# Our community, and a project.



## Zwiefel (Mar 16, 2015)

I wanted to share a story about what an awesome community we have, and extend an invitation to participate in bringing an unfortunate story to a happy ending. Bear with me, this is a bit long-winded.

In the spring of 2013, I was taking a break from work and hit "New Posts" on the forum, to see a 280MM Mario Gyuto-hiki listed for sale:










I figured I had about 3 minutes to make a decision, so I immediately PMd and secured it. It was a real joy. My first big knife, and my first custom...although I hadn't spec'd it. Now this thread pauses for a moment.

Not long after this, one of our forum vendors was going out of business with a lot of uncompleted work in his shop. After some negotiations by the guys on the forum that had been around for a long-time, the vendor agreed to let someone come and pick-up the various unfinished projects. I like Dallas and thought I could use a long week-end there so I volunteered to pick-up everything and get it mailed out to the various owners/volunteers. 

As a result of that, Son gifted to me a Don Nguyen original, and Don volunteered to re-handle it....which I of course took him up on. I sent Don some very poor drawings to illustrate my design concept and Don did an amazing job with materials selection and execution (picture below).

At this point I decided I should send the Mario Gyuto-hiki on a passaround:

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/11366-Ingoglia-280mm-Gyuto-Hiki-Passaround

Unfortunately, one of our community members decided to keep this knife as well as items from 2 other forum members/vendors. Obviously, this was not euphoria-inducing for me, but c'est la vie...that's the risk you accept when you make such an offer. This is where I expected this story to end. Instead, it's where the story of what an awesome community we have began. 

Last summer, right before my birthday, Chuckles PMd me to say he had a Mario Gyuto that he was willing to part with, if I was interested. Of course I was! He offered it to me for well-below fair market value. Just today, I got it back from Ian Rogers with a new saya (pictures below).

Again, here is where I expected this story to end...but no. Again, one of our own made an amazing offer. 

I was lucky enough to be at the KKF Mid-West gathering a few weeks ago with many amazing forum members, including Mario himself. We were having a nice chat as the evening was getting started and Mario said, "I've got something for you." Whereupon, he produced an amazing 240mm Mario Gyuto. I was floored, and a bit speechless for a while...just stunned. Eventually, I recovered and I think I even managed to offer gratitude for his generosity.

I have never in my life been a person that joined anything. Other than an NRA membership that was required to use the local gun range, I had literally never joined anything in my life until I found this forum. The quality, generosity, and humanity of people here is beyond anything in my experience outside of family. This is just one set of stories about my own personal experience here. There are many other stories of people donating their time to answer questions (including vendors who give freely whether there is any sale on the line or not: JKI, Korin, Martell), people who host forum events (I'm looking at you Karring), people who open their shop up (Devin Thomas), who host groups in their place of business (Charlie/Chuckles), etc. These are literally just the things I have personally been involved in. I could probably write something quadruple this long if I only expanded this to include interactions I know about. Lord knows how much other stuff happens below the radar that the rest of the community is involved in. 

This brings us to my invitation...here are pics of the three knives I mentioned above...AKA, my favorite knives:










As you can see, on the two other knives, I wanted to imbue the saya with the spirit of the knife and honor those design choices. Don did an amazing job on his K-Tip, and Ian Rogers did an amazing job on Mario's gyuto. 

However, the 3rd knife needs both a handle (have never done that before) and saya...and this knife represents to me everything that makes KKF special. So I want to invite you all to help me with a handle and saya concept. NOTE: this is not a request for donations, materials, labor, etc....just concepts.


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## CoqaVin (Mar 16, 2015)

I have developed a love affair with buckeye burl


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## Castalia (Mar 16, 2015)

Thanks for the post and reminding us of some of the stories from the past. I enjoy the community spirit here; all the knife lore I have learned from the forum has deepened my appreciation of fine kitchen knives. 

As for the handle, I like simple especially in WA styles. Given the dark handle with a blue/white accent you already have, consider a light wood, perhaps figured maple with a green or red spacer accent will be complementary while still able to stand alone. I like the same wood used in the ferrule and handle of the other Marko. I vote for keeping it sleek and simple. 

cool:


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## TheDispossessed (Mar 16, 2015)

Great story, I'm happy to hear you've had such positive experiences here. Since you already have what looks like two knives with black handles, what about a white one? bring some balance to the universe.


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## petefromNY (Mar 16, 2015)

Literally the amazing things that come from this forum have not ceased to amaze me. I dont think there is anywhere else on the internet like this place. I agree with thedispossessed, mix up the color way.


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## mhlee (Mar 17, 2015)

I'm glad to see that everything turned out well in the end. 

But, I've heard of members (not many, just a couple) who have taken advantage of the generosity of other members here, but one of my personal friends who is a member, sold a knife to a member, and the purchaser made a claim with PayPal on the ground that he didn't receive the knife, when, in fact, he did and he received his money back. 

For the safety of other members, would you consider identifying the member who took your gyuto-hiki?


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## Zwiefel (Mar 17, 2015)

Mike, sure! JMAdams13....but he had his ability to participate here restricted a long time ago, and hasn't been around really since this incident. The Admins/Mods were informed at the time of the event...and I believe some kind of post was made back then.


