# Handle order update



## apicius9 (Feb 5, 2012)

Hi,

just thought I'd start a new thread where I keep posting updates about the pile of custom orders that had backed up in my shop and other order-related news.

1) All handles that had been paid in the last 6 weeks and that needed a little touch-up, finishing etc. are now finished and I plan to send them all out on Monday - Thanks again!

2) I found a young gentleman who is helping me out in the shop for 10h/week. He still needs to learn a lot, but he promised me that he would stay until mid-May, and the main benefit is that with him working regular hours, I need to get my a$$ into the shop on regular hours also. I hope that this will finally move things forward, and we have had a good start already.

3) One of the main hold-ups for quite a few handle orders was that I had trouble with drilling the metal pieces. I now have received a lot of good advice and some more suitable drills - tomorrow will be the day of truth. Assuming that this works out as planned, all the handles with metal spacers will be started in the very near future also.

4) I am keeping my order sheet reasonably up to date. You can see where I am with your handle at any given time. The sheet is here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...tYUJ3eEpRZnBueHc&hl=en&authkey=CNvc0_MG#gid=0 . Please keep in mind that I try to go in the sequence of ordering, but sometimes it is more efficient to do a few similar ones together or skip handles because I am waiting for tools or materials for those. There are also a few that I just squeezed in somewhere but the order had been placed much earlier (like Jim or Kentucky Chef, for example). 

5) For several of you, especially the ones later in the list, we still need to narrow down details or I will have to double check to make sure I got it right. If you are one of those, please feel free to contact me if you see this, but I will also try in the next days to send an email or a PM.

6) If anybody of you after waiting all this time has changed his/her mind, I fully understand. If you want to cancel any orders, just please let me know.

7) Last but not least, it looks pretty gloomy on the job front, and it is getting more and more likely that I will have to leave Hawaii in July. The bad news is that I have no idea, yet, where I will end up and whether I will have an opportunity to continue making handles. The small good news is that between mid May and the end of June I will have more time on my hands and may get in a few weeks of full-time woodworking - if there is any demand for handles. So, if you had any plans of ordering a handle from me, please contact me _*after Feb 19*_ about details. By then I hope to have all of the current orders glued together, and I will have more time to think about new ones with you - without getting all confused (I do get confused very easily...). I will do my best to only take as many orders as I can realistically handle until the end of June, but if I have to relocate, I could probably also use the cash flow...

That's it for now. If you have something on order, please check the order list or this thread for occasional updates. And most of all, thanks to all of you again for your patience!

Stefan


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## bcrano (Feb 5, 2012)

I'm lucky number three. My Kono is gonna look badass when it's all ebonyed out. Looking forward to seeing your work Stefan.


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## apicius9 (Feb 5, 2012)

Thanks Brian, your copper piece is predrilled already, but then I just smoked a few drills and kept postponing the metal pieces because they annoyed the heck out of me... If all goes as planned, it will be glued together on Sunday and I will start with the rough shaping on Monday. 

Stefan


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## ThEoRy (Feb 5, 2012)

Getting closer... :dance:


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## tk59 (Feb 5, 2012)

I don't see the Dave custom #6.


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## kalaeb (Feb 5, 2012)

I really keep hoping that your next post says you found the career opportunity of a lifetime...I wish you continued luck in your search and hope that you find a position on your little paradise island. If not maybe California will suffice.


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## Johnny.B.Good (Feb 5, 2012)

kalaeb said:


> If not maybe California will suffice.



Yes! How about California? I hear northern California is nice. 

Good luck Stefan. Wish I could help.


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## Dave Martell (Feb 6, 2012)

I'm starting to see handles rolling in for mounting, in fact, I did three today.


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## apicius9 (Feb 13, 2012)

I didn't send out individual emails, but all recently paid handles are in the mail and should arrive this week. I still have the ones here that go directly to Dave, but they should go out on Wednesday.

Stefan


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## Johnny.B.Good (Feb 13, 2012)

How is your new shop assistant working out Stefan?


