# ChucktheButcher - Sad News



## WildBoar (Oct 19, 2015)

Sorry to be the bearer of sad news, but Charlie Harlan(ChucktheButcher) passed away over the weekend.

I hope to have information on the funeral/ memorial servicearrangements within the next day or so if any local forum members wish to paytheir respects.

Over the last few years weve all been able to ogle Charliesamazing collection of knives and stones. And if you ever had the honor to meet him in person he was just as eagerand passionate as he seemed on the forums. He was a very nice guy, and very generous as well.

He will be missed. RIP, Charlie.


----------



## apicius9 (Oct 19, 2015)

Wow, that is sad and unexpected. Never met him but enjoyed his posts. RIP.

Stefan


----------



## knyfeknerd (Oct 19, 2015)

Damn. RIP Charlie. Truly sad.


----------



## marc4pt0 (Oct 19, 2015)

Terrible. Such a shame. He was a fun guy to meet, and fed us pretty darn well! I wont forget hanging out in their parking garage with a glass of wine and going through his knife collection as people were walking/driving by with a look of fear/horror on their faces. A lot of sharp and shiny stuff being brandished openly there.


----------



## chefcomesback (Oct 19, 2015)

Terrible news , he seemed like a very good guy , condolences to his family and his beloved ones


----------



## skiajl6297 (Oct 19, 2015)

Jeeze that's horrible. So sorry to hear this.


----------



## TheDispossessed (Oct 19, 2015)

Sorry to hear about the loss of a valued member of the community.


----------



## Pensacola Tiger (Oct 19, 2015)

RIP, Charlie. May your knife never dull.


----------



## turbochef422 (Oct 19, 2015)

Sucks. RIP Charlie. Gonna miss that guy. He became a friend of mine even though I never met him.


----------



## brainsausage (Oct 19, 2015)

Very sad to hear this. He seemed like a very genuine and enthusiastic individual when it came to knives and food. Never met him in person, but it appears from what I've read above that he was a stand up guy.


----------



## Miles (Oct 19, 2015)

Wow. Horrible news. Will miss his posts. RIP Charlie.


----------



## El Pescador (Oct 19, 2015)

Sorry to hear. Solid guy.


----------



## aboynamedsuita (Oct 19, 2015)

Damn, and I remember his post from the end of the month about being away for a couple weeks. I didn't know him personally but after reading his bio on the forums he seemed like a genuinely good person who cared for the greater good. Condolences to his friends and family, RIP.


----------



## chinacats (Oct 19, 2015)

RIP Chuck. Didn't get the chance to meet him but he seemed like a really good guy.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 19, 2015)

Damn...RIP Chuck


----------



## toddnmd (Oct 19, 2015)

That's really sad--thanks for letting us know. He was a nice guy who made a very special and memorable birthday for my wife a couple years ago. RIP, Chuck.


----------



## tkern (Oct 19, 2015)

goodbye, my friend.


----------



## Ucmd (Oct 19, 2015)

Rip. We will miss you.


----------



## Mrmnms (Oct 19, 2015)

Thanks for sharing David. I know he had some health and personal issues, but he seemed pretty positive. Very sad. If you have info to send condolences it would be appreciated.


----------



## Dardeau (Oct 19, 2015)

I hate to hear that. I was so excited when he popped back up. I wish I got to eat his food, I liked how he spoke about it.


----------



## pleue (Oct 19, 2015)

Wow super sorry to hear this, he sent me a pm just a week ago or so. Rest in peace


----------



## James (Oct 19, 2015)

I always enjoyed reading Chuck's posts. He always came across as very helpful and extremely knowledgeable. I'm very sorry to hear this.


----------



## Dardeau (Oct 19, 2015)

I just looked back over the A Few of my Favorite thread. Holy ****, Chuck had great taste.


----------



## Von blewitt (Oct 19, 2015)

Vale Charlie, you'll be missed


----------



## Mingooch (Oct 19, 2015)

So sorry to hear this. Never met him, but he was a valuable member of the community with good knowledge and insight.


