Still no knife from Dale Chudzinski

One of the things that gets me is that he is using the fact that people have posted in this thread as an excuse for ripping them off. Like it is their fault that he isn't getting them their knives.
 
You`re absolutely right Keith!
One would think, that if he didn`t like this thread, that he`d deliver the knives we have paid for, and even show up here to defend himself.
I`d like to think that, if i was making knives, and suddenly something happened so i couldn`t work for a year or so, i`d email everyone and tell them, then refund their money. I mean, it`s not that difficult.
But then, i don`t understand that whole "ripping people off" part. (Thankfully)
 
could be difficult if ya dont have the $$ anymore.

not that thats an excuse, far from it, just an explanation,

hope it works out for you guys..........
 
I am a friend of Dale's, never having met but dealt with over computer and phone over the last few years many times. Despite what some have said about him, I have found him to be honest and generous to an extreme. I have purchased about a dozen knives from him over the last few years, and while there was a wait on some, he always came through, and I have always been thrilled with the end result, and with him.

After reading the allegations in this thread, I called Dale last night and expressed my concern.

Dale told me that he has been blocked from BFC and has not been able to view or respond to this thread.

He told me that he is only behind by a couple of orders, and that he has contacted every person with an order and advised them of thier time schedule and offered a refund to anyone who did not wish to wait any longer.

Could anyone with outstanding order please post here and indicate:
A name (not BFC screename) that Dale will be able to recognize
The items ordered and their details (blade length, steel, handle, any special remarks)
The date ordered
The date payment was sent (if any).

I know that some will be tempted to jump in and post other messages , but I respectfully request that you refrain from doing so for a little while, and give those with outstanding orders a chance to post first, so that an accurate and concise roll can be made.

I will check back here in a few days and print out the list and mail it to Dale.

I thank you in advance for yout time and courtesy in these regards.
 
Dale told me that he has been blocked from BFC and has not been able to view or respond to this thread.
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He hasn't been blocked by us. Anyone with a net connection and a functioning computer can read this forum, and he should be able to post in it too, after opening a (free) account here if he doesn't have one already. If he's having technical difficulties tell him to send me an email; I can probably help. cougar.javanet@rcn.com
 
Cougar: I`ve even been able to open this specific thread, right from google. (Just as a side-note)

And i`ll also step into this opening. If it`s a trap, let it spring.
(I do believe that Dale is a good guy, but i like to have my bases covered.)

Outstanding order for 1 nessmuk-styled, full-tang, cherry-handled knife, right-hand sheath, paid for in full on the 18th of May 2006 (paypal invoice and receipt to prove it), to be shipped by usps global express mail to Norway, package clearly marked as 'GIFT', and my first name is Jo Henning.
That`s as specific as i`ll get on an open forum. ;)

And knifetester: I asked if anyone knew Dale, a few pages back i believe, so thank you for finally finding this thread. I am deeply grateful.
 
knifetester said:
Dale told me that he has been blocked from BFC and has not been able to view or respond to this thread.

He told me that he is only behind by a couple of orders, and that he has contacted every person with an order and advised them of thier time schedule and offered a refund to anyone who did not wish to wait any longer.

Could anyone with outstanding order please post here and indicate:
A name (not BFC screename) that Dale will be able to recognize
The items ordered and their details (blade length, steel, handle, any special remarks)
The date ordered
The date payment was sent (if any).

I thank you in advance for yout time and courtesy in these regards.
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knifetester,

Thank you for your concern and help in this matter. I appreciate anything that will help get this taken care of, but Dale is lying to you, same as he has to the rest of us. He has not contacted every person he owes and offered them a refund. I know this for a fact, as I am one of the people he owes. He is no longer answering my emails.

I see no need to list all the detailed info that you asked for. Dale knows what I paid and when. He's owed me for two knives, plus extra for a special piece of wood, since the beginning of September, 2004. I asked him for a refund, and four months later, he agreed to it. He then changed his mind, and didn't refund my money, or send me the knives.


On may 3rd I sent him this:

"Sorry to say, I am fed up with you.

I want my money back.

If you have an ounce of intregrity left in you, you will post a public apology on BF. It's the least you could do.

You said you'd make it right, for once, honor your word and do it, post an apology stating that my story is accurate and true.

Oh yeah, and refund my money".


