2024 AAPK Club Knife Information

[bestgear]

<< UPDATE >> Yesterday I spoke to Joan Howard at length about our special factory order. The production scheduling setback from the offline polishing equipment is now revealing it's true impact. Our knives are now scheduled to leave Titusville no later than Friday December 20th and with expedited shipping they should arrive at my home on or before Christmas Eve. In the unlikelihood that GEC misses the new shipping date, they are closed from 12/21 through 12/26 and I won't receive the knives until 2025.

I apologize for the delay as I'm sure some of you had hoped for a wrapped tube under your Christmas tree this year with a beautiful Ram's Foot knife inside or were gifting these knives to family and friends. I will dedicate my Christmas Day to printing shipping labels and readying the packages for delivery to the Post Office before the end of that week which should land the majority of the knives at your homes before we ring-in 2025.

This is not the news I wanted to share; I feel a bit like Santa in Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer who can't deliver the toys because of the storm. I have been working closely with GEC for the last 224 days trying my best to meet what I thought was a realistic schedule. If the polishing equipment hadn't gone down, we would all be coon-fingering our knives at this point.

Joan Howard and I have agreed to start working on the 2025 Club Knife shortly after the holidays but before the Super Bowl. Hopefully this will put us in a better position for both pattern selection and delivery dates. I wish I had better news to share but this is where we are. I'm once again asking for your kind patience as I work through the next few weeks to fulfill your orders and closeout our 20th anniversary year.

[edge213]

<< UPDATE >> Yesterday I spoke to Joan Howard at length about our special factory order. The production scheduling setback from the offline polishing equipment is now revealing it's true impact. Our knives are now scheduled to leave Titusville no later than Friday December 20th and with expedited shipping they should arrive at my home on or before Christmas Eve. In the unlikelihood that GEC misses the new shipping date, they are closed through 12/25 and I won't receive the knives until 2025.

I apologize for the delay as I'm sure some of you had hoped for a wrapped tube under your Christmas tree this year with a beautiful Ram's Foot knife inside or were gifting these knives to family and friends. I will dedicate my Christmas Day to printing shipping labels and readying the packages for delivery to the Post Office before the end of that week which should land the majority of the knives at your homes before we ring-in 2025.

This is not the news I wanted to share; I feel a bit like Santa in Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer who can't deliver the toys because of the storm. I have been working closely with GEC for the last 224 days trying my best to meet what I thought was a realistic schedule. If the polishing equipment hadn't gone down, we would all be coon-fingering our knives at this point.

Joan Howard and I have agreed to start working on the 2025 Club Knife shortly after the holidays but before the Super Bowl. Hopefully this will put us in a better position for both pattern selection and delivery dates. I wish I had better news to share but this is where we are. I'm once again asking for your kind patience as I work through the next few weeks to fulfill your orders and closeout our 20th anniversary year.

No problem here Tom.
I'm sure they will be worth the wait.
Your doing an outstanding job.

[LKSKNIVES]

Tom thank you so much for your effort on this project.

Not too worry or apologize for. These things are out of your control. I appreciate your concern and all the time and effort you put in. The time that you will not get back.The knives will get here when they get here and not a minute sooner.

Thank you so much may you and your family have a blessed Christmas and Happy New Year.
Steve

[jerryd6818]

Relax. Sometimes S--T happens in great big smelly piles and we have no control over the situation. Don't get your knickers in a twist over something you have no control over. OHM ROMIDAH. Chant the mantra and breath.

(easy for me to say since I didn't buy one )

[bestgear]

Thanks guys for the chill pill but my driven personality won’t allow me to rest until all orders are fulfilled. It’s heartwarming to hear your support, thank you

[doglegg]

Anticipation is a form of pleasure. We just get to enjoy the anticipation a little longer. Thank you.

[bestgear]

Anticipation is a form of pleasure. We just get to enjoy the anticipation a little longer. Thank you.

thanks for sharing that perspective Floyd

[herbva]

Tom, as has already been said - the delays are entirely out of your control and we know that you are doing your absolute best on this not-so-little project. Don't beat yourself up. Remember, we're all going to have a good laugh over this when those beauties finally arrive. And, I'm sure that we will treasure them all the more when they arrive because of your determination.

[bestgear]

I'm sure that we will treasure them all the more when they arrive because of your determination

thanks Herb, another perspective that I had not considered.

[Corn Creek Cutlery]

Thanks for the update Tom, and I agree with everyone else ... it's all good!

[bestgear]

it's all good

thanks Tony……just received this from GEC…. progress is being made!

[Jody744]

Ok, so we’ll just have to get a different knife for Christmas. I don’t see a problem here. Looks great!

[bestgear]

Looks great

I so wanted to get them for your birthday Jody but thank you for the kind feedback.

[Corn Creek Cutlery]

it's all good

thanks Tony……just received this from GEC…. progress is being made!933124 AAPK.jpeg

Love it!

[TripleF]

Thanks for the hard work Tom!!

[wlf]

That wood looks good, I hope they're all variegated! I like that pattern.

[BuckSharp]

Thanks for the update, Tom and for the sample pic...Looks great! No worries on the delay...I'm sure most of us have other shiny, sharp objects to coon finger while we await the arrival of the new addition. Merry Christmas!

[1967redrider]

The knife looks awesome! Don't sweat it, Tom. I always thought of yearly Club Knives being an end-of-year thing anyway.

[QTCut5]

I'm curious about the order of operations for building a knife like this.

It seems obvious, but at the risk of exposing my ignorance, I'm guessing it goes in this order:
1) polishing blades
2) etching blades
3) assembling blades with frames

[eveled]

I very much appreciate the updates.

I have no problem with waiting. But I start to get nervous it was lost in shipping and I have no idea it was ever shipped.

Thanks for everything Tom

[bestgear]

I start to get nervous it was lost in shipping and I have no idea it was ever shipped

No need to worry, we’ll both get an email from PayPal when it’s shipped and when it arrives and with the provided USPS tracking number you’ll be able to follow your packages route to your mailbox. Our Canadian friends are the ones I worry about with a countrywide postal strike underway

[bestgear]

I'm curious about the order of operations for building a knife like this.

It seems obvious, but at the risk of exposing my ignorance, I'm guessing it goes in this order:
1) polishing blades
2) etching blades
3) assembling blades with frames

good question - I will ask.

[bestgear]

I'm curious about the order of operations for building a knife like this

from GEC:
1) Assembling
2) Polishing
3) Etching

[QTCut5]

from GEC:
1) Assembling
2) Polishing
3) Etching

Mahalo, Tom! So that must mean that the tang is not polished like the rest of the blade. I'm sure it makes no difference, but I do find that interesting.

[bestgear]

So that must mean that the tang is not polished like the rest of the blade

I was thinking the same thing Q - I’ll ask GEC if that’s a mechanical decision related to blade operation or a process decision to streamline production - interesting tidbit of information either way.