----------



## daveb (Oct 19, 2015)

Like most I never met Chuck in person, but looked forward to reading his posts. I'm glad he was here. RIP


----------



## Chuckles (Oct 19, 2015)

Loved his posts. Very sorry to hear this news.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 19, 2015)

I'm pretty sure that Chuck had a lot more knives than what he posted about. I remember him pulling out knife after knife when we met. It seemed to me that he had something from everyone. Here's his gallery post (all 15 pages) - as he said, "*A FEW OF MY FAVORITES*"


----------



## JBroida (Oct 20, 2015)

so sorry to hear this... hope his family is doing alright


----------



## gic (Oct 20, 2015)

Sad, I always enjoyed his posts.

(On another note, I suspect one of his significant assets is his knife collection which could be hard to sell for a fair price for people who don't understand knives. In an attempt to help out his family, after a decent period of time has passed, is their anyway we could arrange to sell his collection here for them? I am not sure how we could do this but I would hate to see his loved ones lose out on many thousands of dollars by being ripped off by someone who doesn't understand their worth.)


----------



## ecchef (Oct 20, 2015)

gic said:


> Sad, I always enjoyed his posts.
> 
> (On another note, I suspect one of his significant assets is his knife collection which could be hard to sell for a fair price for people who don't understand knives. In an attempt to help out his family, after a decent period of time has passed, is their anyway we could arrange to sell his collection here for them? I am not sure how we could do this but I would hate to see his loved ones lose out on many thousands of dollars by being ripped off by someone who doesn't understand their worth.)



+1 This. Any ideas?


----------



## chefcomesback (Oct 20, 2015)

ecchef said:


> +1 This. Any ideas?



Someone needs to contact his wife or family and volunteer bit of their time to assess the value of the knives he has ( contact the makers if required) and put it for sale . He had mentioned earlier in our conversations that he works a lot and collects knives when he doesn't . With few Kramers , Burke's and other very high end knives I hope they will get some funds to help his family in his absence . I haven't met him in person but last week or so we were messaging each other about a knife I was selling , feels unreal to check the "what's new " and see this , it's a bitter reminder


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 20, 2015)

Charlie's dad brought up this exact topic when he called me with the news on Monday. Once things have settled a bit I will likely make an initial pass through the collection and point out to them which ones are the really valuable knives. Some may go to family members as reminders of Charlie. Others may be sold eventually, or the family may complete a large display case Charlie had been working on last year for the restaurant and put many of the knives on display there. The stones will be a bigger challenge, as there are many natural stones and I don't know much about those. So good chance I will be reaching out to some of the regular vendors and also maybe posting some pics here asking for assistance.

The main thing I told Charlie's dad is there are a lot of knives worth north of $1k/ each, and some of them (like a straight carbon Kramer) might not look fancy but are worth a lot. So they realize they should keep everything intact until we can get a chance to sort through things.


----------



## ramenlegend (Oct 20, 2015)

man that's super sad, hope the family is hanging in there.


----------



## Lefty (Oct 20, 2015)

Man...terrible news, and like everyone here, I always enjoyed his posts. It feels weird to read this news....

RIP Charlie.


----------



## ecchef (Oct 20, 2015)

If anyone on the forum was close to Charlie it would be great to volunteer to catalogue his knives. With all the resources available here and elsewhere on the Web, it shouldn't be hard to place realistic values on them. It could be a great asset for the estate executor to help the survivors maximize the potential of his investment. 
I'm not trying to sound callous, but that's exactly what I would hope someone would do for my survivor in the same situation.


----------



## Bill13 (Oct 20, 2015)

Damn, this is sad news. He was such a great guy and it seemed as though his health issues were mostly behind him.


----------



## marc4pt0 (Oct 20, 2015)

ecchef said:


> If anyone on the forum was close to Charlie it would be great to volunteer to catalogue his knives. With all the resources available here and elsewhere on the Web, it shouldn't be hard to place realistic values on them. It could be a great asset for the estate executor to help the survivors maximize the potential of his investment.
> I'm not trying to sound callous, but that's exactly what I would hope someone would do for my survivor in the same situation.



It feels good that I'm not the only one who is concerned about this. 
I spoke with Dave (Wildboar) about this tragedy yesterday and offered to help with any of this. At the very least I could bring my camera and finally take some quality pictures of Chuck's brilliant collection.