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## apicius9 (Feb 13, 2012)

Johnny.B.Good said:


> How is your new shop assistant working out Stefan?



He is doing o.k., still needs to learn a lot but we will get there. He mostly does preparation work right now, and I will continue doing the steps that give the handles my personal note. To be honest, the work he takes off my hands is only one part. At least as important is that he forces me to go to the shop 3 times per week and work consistently. We did make some good progress already, I just glued together 15 more handles today and only stopped at that because my back was killing me... 

Stefan


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## Johnny.B.Good (Feb 13, 2012)

Glad to hear it (except the part about your back killing you). It would take me 15 years to make 15 handles.


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## apicius9 (Feb 13, 2012)

Dang, back pain is back with reinforcement today. I am old.... Actually, I am pretty sure it's from the awkward position on the drill press where I spent a lot of time recently. Gotta exercise more, as soon as I can move again.

Stefan


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## apicius9 (May 2, 2012)

Trying to get somewhere in the shop. Last weekend I had some great help from our very own forum member Obtuse who came over to check out the shop and 'apprentice' for a bit - mahalo nui loa!  Since my student helper deserted me again, this was great and I hope he will come a few more times - to help out and make a few handles for himself.

Anyway, my back started killing me after buffing for a few hours today, so here are only some group pictures; I will try to get individual ones when they are completely done. Actually, after seeing the latest handles by Harald and Marco I was thinking about tossing them away and retiring, but since they are as good as done, I might as well show them... All these handles have been buffed once, they will get one more buffing and then some rubbing with a cotton cloth. They should all be ready to be shipped out on Monday at the latest. Of course, some handles have been ordered so long ago, the guys may have forgotten about them...





1) Blackwood, spalted maple, horn ferrule (Rio)
2) Koa, marbled horn (Rio)
3) Ironwood, zebrawood, ns spacer (Pesky)
4) Quilted maple, horn (Jeff)
5) Quilted maple, black palm (Jeff)
6) Amboyna burl, horn, ns spacer (Yash)






7) Buckeye burl, marbled horn (Karl)
8) Koa, signature ferrule, horn spacer (Bob C.)
9) Macassar ebony,marbled horn, copper spacer (Brian)
10) ironwood, spalted kukui nut ferrule (Josh)
11) Black mulga, horn, ns spacer, mammoth bark end cap (mattrud)
12) koa, blackwood ferrule (JC R.)







13) spalted Hawaiian signature, 'whitebait' kauri ferrule (Martin D.)

Some more to follow shortly. There will also be approx. 18-20 'extras' within the next 2-3 weeks that are up for grabs. Hope you like'em... 

Stefan


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## Deckhand (May 2, 2012)

Sorry you are in pain hope you feel better. You seem hard on yourself. These handles are stunning. Amazing work!


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## apicius9 (May 2, 2012)

Deckhand said:


> Sorry you are in pain hope you feel better. You seem hard on yourself. These handles are stunning. Amazing work!



Thanks for the concern, not as bad as it sounds. I use my drill press as a buffer and stand in an awkward and totally unergonomic posture when I buff, that just hurts after a while. I usually stop when it hurts - or when the buffing wheel grabs a handle and smashes it into the wall which is a clear sign that my concentration is waning. Today they both happened around the same time 

Stefan


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## Crothcipt (May 2, 2012)

sounds scarry.

:scared2:


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## obtuse (May 2, 2012)

They look great! :thumbsup: I'm very grateful for this opportunity and I'm glad I could help you out


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## Johnny.B.Good (May 2, 2012)

Some gorgeous handles here Stefan...


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## G-rat (May 2, 2012)

Those quilted maple handles are sick


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## Mingooch (May 2, 2012)

I have to second that, the quilted maple is my favorite of that bunch.


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## add (May 2, 2012)

Artistry_ and_ craftsmanship on display here.

Wonderful stuff!


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## Dave Martell (May 2, 2012)

:dance:


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## El Pescador (May 2, 2012)

they look great...especially #3!


