the green in the handle but this grew on me as well.

Sharpened: Didn't get a chance to get out the stones. Knife was decently sharp when it arrived.

Tasks performed: I pretty much did all my cutting for the week with this knife with the exception of slicing some tenderloin and cutting up a pineapple and watermelon. Mushrooms, onions, peppers, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chicken, apples, strawberries, etc.

Final thoughts: I really enjoyed using this. Thanks Tim! I would like to add something just like this to my rack as I think I have a big gap in this space. What I found this knife most useful for was working with raw proteins. It was very handy for cleaning up chicken breasts and removing silverskin on beef. My son used this knife a fair amount this past week and his thoughts were very similar. His only gripe in the end was the green in the handle but loved the size, fit and finish.


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## Tim Rowland

Awesome feedback, thank you for participating and glad you enjoyed it.


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## Horsemover

Headed off to AT5760.


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## AT5760

Knife arrived safely in Nebraska today. Thoughts to follow.


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## Tim Rowland

Any Updates? 
@AT5760 is it still with you?


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## AT5760

It’s off to the next person this afternoon. The knife came in just as I left on a family vacation, so my write up is a bit delayed.


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## Tim Rowland

AT5760 said:


> It’s off to the next person this afternoon. The knife came in just as I left on a family vacation, so my write up is a bit delayed.



I guess that wasn't the best of timing for when it got to you.
I hope that you still got to play around with it some and cooked a bit while on vacation.
If you feel that you need to use it for a few more days to get a real impression of it that is perfectly fine.
I just wanted to get a pulse on where it was at the moment.


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## AT5760

I only got a couple of days with the knife, but I was able to use it for a full meal and some odds and ends. @Tim Rowland, thanks a ton for letting me try out your craftsmanship. 

User: Just me (my wife sticks to the Ikea butter knives)

Dates used: July 21-30

Initial impression: Small, laser thin gyuto with a freakin' awesome handle.

Likes: 1. I really, really liked the handle. The finish is pretty grippy, even when wet. The grain on the wood is gorgeous, and the lime green liner adds some color without it being gaudy. The handle is on the longer side for a parer, but the diameter and shape work well for a parer/small prep knife. 2. It peels well - being a parer that matters! Once I got used to the thinness of the blade, I felt really comfortable using it on apples and carrots. With more time, I think a knife like this could be as efficient or even more efficient than the peelers I usually use. 3. The knife has great overall fit and finish and it's clear that Tim takes care with his work. 

Dislikes: 1. I didn't find it quite as comfortable to use in hand as the Opinel and Wusthoff that I usually use for in hand tasks. I think it was the combination of slightly longer neck and slightly taller heel. The handle is very comfortable, but I felt slightly awkward at first when trying to peel fruit. But thankfully I didn't nick my thumb on the heel. 2. I am neutral on the blade finish. Pro - it reminds me a lot of my Benchmade's finish and I think it likely adds substantial corrosion resistance. Con - it felt like it added some drag on softer foods like melon.

Sharpened: Gentle touch up on Rika 5k. I've got a long way to go on sharpening, and didn't want to mess up the edge or finish. So I just gave it 8-10 passes on each side to freshen the edge. Felt fine on the stone, but I went really, really light.

Task performed: Did an entire family meal with this little guy. I used it to core and slice strawberries and melon for the kids (used a gyuto to peel the melon). Sliced pork chops, which it did quite well given the length. Prepped a few apples and red peppers. Sliced summer squash. In addition to daily work on fruit, I used it to cut shallots for a salad. Shallots are no match for this knife.

Final Thoughts: First, if every knife that I own had a handle to the similar to the one on this knife, I'd be a very happy guy. I really like the feel and shape of it. Second, I don't think I quite gelled with this knife as a parer, BUT I think a 150mm version of this knife could be my perfect daily prep knife. The profile worked well on the board and an extra bit of length would be great when slicing portioned proteins or dealing with peppers, apples, and larger stone fruit. The blade is thinner than anything else that I own, but it never felt brittle or fragile.


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## Tim Rowland

Thank you for participating in this passaround as well as the great feedback. 
If I do another passaround in the future I will make sure you get a little more time with it if you want.


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## ian

AT5760 said:


> Small, laser thin gyuto with a freakin' awesome handle.



Hmm, what size gyuto do you usually use? 

Nice writeup.


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## VicVox72

I love these pass around review threads. I feel I learn a lot about the art of evaluating a knife in the abstract from comparing pictures to multiple reviews from different cooks with different training/experience/preferences. 