----------



## DeepCSweede (Oct 20, 2015)

Really sad news - Charlie was a great contributor with one of the most amazing collections.


----------



## zoze (Oct 20, 2015)

Sorry to hear that. RIP.


----------



## cheflivengood (Oct 20, 2015)

RIP to a great chef / Collector / Human.


----------



## Castalia (Oct 20, 2015)

Very sad. Sorry to hear it. Hope his family is doing well.


----------



## BJE1 (Oct 20, 2015)

This is very sad. I was just talking to him a week or so ago about trading some knives and food. He was a really good guy. Rip Chuck.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 20, 2015)

I'm relieved to hear others bringing up the value of Charlie's extensive collection (of knives & stones) and in volunteering to help catalog/ID them for sale.


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 20, 2015)

The family will need to decide what they want to do, but I already indicated many of his knives are worth a lot more then they may likely realize, and after things settle down I will help them sort through things initially. And I'll help track down values and/ or help sell anything they do not want to keep, which may well include me asking lots of questions here in the forums, especially about stones.


----------



## gic (Oct 20, 2015)

WildBoar you are a real mensch


----------



## Asteger (Oct 20, 2015)

WildBoar said:


> ...I'll help track down values and/ or help sell anything they do not want to keep, which may well include me asking lots of questions here in the forums, especially about stones.



I recall seeing a photo where CtheB had quite a large natural collection on a table. I remember thinking'good stuff' and lots will likely be worth some money for his family. 

Unfortunately though, I think some/many of the stones will be virtually impossible to ID in detail, especially not being able to handle/try them, with possible kanji long since eroded, and if no list or records of his purchases can be found. On the bright side, since he was a big collector you'd assume his stones were good quality and should be worth something. 

Would be good to eventually see some photos of the stones to ID. Hope I can help. There's a former member here who sold/traded with C and could help tick off a few. I suppose if he had buyers accounts with any of the online sellers, if you could also access these then it could help ID a few more.


----------



## mc2442 (Oct 21, 2015)

RIP, never met the man but always enjoyed his posts.

I think Mr. Drinky said it best that the 15 page thread made me smile (happy?)

As Marc said, hopefully better photos come from this.


----------



## cclin (Oct 21, 2015)

Very sad news, He will be missed. R.I.P


----------



## pkjames (Oct 21, 2015)

a very shocking news given that he was just posting a few days back. R.I.P mate.


----------



## riba (Oct 21, 2015)

Sad news  I enjoyed reading his posts. All the best to his family.



gic said:


> WildBoar you are a real mensch


+1!!


----------



## TB_London (Oct 21, 2015)

Sad news, his contribution will be missed


----------



## cheflarge (Oct 21, 2015)

Deepest sympathies to the family. He will be missed.


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Oct 21, 2015)

RIP..

thoughts are with his family and friends.


----------



## Quintanaroo (Oct 21, 2015)

I am a close friend of Charlie and his family. 

It is incredibly nice to see that a forum he spent so much time on is so caring and thoughtful. His brother mentioned a forum that he frequented and I was able to find this forum and Chuckthebutcher was obviously my buddy Charlie. I was hesitant to post before as I know his brother had been wanting to. I just decided to post about this in the hopes some of you could attend his service. I saw this thread and it really warmed my heart. 

Charlie's Dad is finishing a beautiful display case to show many of his knives in the restaurant. I know Charlie would be very happy about that, I just wish he was around to tell us all about them. The last time I saw Charlie he spent over an hour telling me all about his knives and stones.

I know Charlie would have wanted many of you at his service, below is the details for anyone who can attend.

FYI : Family will receive visitors at the Murphy Funeral Home at 4610 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Va on Thursday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. with services to be held at Murphys on Friday, October 23rd at 11 a.m. A celebration of Charlies life will be held at the Green Pig Bistro following the services at 1p.m. on Friday.


----------



## sachem allison (Oct 21, 2015)

rest in peace, Charlie.


