Keith, et al:
Thanks for the kind words, I hope this can all be resolved.
This is really a shame, because from what I have seen, his knives are great, and he used to have an outstanding reputation. In this business, that is a very hard thing to earn, but it is so easy to loose.
That is for sure. Respect and trust are things that once lost may never be reclaimed.
I think that Bobert hasn't gotten his knives because he is being punished for his comments on this thread. Even though Dale says he has never seen this thread, he seems to know what Bobert has posted here
That is exactly what is happening, though it is not limited to this thread, but rather to the various emails from what I gather.
There are two sides to every story, and having heard them both I will not say that Dale is right for not delivering when promised, but it does tend to temper some of the criticism.
As Dale explained it, he physically can not finish Bobert's knifes when he is upset with him. For Dale, making a knife is a very intimate process, he does not use big belt sanders and whip the off the line and outsource his heattreatment in batches. He hand forges them, one by one, in a very small charcoal forge. Sometimes he makes the charcoal himself from hardwoods. On occasion, one of his children will man the bellows, other than that it is just him. Hamer, heat, steel, muscle and sweat is how his baldes get made. It is a very personally involved process for Dale, not a machinist production line. On some of his knives, at the customers request, he will forgo epoxy, and instead use adhesives that he makes himself manner, and use deerhide for sheaths from deer he hunted, skinned and tanned with his own hands. The stag for the handle is often from animals he has harvested himself. Many of the woods used, are from trees he has felled, sectioned out, and allowed to season for years. I have talked with him as he obsessed about finding the perfect peice of wood for a special customers knife, talking about trips into the Adirondac mountains in search of burl woods.
He tests every single piece of steel that leaves his shop, every knife gets used to hack on seasoned elm, scoring bone, some are used to make their own sheath.
When you read of his knives, you will hear of people using the words soul, warmth, character. These are the words that describe Dale's knives not just because the finished product, but largely because of the process that Dale uses in making them. When you buy a knife from Dale, you are buying something special.
The vast majority of Dale's customers are not knife nuts like us, they are historical re-enactors. For these people, he is one of the few people in the Country that can offer museum level authenticity, along with people like Daniel Winkler and Karen Shook. Dale is an artisan, not a machinist.
So, given Dale's very personal involvement, and his obsession with making every knife the right knife for that particular customer, I do understand where he is coming from when he says he just can't bring himself to do the finish work on Bobert's knives.
Dale told me he offered Bobert a full refund, and Bobert responded that he is not making an interest free loan and demanded his knives. Dale then offered to pay him interest. Bobert then responded quite rudely in Dale's perception (whether justified or not). I think it is to Dale's credit that he did not simply cancel the order and send back the money.
I don't think Bobert will ever get his knives as long as their is hostility between the two of them. I think they either need to resolve their conflict, so Dale can finish his work, or Bobert should take me up on my offer and trade or try and buy out his position on the knives.
Personally, I will wait another two years, because I know that what I will be getting will be worth the wait.
Again, this is a real shame, becuase I am sure the people involved are all fine folks. I don't agree with everything Dale has done, and quite frankly I don't think Dale agrees with everything he has done. But I do know that if people will stop their attacks against him, justified or not, and let the spirit of cooperation take over, that things will work out for everyone in the end.
To that end, my offer remains open. . . .
Peace and love to all. . .
however, i am curious about something. aarya has waited 'only' 5 months for his knife and we just found out it is on it's way. others have waited over two years and they still don't have a knife or a refund. shouldn't dale deliver knives in the order they were paid for? to do otherwise hardly seems fair to me, as it is my understanding that dale makes his knives one at a time and not in batches. is my 'fifo' line of thinking unsound? 
couldn't be punishment, as i've had nothing bad to say, and i don't think he could possibly guess my DBA email or phone. heh.