Also, just wanted to say that the knife looks ridiculously gorgeous. Would love to hold it in hand, too, but I assume this pass around is "closed" at the moment.


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## Tim Rowland

Thank you for your inquiry. 
This is my 1st pass around here on this forum, but I may do another in the future with a different knife. This one is now on its way back to me for final inspection and compilation of all the feedback to use for future iterations of this petty.


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## birdsfan

I regret I missed seeing this when it was initially posted. Really cool looking blade Tim and it looked like it was well loved by all! Awesome!


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## Tim Rowland

Update and consolidation of feedback:


Everyone seemed to be impressed with the fit and finish.........that makes me smile I try to focus on that stuff as much as geometry.
Mixed reviews on handle size, I think that will always depend on hand size and preference on balance.
Most seemed to like the handle material choices...even the little pop of color.
Multiple mentions on the thinness of the blade. This was made with .040" stock...I believe I will be changing to .060" stock to improve balance, encourage confidence in the robustness of the blade.
Mixed reviews on the blade finish, it was sandblasted with a garnet media. I will probably change this to a satin belt finish as I do on most of my other knives.
Some liked the profile with the longer distinct emoto, and some wanted it shorter. I think for the 100mm size I will make the emoto slightly shorter and leave the same length for my longer pettys.
Some thought that at 100mm a slightly shorter heel would help the in hand feel as well. I am going to explore making it 25mm vs. the 28mm here, I believe along with shortening the emoto a touch it should create a better in hand feel for paring tasks.
A few thought that a 150mm version would be just the right size for a prep/protien knife...That is in the works.

Thank you again for everyone who participated in this pass around and all the great feedback. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to use it.

I really liked the feedback from this one so I would love to do a second pass around with a different profile and will most likely open it up as a 2 part. Con. US and then Europe

So what would everyone like to see as my next pass around?


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## ExistentialHero

Tim Rowland said:


> So what would everyone like to see as my next pass around?



285mm gyuto with a skinny tip and a convex grind, please


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## M1k3

ExistentialHero said:


> 285mm gyuto with a skinny tip and a convex grind, please


Sakai style 285!


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## ian

225 or 240 gyuto with the most Tim Rowland grind you can make, and a handle made from unicorn puke.


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## Tim Rowland

so the trend would be a gyuto with thin tip, and full convex grind. Size TBD.


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## AT5760

I want to try that 150mm prep knife!


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## juice

Tim Rowland said:


> Thank you again for everyone who participated in this pass around and all the great feedback. I truly appreciate you all taking the time to use it.


This looks like the definitive win-win - you got useful feedback and everyone involved got to use a terrific knife.

As you say, handles are never going to be a one-size-fits-all thing. Also, they're the most interesting part of the knife, after all 



Tim Rowland said:


> So what would everyone like to see as my next pass around?


Narrator: it soon became obvious that this question was utterly pointless and the knifemaker decided to just make the next test knife he had in mind


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## Chang

Whoo, I was the last person to have try this knife, but due to some unforeseen difficulties, I didn’t have a chance to sit down and write this review, so here it goes:

First impressions, it’s like a nice kitchen scalpel lol. Thin and tall blade, long and sender handle. Aesthetically, this knife is very pleasing to the eyes and the touch.

I used the knife for around a week in a pro kitchen setting. Unfortunately, due to the size, I didn’t reach for it as much as I wanted to, but still tried to use it as much as I could. I’m more used to using a 135-150mm for making delicate cuts with small veg or proteins. Not a fan of the handle, as it was really hard for me to use it with a steady pinch grip, so for the most part, I was legit holding it like a scalpel. I didn’t notice any heat treatment issues with the blade. It arrived sharp and left sharp, never did I think to myself that it needed a touch up on stones or the strop. Flew through shallots and radish really nicely. There was no friction, so that’s a plus as well. If the knife was a touch thicker, that would be a plus, as well, because I felt like I had to be extra careful while using it

The only downfall of this knife to me is the size, which is probably a personal issue, but the only 100mm petty I currently own is a Mazaki, which also sees limited use. Everything the 100mm petty can do, I would prefer to do it with a longer petty. I asked my coworkers to see if we shared the same opinion, and they did.

Overall, this is a great petty. Would I purchase this exact one? No. Would I ask Tim Rowland to make me a longer one? Absolutely.


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## Tim Rowland

@Jchau890 
Thank you very much for review and being part of the pass around.
With all the feedback I will most certainly be adding a 150mm petty to my lineup and with .060" stock over the .040" stock.


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