----------



## marc4pt0 (Oct 21, 2015)

Quintanaroo said:


> I am a close friend of Charlie and his family.
> 
> It is incredibly nice to see that a forum he spent so much time on is so caring and thoughtful. His brother mentioned a forum that he frequented and I was able to find this forum and Chuckthebutcher was obviously my buddy Charlie. I was hesitant to post before as I know his brother had been wanting to. I just decided to post about this in the hopes some of you could attend his service. I saw this thread and it really warmed my heart.
> 
> ...



Thank you for the heads up regarding this. I'm really sorry for your loss. It's never easy losing friends, I've lost several myself. It's also great to hear about the display case going up at the Bistro. I think that's an awesome idea and I'll definitely be there to check it out.


----------



## MontezumaBoy (Oct 21, 2015)

Never met but always found him engaging, very pleasant and knowledgeable on this forum with an amazing collection of knives & stones. Did get the chance to eat at Green Pig twice which was a real treat. Just bumbed out by the news as well as the crap he had been through recently with some of his favorite blades being stolen ... RIP & my thoughts are with his family & friends!


----------



## Bill13 (Oct 21, 2015)

Quintanaroo said:


> I am a close friend of Charlie and his family.
> 
> It is incredibly nice to see that a forum he spent so much time on is so caring and thoughtful. His brother mentioned a forum that he frequented and I was able to find this forum and Chuckthebutcher was obviously my buddy Charlie. I was hesitant to post before as I know his brother had been wanting to. I just decided to post about this in the hopes some of you could attend his service. I saw this thread and it really warmed my heart.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info, I plan on attending the Friday services.


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 21, 2015)

Quintanaroo said:


> FYI : Family will receive visitors at the Murphy Funeral Home at 4610 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Va on Thursday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. with services to be held at Murphys on Friday, October 23rd at 11 a.m. A celebration of Charlies life will be held at the Green Pig Bistro following the services at 1p.m. on Friday.


Minor typo, but funeral home address appears to be 4510 Wilson Blvd. Here is a link to Charlie's obituary: http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/di...rles-Harlan&lc=1143&pid=176182122&mid=6642678. There is a guest book that can be signed for those interested.

It's odd, but the obit states the address is 4610, but everything else indicates it is 4510.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 21, 2015)

I can only read a portion of his obituary. Unfortunately the link to "read complete obituary" doesn't work.


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 21, 2015)

Dave Martell said:


> I can only read a portion of his obituary. Unfortunately the link to "read complete obituary" doesn't work.


Hmmm, works on mine (Windows Vista running IE). Here is the text:
-----------------------------------------------------

CHARLES BENJAMIN HARLAN "Charlie"

Passed away peacefully, October 19, 2015, surrounded by loving family and friends in Arlington, Va.

Charlie was born on February 5, 1985 at Sibley Hospital in Washington, DC. Charlie was a lifelong resident of Arlington and a 2003 graduate of Yorktown High School and a 2007 graduate of L'Academie de Cuisine Culinary School. He apprenticed at Fleishers Craft Butchery in Kingston, NY. Charlie was a Sous Chef and highly skilled artisan butcher at the Green Pig Bistro in Clarendon.

Charlie was not a big fan of school but was a huge fan of gaining knowledge and could always be counted on to correct us or find the answer to anything that came up. We all learned so much from him. He was a voracious reader on all subjects and had a great interest in world geography. Charlie amassed a collection of rare culinary knives that will be displayed in his honor at the Green Pig Bistro. Charlie was also a collector of loving friends and was loved by everyone he touched.

Charlie is survived by his parents, Scot and Taffy Harlan of Arlington, brother Scot of Arlington, brother Bryan of Leadville, CO., Grandparents, Jack and Norma Jean Harlan of Arlington and many, many Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and loving friends.

Family will receive visitors at the Murphy Funeral Home at 4610 _(4510?) _Wilson Blvd. Arlington, Va on Thursday, October 22nd, from 6 to 8 p.m. with services to be held at Murphy's on Friday, October 23rd at 11 a.m. A celebration of Charlie's life will be held at the Green Pig Bistro following the services at 1p.m. on Friday.

In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be made in Charlie's name to Caron Drug Treatment Centers at: Caron.org


----------



## aboynamedsuita (Oct 21, 2015)

I was able to read it as well. Same age as me far too soon


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 21, 2015)

Thanks for posting the complete obituary David.