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## apicius9 (May 2, 2012)

Thanks guys, a while ago I was trying to sell some of that maple but nobody was interested. I guess I just keep it and make a few more handles from it. 

Stefan


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## echerub (May 2, 2012)

Nice woods get much more attention once you've worked your magic on them  

My favorites from this lineup are #6 (amboyna) and #8 (koa w white ferrule). Very nice as always, Stefan!


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## Andrew H (May 2, 2012)

They all look great but #6 is my favorite.


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## Deckhand (May 2, 2012)

Mingooch said:


> I have to second that, the quilted maple is my favorite of that bunch.



Yep, if they weren't spoken for I would buy those two in a heartbeat.


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## Ucmd (May 2, 2012)

#6 is my favorite handle......and it's mine..HAHAHAHAHAHAH...thanks so much stefan. it is beautiful.


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## ThEoRy (May 2, 2012)

Soon.......my precious........


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## apicius9 (May 2, 2012)

ThEoRy said:


> Soon.......my precious........



Rick, you just had bad luck because I needed to 'repair' yours and then didn't have the right piece until Marko helped me out. But I have it on my table again right now...

Stefan


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## Amon-Rukh (May 3, 2012)

Wow, those maple handles are amazing. I love the look of buckeye too, and the horn on both ends compliments that one really well. Awesome stuff!


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## ThEoRy (May 3, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Rick, you just had bad luck because I needed to 'repair' yours and then didn't have the right piece until Marko helped me out. But I have it on my table again right now...
> 
> Stefan









Oooh? That's great news! Thanks to both you and Marko are in order!


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## Burl Source (May 3, 2012)

I agree that the quilted maple looks awesome.

[video=youtube_share;DLvIFRNbqOs]http://youtu.be/DLvIFRNbqOs[/video]

Sorry, couldn't help myself.


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## apicius9 (May 6, 2012)

Thanks guys. But it looks like there is a curse over me right now, have been down with a cold since Thursday and coughing my lungs out Sat and today. Very annoying. But I hope to get over it soon. Good thing is, the semester is over and I can go to the shop any time now during the week. 

Stefan


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## apicius9 (May 14, 2012)

Just to follow up: got over my cold, went to the shop today, and all the handles listed above are now done and the ones that are paid will ship on Monday. 

Just in case anybody is interested, between the handles I still have on my website and a few more I made, there will be approx. 20 extra handles available in the next few days. Most of them are finished, about 8 more are on my bench right now. I will probably post the first ones around Wednesday. In the meantime, I will continue to work on the ordered handles. Still aiming to get them all done by mid - June. 

Right now, it doesn't really look all that promising reg. a day job in the fall, so I may consider doing a few months of woodworking to bridge me over to the next season. I will announce this as soon as I have any idea what will happen after July 31. And if nobody wants to order anything, that may be my opportunity to lose weight.... 

Stefan


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## apicius9 (May 15, 2012)

Just parking this here because I need to show some WIP handles to people... Hey Rick, look, there is hope!


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## ThEoRy (May 15, 2012)

Is that me, the second one from the right?

My precious???!


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## 99Limited (May 15, 2012)

Those three colored handles look pretty wicked. Stefan, you have to do some more pictures of these by themselves when you're done.


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## apicius9 (May 15, 2012)

ThEoRy said:


> View attachment 7168
> 
> 
> Is that me, the second one from the right?
> ...



Yep, I hope you will like it...



99Limited said:


> Those three colored handles look pretty wicked. Stefan, you have to do some more pictures of these by themselves when you're done.



I will try, the last few rounds I haven't taken many photos because I was running so late with making them that I didn't want to hold it up more for pictures... 

Stefan


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## ThEoRy (May 16, 2012)

Oh yeah, looks great! Gonna look even better on my Tanaka!! In honor of his passing I'd like to dedicate the re-handling to him.


