Good news!!!! (at least for me)
I have recently been contacted by Roger and must say WOW! What a guy!
First off, he e-mailed me some basic answers to my questions, as more questions arose form me, he shot me over his phone number (sorry I will not give out any of his personal or buisness info. so don't ask, e-mail him and be patient). I tried to qroup my questions together to sound prepared and not to waste his time, assuming it would be a 5 min conversation. I just got off a 40 min. conversation with him about his work and the WSK. He was very helpful to me (know that I am a newbie with limited knowledge of custom knives) he answered all of my questions, was very straightforward with what to expect from him and let me know that I was free to call with any concerns. I was shocked at how warm and personable he was to me.
Anyone wanting to purchase a WSK from him must know that he is very busy (many people want this knife from him)and they must be patient with him. I believe him to be an honorable man with a huge workload under him. As they say you get what you pay for, and when it comes to custom knives, time is part of the payment. Many people may complain about how long would would take to have a custom knife made, but if it is a handcrafted knife, wouldn't you want him to take his time and get it right for you? That said, understand the fact that you are not the only one on the list .. and you got yourself quite a wait. For me, it is all worth it, it's not like I won't have other knives of interest while waiting. So decifer for yourself if you want a quality knife that is handmade with care. Yet, If you don't mind a 'production' quality knife and are looking for something thats lighter on your checkbook and is shipped upon purchase, then this option is not for you.
I have a TOPS tracker as well, to me not a bad knife at all and I will keep it, yet I wanted more. For my money, I am willing to wait and pay extra for a handcrafted custom WSK. I feel honored and lucky that my first custom knife will be from Roger Linger.
Bottomline, way your options, and if you feel that you want to go custom I feel Roger is a great choice, just be patient and be sure that it is the road you want to travel. Now gotta go, I have to decide what kinda options I want for my WSK!!!
Temper: and demoteamone: I am sorry for your woes, and hope all works out. I have had my questions answered and now know what to expect, so I don't expect ot be let down. Don't give up, keep trying, it took me a few e-mails before my first response.
If I'm not wrong your bought one!???