----------



## boomchakabowwow (Oct 22, 2015)

i had no idea he was that young. sad.

dang.


----------



## Marko Tsourkan (Oct 22, 2015)

Said news indeed. Charlie gave me a lot of valuable information on the butchering knives. 

Rest in Peace..


----------



## mhlee (Oct 22, 2015)

Very sad news, and such a young guy.

Rest in peace.


----------



## goatgolfer (Oct 22, 2015)

Marko Tsourkan said:


> Said news indeed. Charlie gave me a lot of valuable information on the butchering knives.
> 
> Rest in Peace..



I sent him a PM about sharpening butcher/boning knives and he wrote me a booklet on blade shape, materials, by manufacturer and his personal evolution of additional knives and why. His insight and expression convinced me he was ~55 y.o. What I mistook is age for enthusiasm and study. He was cool on top of it. We all lost a good soul and knife partner.


----------



## Dardeau (Oct 22, 2015)

Publish in memory?


----------



## Ucmd (Oct 22, 2015)

Please post booklet. Would love to read


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 22, 2015)

The gathering at the funeral home tonight was amazing. The place was packed, and everyone seemed to have a lot of good memories of Charlie's big heart and big smile. He seemed to have touched a lot of people in his too-short life.

His father finished the knife display cabinet at the Green Pig Bistro, and it is now loaded up with his knives. I hope to see it tomorrow and to take some pictures. It looks like his collection will live on as a memorial, and will also be a great way to give exposure to many of the custom makers we all know. It's a perfect way to carry on Charlie's legacy, as he was often instrumental in helping some of the newer makers refine their offerings, and now it will continue to hopefully help them make a living.


----------



## goatgolfer (Oct 22, 2015)

Goatwrites: Not long ago I sent Chuck a PM request for some input on which tools of the trade a real butcher used. ....If there is some value in sharing the edge(s) of a butcher/prep cook/chef/home cook based on the knifes job... well that may be an interesting forum exchange with Drinky and the Clown too.... Goat is out...

On 9/26/15 he responded as follows: ChucktheButcher responded:

"If I'm doing pack house butcher I prefer the cheaper knives. With victornox forschner being my favorite, followed by f. dick and dexter. I use them almost as desposible knives though. sharpening on a grinding wheel i get 6 months to a year out of them. The being said I have found masahiro makes some good cheap butcher knives. When I started my apprenticeship i was given a 5 in stiff boning knife, an 8 in breaking knife and a scimitar. I added a 6in upswept boning knife, a 8 in upswept breaking knife and a 6 in flexible boning knife as well. This served me fine for years before getting into more high end knives. If you're looking for slightly better quality some of the masahiros on ebay are the way to go. You need something the will stand up to 10 hrs of constant cutting."

ChucktheButchers signature:
All normal people love meat. If I went to a barbeque and there was no meat, I would say 'Yo Goober! Where's the meat?'.- Homer Simpson


----------



## ChefCosta (Oct 23, 2015)

Nothing so crushing as a parent having to bury their child. RIP Chuck.


----------



## DevinT (Oct 23, 2015)

Crazy bad news, RIP. Received lots of useful info from Chuck.

Much love,
Hoss


----------



## brianh (Oct 23, 2015)

Very, very sad.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 23, 2015)

Isn't it amazing how one person can touch so many?


----------



## Bill13 (Oct 24, 2015)

So the funeral and reception were yesterday. The funeral home was packed, I would guess about 300 people. They kept bringing in additional chairs - until they ran out! The service started 20 minutes late due to the amount of people attending. This was my 3rd funeral in the past year and by far the best, weird as that may sound. I wanted to share a few of the more lighthearted moments.

The first came when a close family friend brought up Charlie's knife collection. He started out by saying that Charlie was a popular and involved member of a Japanese Knife Forum and went on to say "who knew such a thing even existed" which many people laughed at - including myself. He then goes on to mention how many of the knives are really more like works of art and had never been used. He then went on"Charlie also had a pretty large stone collection... stones that are used to sharpen knives"....."does anyone see the contradiction here." Lot's of laughter followed.