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## SameGuy (May 16, 2012)

There's that dyed spalted tamarind again. Where is the second one, the one I asked about, oh, a month ago? :whistling:


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## apicius9 (May 17, 2012)

SameGuy said:


> There's that dyed spalted tamarind again. Where is the second one, the one I asked about, oh, a month ago? :whistling:



I just scored another piece of that funky wood, I can make you a set 

Stefan


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## apicius9 (Jun 8, 2012)

Hi guys, just for all of you who bought a handle in the last week or so, between not getting to the post office, running out of boxes, and my printer dying I am a bit late with shipping things out. But the plan is to pack the rest up on Saturday while Germany beats Portugal in soccer and shipping it all out right after that. Thanks for your patience. Working on the next batches, by next week there should be quite a few other ones finished. 

Stefan


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## Sushi Ninja (Jul 7, 2012)

i was thinking about ordering a handle to see if i like it. then i saw the waiting list


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## Sushi Ninja (Jul 7, 2012)

number 9 is just what i've been looking for. i don't need the ring in between though...how do i order it?


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## ThEoRy (Jul 7, 2012)

Sushi Ninja said:


> number 9 is just what i've been looking for. i don't need the ring in between though...how do i order it?



You get on the waiting list....


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## apicius9 (Jul 8, 2012)

Yeah, unfortunately I am notorious for long wait times. However, it's getting better. Unless I find a full time job on short notice, I will spend more time catching up. Next week I hope to cross about 25-30 handles off the order list. Still plenty left, but the wait time is moving from years to months...

Stefan


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## Sushi Ninja (Jul 8, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Yeah, unfortunately I am notorious for long wait times. However, it's getting better. Unless I find a full time job on short notice, I will spend more time catching up. Next week I hope to cross about 25-30 handles off the order list. Still plenty left, but the wait time is moving from years to months...
> 
> Stefan



full time job? with this skill and service, i think you'd be make a lot of money just by selling handles alone. if you devote more time into it, i could only imagine the $$$ you'll be making. 

but back on topic, how long is the wait?


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## apicius9 (Jul 8, 2012)

I wish! My prices are too low, this is actually the first year with a potential to break into the profit zone - a few more years like that and I could break even overall  And I always say it's a small market of crazy people (myself included, of course), but nothing to build an existence on.

Anyway, as for wait time, I would say sometime in September is realistic the way things are going now. Many times I don't strictly go in the order on my list because it is more efficient to bundle similar ones into one batch. And if it's a very 'simple' design, I can sometimes just squeeze them in somehow. But overall, I try to be fair and respect the order sequence. 

Stefan


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## apicius9 (Jul 8, 2012)

I just cleaned and reorganized my order list a little bit. Some people still need to be contacted to confirm orders or order details, but overall I expect to finish about half of the current orders in the coming 2 weeks. That still leaves about 30+ handles ahead of any new order, but that is better than what it looked like before the clean-up...

Stefan


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## apicius9 (Aug 12, 2012)

O.k., I have to admit, between moving, looking for a job, and being depressed about my whole situation, I am worried that I have lost track of a few things. My order list should be reasonably up to date, but I am not sure whether I remember everything that was discussed through PMs. Unfortunately, I deleted some PMs by accident when I cleaned for more space, so I just want to see if I have it all correct.

- Currently, handles are in the mail or about to be mailed for Patrick O., Jim, Chris, Emanuel, Philip K., Jack G., Noah, Cody S., and Andy M. 

- If you are NOT among the ones I mentioned above and NOT on my order list at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...authkey=CNvc0_MG&hl=en&authkey=CNvc0_MG#gid=0 but you wanted one of my available handles, can you please contact me again? There is a good chance that your PM got deleted by accident. 

Sorry about the mess. I am going back to the shop this week, so things will hopefully move forward there also. My currently available handles will be posted soon with more details, either here and on my website or through Dave's website as special deals - stay tuned :groucho:

Stefan


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## apicius9 (Aug 14, 2012)

Just to confirm that everything mentioned above plus handles for Joshua V. and James C. have shipped except the ones for Patrick O. where I am just waiting for the address confirmation. 