He ignored me until he sent me this on August 25th, after I told him I was going to persue this legally:

"I will refund your money. Send me your address.

Dale"


The same day, August 25th, after he got my address, he sent me this:

"Trial by internet?? I told you, you would get your knives,they are now done. I will get them in the mail soon".


That was it, no mention of the refund, and he didn't send me any knives either.

Twice before he told me that he lost my email address and couldn't get a hold of me. Those were delay tactics. For one, he know's where I hang out, he could have sent me a private message at any time, he never did. He also knows people who know me, he could have got a hold of me through them, that never happened. On top of that, I paid him via paypal, he has a record of it, my email address is still the same, he could have got in touch with me at any time, he didn't.

He could shut me up whenever he wanted to.
 
I doubt very much that Dale is blocked from this forum. All he has to do is register and he will be able to see this thread. I don't think that it is that he can't get on this forum, but that he doesn't want to. It is unlikely that he has any answers for those that he has treated so poorly.
 
i agree with bobert, i bet the man knows who he owes what to, he's just playing the "innocent & kinda dumb" role.

man it sure sucks to read about good folks getting burned like this, luckily the large % of smiths are honest to a fault, but it sure seems like more and more bad ones are popping up, and they rip off a lot of folks before the word gets out, and we are talking serious money too, and hard earned money also FWIW.

sure sucks is all i can say.........
 
Well, some problems with the software showed up last night.... I'd better post a bug report in Bladeforums Service & Support. Some forums here are supposed to be visible only to logged-in members, but not TGB&U.
 
aarya said:
Aarya:
Outstanding order for 1 nessmuk-styled, full-tang, cherry-handled knife, right-hand sheath, paid for in full on the 18th of May 2006 (paypal invoice and receipt to prove it), to be shipped by usps global express mail to Norway, package clearly marked as 'GIFT', and my first name is Jo Henning.
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Thanks for the reply.
I will pass this on to Dale.
IN the mean time, I have a Nessmuk knife, hidden tang, stag handle, that I could send you as a loaner until your knife is ready from Dale. I also have a few other knives from Dale if you would prefer to borrow one of those instead, (wharncliffe, Leuko, Mooseskinner, and several smaller utility knives).

Please shoot me an email if you are interested.

Bobert,
I talked to Dale about your situation. He says he offered to refund your money in full some time ago, and that you refused and have been quite rude to him since.

Please don't shoot the messenger, I am just passing along the information I was told.

As with Aarya, if you would like to borrow one of Dale's knives until yours is ready, let me know what you want and I will send it to you.

As well, if you are interested, please let me know what models you ordered, etc and what the amount is you paid, and if it is something I am interested in (and I can get my wife to agree to it :o :o :o :o ) I may be interested in sending you the money you are owed (plus interest at prime from time of payment), and stepping into your position on the knives. If you are interested in some trading, I can for sure (i.e. without SWMBO's approval) I can give you a list of knives I have and we can work out a barter. (actually, same offer for you Aarya!).

I can understand everyone's frustration, I have been truly ripped off by knifemakers in the past (including two of the most commonly named of this sort), so I know the anger and resentment over having trusted someone and sent them hard earned money and expecting that magic knife in return. I also know that a problem in purchase can really effect your impression of the knife, i.e. once you have a bitter taste, you can never enjoy it.

Again, please don't shoot the messenger. I am just trying to get everything worked out if I can.
 
Knifetester, thanks for stepping into this. I ordered a full Nessmuk and a mini Nessmuk on March 7 of this year, birch handles, paid in full at time of order. I have not heard one word from Dale since he thanked me for placing the order and for my prompt payment. He has not responded to two emails. One knife was to be a birthday present for my son. Even a promised delivery date would be something.

I think you can tell from the tenor of the postings here that most people *want* to cut him some slack, but he is making us feel like patsys, and himself look like a jerk. The story about his being blocked from posting soulds like pure BS.

You are very kind to offer a loaner knife, which ofer I decline. Thanks again for trying to clean up this mess.
 
Hi Knifetester,
I would appreciate you letting Dale know I have been trying to get ahold of him through emails and pm's. I paid for my knife 6/10/05. I don't mind waiting for my knife, I know some of the bad stuff Dale went through. Hope things are getting better for him and his family, I just wish he would have touched base with me once in awhile.
Thanks again!
 
knifetester said:
Thanks for the reply.
I will pass this on to Dale.
IN the mean time, I have a Nessmuk knife, hidden tang, stag handle, that I could send you as a loaner until your knife is ready from Dale. I also have a few other knives from Dale if you would prefer to borrow one of those instead, (wharncliffe, Leuko, Mooseskinner, and several smaller utility knives).