The best story was a recounting of Charlie and a group of friends going to Charlie's parents house in the Shenandoah Valley. There is a creek on the property and they all decided it would be fun to take the canoe out and shoot a bunch of fireworks from the moving canoe. Only problem was they couldn't find any paddles so they were stuck using shovels:doublethumbsup: After awhile it was decided this was too much work and maybe shovels were not great substitutes for paddles. However Charlie wanted the fun to continue so he got out the small tractor they owned and tied the canoe to the tractor with some rope - problem solved! Charlie drove the tractor around the field while his friends continued to launch the fireworks. Best of all was when they noticed the neighbor grooming her horse while looking at them with a horrified expression on her face.

Charlie's brother Scott got up and mentioned how smart his brother was, and one thing Charlie was certain of was there was no God, or afterlife, and it was a popular "topic" of debate. Scott mentioned how he wasn't so certain about this and he hoped Charlie was wrong about this one thing...closing his thoughts with "I think he's up there dealing with the fact he was wrong - the 72 virgins". Lot's of laughter by both the guys and gals.

It was also nice that a couple of people from the back of the house spoke about what a great boss he was, and that the owners of the GP was really like family to them.

The reception that followed was as would be expected awesome. Lot's more stories, lot's of interest in the knife collection, and outstanding food. Open bar and fried oysters, spring rolls, best grits and mac and cheese ever, NY strip steaks, fried whole snapper, salmon, green beans, salads, and multiple desserts. . The restaurant was closed so once the food was out the entire BOTH came out and added to the revelry. I reconnected with a few locals and had the chance to talk with Charlie's dad and brother quite a bit. It started around 1:30 and I only left at 7!!! because of another commitment, the party was still going strong. Everyone kept saying "damn Charlie would have really loved this party"

I'll end with a note about what the preacher called the "elephant in the room" - addiction. Charlie's parents wanted this discussed out in the open so I feel confident they would be okay with it being brought up here. The preacher started off with the fact that many in the room are probably filled with guilt - what more could/should they of done to help Charlie. He said "don't do it, it won't get you anywhere and it won't help Charlie". Looking forward however he said "if you know someone with an addiction always remember it's a disease and offer to help no many how many times it takes". And he hoped that anyone with addiction problems could maybe use Charlie's death as a motivating force so seek help.

Rereading this it's a bit of a sad note to end on but when someone dies at only 30 years old from an addiction it is what it is.

Yesterday was a sad but great time that I wanted to share.

Thanks for reading it,
Bill


----------



## tkern (Oct 24, 2015)

Thanks Bill


----------



## WildBoar (Oct 24, 2015)

Nice write-up Bill! 7 pm?!? Guess you did not get back to work  Not that I blame you -- the food was great, and it was hard to have to say goodbye to Charlie's dad and brother.

An amazing amount of people, especially considering Charlie's young age. I think the photo slide show, with Charlie's smile beaming over-and-over, illustrates why he touched so many people.


----------



## Dave Martell (Oct 24, 2015)

Bill, thank you so much for sharing that with us.


----------



## Bill13 (Oct 24, 2015)

WildBoar said:


> Nice write-up Bill! 7 pm?!? Guess you did not get back to work  Not that I blame you -- the food was great, and it was hard to have to say goodbye to Charlie's dad and brother.
> 
> An amazing amount of people, especially considering Charlie's young age. I think the photo slide show, with Charlie's smile beaming over-and-over, illustrates why he touched so many people.



No, I did not make it back to work, an open bar and good people to hang out with will do that:biggrin:

I know that at funerals no one should speak badly of the departed even if they might of been an a## in real life (see the movie Heathers for a funny example of this), but I've been to some funerals where you could tell maybe the person wasn't so great. Not yesterday; every story, and there were a lot of them, touched on Charlie's giving nature. And when the people that work under you are openly crying at your funeral - that speaks volumes. Going back thru his posts you can see he was always ready with a compliment or helpful advise.


----------



## HHH Knives (Oct 25, 2015)

My heart goes out to his family and friends. Im gona miss Chuck.