Stefan


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## Dave Martell (Aug 14, 2012)

apicius9 said:


> Just to confirm that everything mentioned above plus handles for Joshua V. and James C. have shipped except the ones for Patrick O. where I am just waiting for the address confirmation.
> 
> Stefan




:funfunfunfun:


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## Jim (Aug 15, 2012)

Yippie!


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## unkajonet (Aug 15, 2012)

Jim said:


> Yippie!



What Jim said


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## Dave Martell (Aug 16, 2012)

Jim said:


> Yippie!





unkajonet said:


> What Jim said




Crap, looks like I've got some knives to make


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## Jim (Aug 16, 2012)

Dave Martell said:


> Crap, looks like I've got some knives to make


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## unkajonet (Aug 16, 2012)

You always say the right thing


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## Crothcipt (Aug 23, 2012)

Jim said:


>



um what is elmo doing to his leg?


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## apicius9 (Oct 20, 2012)

O.k., back to work. I have just had a frustrating summer and fall, struggling to cope with unemployment and a few other things, and rather than spending the extra time productively in the wood shop, I just slid into dark hole for a while. But things are looking up again. Still looking for a day job but getting better with more productive things again. Time for a quick update for people who may not even remember they are on my order list after such a long time... Here is what's happening on my order list:

Chris M. - handle touch-up on the deba almost finished, just need to refinish the handle. I will try and send pics on Sunday or Monday to make sure you are o.k. with it and expect to ship the knife next week. 

Martin Dauer - Has been finished for a while, I need to follow up.
Sebastien - Has been finished for a while, I need to follow up.
Rick O. - Last handle from the order just needs to be run over the buffer and will be shipped next week.
Mike Styons - pieces are cut, will glue the handle next week, should be finished within the coming 3-4 weeks.
John Neeleman - pieces are cut, will glue the handle next week, should be finished within the coming 3-4 weeks.
Daniel Williams - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
Zach Lenz (3x) - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
Tu Tran (2x) - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
Rob Sacco - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
Scott Schapiro - Have to see how it goes, there are a few grooves in the redwood I need to fill. If that works and looks good, handle should ship in the next 2 weeks. 
Salvatore Taibi - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
Sean - will be finished and ready for shipping within the coming 2 weeks.
GilYoun Jang (2x) - pieces are cut, will glue the handle next week, should be finished within the coming 3-4 weeks.
* James B. (7x) - pieces are selected and prepared, waiting for final confirmation before cutting and gluing.
Taylor - pieces are cut, will glue the handle next week, should be finished within the coming 3-4 weeks.
Philip Wolfe - pieces are selected but not yet cut to size, will try to include the handle in the next batch.
Bret Tullis - pieces are selected but not yet cut to size, will try to include the handle in the next batch.
dave t - pieces are selected but not yet cut to size, will try to include the handle in the next batch. 
Donald - will select pieces and make suggestions

Ben Prescott, Bill Farrell, Mark Velten all had asked about 'off the shelf handles' - I have a box with about 25 of those in various states of readiness, but I kept pushing them aside for the longest time. I will make an effort in the coming 2 weeks to get a bunch of them ready...

* If James B. confirms the order of a set of 7, that may add a week to the ETA of the handles coming after him in the list, but I will try to do my best. 

That's as far as I can see regarding realistic time frames right now. Once these are all at least glued together, I will contact everyone who is a bit later in the list about details again. My goal is to get them all done by Christmas at the latest.

Thanks for your patience, everybody,

Stefan


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## Crothcipt (Oct 20, 2012)

Good to see you working your way out of that dark hole. Keep it up, we are all behind you.irate1:


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## apicius9 (Oct 20, 2012)

Thanks!

Stefan


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## markenki (Oct 20, 2012)

Way to go, Stefan! We're rooting for you.


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## wenus2 (Oct 29, 2012)

Crothcipt said:


> Keep it up, we are all behind you.irate1:



I was, but I didn't like the view.
I will pull you along from up front here on out.

Look like a solid list. Set of 7? Lucky dog. Matching?


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