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## mhlee (Mar 17, 2015)

Zwiefel said:


> Mike, sure! JMAdams13....but he had his ability to participate here restricted a long time ago, and hasn't been around really since this incident. The Admins/Mods were informed at the time of the event...and I believe some kind of post was made back then.



Thanks! 

As many good people we have here, there are some members that have taken advantage of the great generosity of others, which is a travesty.


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## daveb (Mar 17, 2015)

Thanks for telling the story Danny. I knew most of it but was wondering how you ended up with another Mario ever since you posted about the Ian saya. Good on Chuckles and Good on Mario. 

To the handle and saya; To me a knife is not a Mario without some turqoise. To the extent that when Ian first posted a pic of the saya I was thinking it was destined for a Mario. When you posted that you were very happy with it I wondered how you got your knife back. I don't think it would be repetitious to include turquoise on the new knife, indeed it would represent Mario well.


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## ecchef (Mar 17, 2015)

TheDispossessed said:


> Since you already have what looks like two knives with black handles, what about a white one? bring some balance to the universe.


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## Mute-on (Mar 17, 2015)

daveb said:


> To the handle and saya; To me a knife is not a Mario without some turqoise. To the extent that when Ian first posted a pic of the saya I was thinking it was destined for a Mario. When you posted that you were very happy with it I wondered how you got your knife back. I don't think it would be repetitious to include turquoise on the new knife, indeed it would represent Mario well.



I agree about the turquoise. A point well made by Dave.

FWIW I find it very hard to go past a nice Australian Ringed Gidgee :thumbsup:

I'm sure whatever you choose will look spectacular


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## apicius9 (Mar 17, 2015)

Glad this worked out the way it did. I had somehow picked up that there was abuse if the generosity here, but not the extent of it. I think I am just too naive, I don't understand people who screw others like that. 

Anyway, for the 3rd knife I actually vote for staying with the dark theme. Always loved Mario's mammoth tooth ferrules which should go well with bog oak, nothing too busy. 

Stefan


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## jaybett (Mar 17, 2015)

Great story, thanks for sharing. 

Jay


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## panda (Mar 17, 2015)

Leopard print.


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## WildBoar (Mar 17, 2015)

ecchef said:


> View attachment 26802


I was thinking the same thing. 
This is a great way to show you have overcome people di([email protected] around with you.
:biggrin:


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## Zwiefel (Mar 17, 2015)

DaveB/Mute-on, As a man who is red-green color-blind, blue always appeals to me.

Ecchef/Wildboar, even more impressive for a saya!


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## Mucho Bocho (Mar 17, 2015)

Danny, I'm so glad your continued goo Karma paid off. Mario is quite a guy in my opinion.


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## Matus (Mar 17, 2015)

The most incredible stories are those that actually happened and this is one of them. Thank's for sharing.


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## mr drinky (Mar 18, 2015)

Yeah, good people (and a bad one) and then people get together and make things even better. Thanks for sharing Danny, and of course, as this original post was being written, I got a kick-azz bottle of vodka illegally shipped through the USPS to replenish my stock. Thanks Z.

k.


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## Artichoke (Mar 18, 2015)

I'm pretty new around here and don't really know who everyone is. What I did figure out pretty quickly was that that Zwiefel is a really nice guy.

Best luck with your project, I hope that it exceeds your expectations.


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## drawman623 (Mar 18, 2015)

I had the pleasure of meeting you and enjoying this story first hand here in R.I.. Truly the KKF membership is something greater than the sum of its parts. Such was the result of your rehandle and custom saya from Don.

I encourage you to consider the intangibles of this project however. For a restoration that speaks to the good memory of forum members pulling together, you might seek a handle that tells such a story. 

Burnt chestnut is my favorite. Initially it is vulnerable to the unwanted intrusion of food and moisture. Burned, it endures a "painful" experience. The end product, though scarred in appearance, is stronger and transformed to have a new resilience. Like hero character development in one of Lynch's films...separation, initiation and return. This particular project speaks from the journey, not just the end result.

Best wishes with your project Danny


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## Zwiefel (Mar 18, 2015)

drawman623 said:


> I had the pleasure of meeting you and enjoying this story first hand here in R.I.. Truly the KKF membership is something greater than the sum of its parts. Such was the result of your rehandle and custom saya from Don.
> 
> I encourage you to consider the intangibles of this project however. For a restoration that speaks to the good memory of forum members pulling together, you might seek a handle that tells such a story.
> 
> ...



Perfect. This is exactly the kind of dialogue/thinking I wanted. Is it available in the sizes needed for a Saya?


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## Fritzkrieg (Mar 18, 2015)

drawman623 said:


> I had the pleasure of meeting you and enjoying this story first hand here in R.I.. Truly the KKF membership is something greater than the sum of its parts. Such was the result of your rehandle and custom saya from Don.
> 
> I encourage you to consider the intangibles of this project however. For a restoration that speaks to the good memory of forum members pulling together, you might seek a handle that tells such a story.
> 
> ...



+1 for the Lynch reference


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