----------



## marc4pt0 (Oct 25, 2015)

I wish I could have made it myself. Sounds like a very positive farewell. Thanks Bill


----------



## Keith Sinclair (Oct 27, 2015)

Wow such a young guy that touched a lot of people


----------



## WildBoar (Dec 29, 2015)

KKF's own Bill13 is at GPB today installing a ceiling-mounted light fixture and the related circuit for the knife case. This will be combined with some in-case lighting that will be installed at a later date. Bill has graciously donated his time for this work. Thanks Bill!

When the case front is removed for the case lighting install we should be able to get some good pics of the many wonderful knives on display. In the interim, the ceiling fixture should be a huge improvement in the display lighting.


----------



## aboynamedsuita (Dec 29, 2015)

Very kind to volunteer your time and talent Bill.

I've seen the case on FB and it was very impressive, hopefully the new pictures can be placed in this thread and his gallery page as homage to Chuck


----------



## Dave Martell (Dec 29, 2015)

WildBoar said:


> KKF's own Bill13 is at GPB today installing a ceiling-mounted light fixture and the related circuit for the knife case. This will be combined with some in-case lighting that will be installed at a later date. Bill has graciously donated his time for this work. Thanks Bill!




Bill's a super great guy. Double rations of smoked pork butt for him!


----------



## Mrmnms (Dec 29, 2015)

class act


----------



## Bill13 (Dec 29, 2015)

Thanks for the kind words, but I must say it felt good to be doing it. Here are some before and after. The in cabinet lighting still has to go in, hopefully next week. Lighting something this tall - it's 6 feet really requires two rows of lights. In a perfect world you want the light source to be at a 30 degree angle to the wall, or cabinet in this point. We decided that would be to busy on the ceiling and once the interior lights are in it will look much better.




Don't know why they are importing sideways but I'm giving up:eyebrow:

When I go back I'm also going to try a tighter beamspread for the bottom half.


----------



## 2010ZR1 (Dec 29, 2015)

Looks good Bill, are you an electrician? Did you install a section of track and track heads? Are those quartz halogen lamps? Do you know what beam spread they are? They make a range of beam spreads from narrow flood to wide flood. Did you get a picture of your fixture installation? Not trying to be nosy just trying to help.


----------



## Mucho Bocho (Dec 29, 2015)

Pretty sure Bill's a licensed Master electrician. I would have thought low voltage LED would be the way to go. Either way looks great Bill. Kind of you to do so.


----------



## 2010ZR1 (Dec 29, 2015)

I am an electrical contractor out here in Silicon Valley. All commercial industrial work. No residential but we have done a few restaurants. My company hit 30 years in business this year. Very nice of him to donate his time to do this.


----------



## WildBoar (Dec 29, 2015)

More to come, guys. LEDs will go inside the case, but the case depth is shallow enough that they will not illuminate all of the blades. The master concept is for the track lighting plus the case LEDs, which will make the most out of a rough setup to light. Last month Bill met on site with a lighting distributor and they assessed the case, knocked around lighting options, etc. The distributor than had one of his manufacturers donate the track system.

There are a lot of less-then-optimum things about the case from a lighting perspective, and the Plexiglas is a huge issue. But once the in-case lighting is installed the improvements will be tremendous, even if it's not as good as if the case were to be redesigned.

BTW, Bill has done the electrical work in a bunch of restaurants, breweries and distilleries in the area, and he also does regular commercial and residential work. He has a pretty broad background.


----------



## Mucho Bocho (Dec 29, 2015)

2010ZR1 My dad was a Master Electrician too. He worked mostly commercial Boston high rise, hospitals, elevators... 

40 years IBEW 103. I went to trade school as a freshman but it just didn't stick.


----------



## Bill13 (Dec 29, 2015)

Yes, I have had my Masters Electricians License since 1991, boy does time fly. I installed a 48 inch section of track with 4 track heads, the bulbs are MR-16 quartz halogen. Wildboar is friends with a lighting rep and got the track and heads donated - way cool! 

The two bulbs lighting the top half are GE (my favorite MR-16 bulb manufacturer) 35 watt 40 degree with a soft focus lens and honeycomb filters. The two lighting the lower half are Phillips 20 watt 15 degree with linear spread lens and honeycomb filters. I may remove the filter on these as it somewhat defeats the purpose of the linear spread lens and I will bring some 42 watt 9 degree bulbs to try out next time. I'm not a big fan of honeycomb filters but since the rest of the restaurant heads have them we wanted to keep the look.