Please shoot me an email if you are interested.
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I wouldn`t feel right about borrowing a knife, nor am i in dire need of a knife, so i can happily wait until i get mine from Dale.
I`m actually in the rare position where i have too many knives, and am in the market for what might be the last knife i ever get. Hence me ordering one from Dale when i read all the good online-reviews he got from different people in 2004.
So i`m willing to wait, definately.

Thanks again for doing this great service! :thumbup:

And i`d never shoot the messenger.. :cool:
Maybe just make him dance a little.... :D :p (Joking)
 
Aarya:
I spoke to Dale today, your knife has been shipped. If you wish the shipping info, please contact Dale via email.

Chip and Emmacat:
I will pass your info to Dale and find out the status of your orders.

I have a mini-Nessmuk with a stag handle and Dannyboy necksheath if someone wants to borrow that until there knife gets in, never been used, 1/16" steel, seems like it would be a heck of a slicer in a small package.

After speaking with Dale today, I can tell you that he is upset about being behind on some orders. I know that there are people here that are upset with Dale, and I can not deny that they are justified. I can tell you that my experience with Dale, and MANY people that I know has been just the opposite, Dale has been generous and kind to an extreme, bending over backwards to make sure customers get there knives before they expect them, adding special touches to knives, and other things.

A lot of people have posted in this thread, many of whom have never dealt with Dale at all, and it is real easy to have a trial by internet. There is a bit of mob mentality to it that makes me uncomfortable.

On the other hand, there also seems to be a few people with a legitimate gripe, and having been in your shoes, it sucks. All I can say is that lack of contact is very out of character for Dale, I have always found his communication to be excellent.

My offer remains open, anyone having a paid order for a Chudzinski knife, shoot me an email, and if we can work out a trade for something I have in exchange for the knife on order, I am game.

As well, I have several of Dale's knives that I can loan out or we can even do a pass around if people are interested.

When all is said and done, I still consider Dale my friend, and he has shown himself to be a kind, generous and thoughtful man, everything that people have written about him here notwithstanding.
 
I understand defending a friend, but how does one explain taking money from someone, telling him that he will have his knife in a couple of months and then not getting him the knife for over two years? How does he explain teliing this person many times that the knife was ready and that he would have it in the mail right away, and that not once being the truth?

You posted that Dale is upset with being behind on his orders with some people. If he were that upset he would have made them their knives and put an end to all of this. He has taken money from people, promising them a knife within a certain time frame and then supplied others first that ordered long after these people. In Bobert's case he has had the money for over two years. Dale has supplied many knives to others that ordered long after Bobert did. Why has he done that? If he has good reasons for treating customers in such a shabby way, he should come and explain himself.

You say you are uncomfortable with people that have not dealt with Dale commenting on what has gone on here. I don't have be mugged, robbed or shot to comment on situations where that has happened to others. I will keep threads like this alive until there has been a satisfactory resolution. If Dale wants this to end, he should make good on what he owes. People commenting on what Dale has done is not the problem. The problem is what Dale has done, and he needs to make it right.
 
Keith:
I appreciated your vigilence when it came to a couple other makers that stung me and other members, and I suppose that it is indeed hypocritical of me to object to your vigilence now.

I recognize that, and your points are valid.

It just sucks when I see someone I know has a heart of gold (and Dale truly does), whom I consider to be a friend (even though we have never met in person), and that I have seen exhibit extreme generosity in the past, and have seen him perform acts of kindness, someone who I have seen make ethical decisions in the past, and here he is getting just lambasted and flamed, much of it by people that don't know him at all.

There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that every single order will be filled. And again, if anyone wants to trade for something I have against their knife on order, I am game. If I had the cash, I would offer to buy out every single oustanding order, but I can obviously not afford that, nor could I subject my family to that kind of hardship. But I am willing to put my collection on the line, and trade whatever I can, and will loan anyone with an order a knife if they need one until their's gets there.

There is really nothing more I can do.

In Bobert's case he has had the money for over two years.
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That sucks. I really hope I have something Bobert wants in my collection, or we can work something out.
 
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