The interior will be Jesco S601 LED cove lights at 3,000K. A great product from a pretty good Co.

I like people asking questions so no problems!


----------



## Bill13 (Dec 29, 2015)

2010ZR1 said:


> I am an electrical contractor out here in Silicon Valley. All commercial industrial work. No residential but we have done a few restaurants. My company hit 30 years in business this year. Very nice of him to donate his time to do this.



Cool stuff! We too have done a fair amount of restaurants, not much commercial otherwise, except for breweries and a few brewhouses inside of restaurants we didn't get. Mostly custom homes with lighting control systems and service work.


----------



## 2010ZR1 (Dec 29, 2015)

Awesome, you are definitely on top of it. I am sure this is going to come out great.


----------



## Bill13 (Dec 29, 2015)

Mucho Bocho said:


> Pretty sure Bill's a licensed Master electrician. I would have thought low voltage LED would be the way to go. Either way looks great Bill. Kind of you to do so.



Dennis,

I would love to get the entire restaurant to switch over all their MR-16's to LED, maybe later. The problem besides the upfront costs is they are tricky to dim. I have found SORAA bulbs to be the best but all the dimmers would still need to be changed.


----------



## 2010ZR1 (Dec 29, 2015)

A buddy of mine has a restaurant in Yountville, CA and they recently switched the dining room over to LED and when dimmed there is an almost imperceptible flickering that is making some diners uncomfortable. It may be the dimmers themselves but I am working with him to try and find a solution.


----------



## Dave Martell (Dec 29, 2015)

Bill13 said:


> Wildboar is friends with a lighting rep and got the track and heads donated - way cool!




Awesome!


----------



## Keith Sinclair (Jan 3, 2016)

Thanks for your input Bill. would like to see pictures when finished.


----------



## WildBoar (Jan 3, 2016)

Had the chance to see the case again earlier today. Just the addition of the lighting track has been a huge improvement. The in-case LEDs should really make it nice. The plexiglas cover is the biggest issue now -- it is pretty reflective and the cleaner that is being used is streaking the surface.

Each time I see the contents of the case I am amazed. Just about every knife in there is one that would have KKFers tripping over each other to play with. Most of the custom makers that frequent the forums are represented multiple times, and there are also some from makers known to only a few around here.

I would recommend a look to any of you who visit the DC area.


----------



## marc4pt0 (Jan 3, 2016)

Truly a homage to a lot of talented makers, both stateside and abroad. 
Plus yummy foods and great company to boot. 
What a great Sunday brunch today. Thanks again to Dave, Bill and bkdc. I'm really excited about putting my new Boardsmith board to work


----------



## WildBoar (Jan 30, 2016)

Bill13 was installing the in-case lighting a couple weeks ago, and i thought I would take advantage and shoot a quick video of the knives. Unfortunately the glass and wool blanket background really screwed with the camera focus, so while it looked okay on a smartphone screen it is actually pretty rough. I took pics of pairs of knives as well (using a 'real' camera) but have not gone through and organized them for posting yet.

Anyway, please enjoy a look at some of Charlie's knives:

[video=youtube;7Rdv7NS3k6k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=7Rdv7NS3k6k[/video]


----------



## DeepCSweede (Jan 30, 2016)

Wow - Just wow!
Thanks for sharing!


----------



## marc4pt0 (Jan 30, 2016)

Every time I look at his collection something "new" jumps out and catches my attention. 
I'll never forget hanging with you and him in their parking garage with a glass of wine, the back of his suv open and us checking his knives out. I also won't forget the look on that lady's face in the BMW as she drove past us. She did Not park her car in that garage.


----------



## SuperSharp (Jan 30, 2016)

What an amazing collection. Wow!


----------



## bkultra (Feb 5, 2016)

I just noticed today would have been Chuck's birthday... Happy birthday and rest in peace


----------



## KimBronnum (Feb 5, 2016)

Happy B-day and RIP Chuck [emoji380][emoji380][emoji380][emoji380][emoji380][emoji380]


----------

