Very crazy process. So, I see an announcement that Regulators have shipped. I guess from reading the forum that this is the Test Team run? Can't tell otherwise. Not terribly fond of a bowie for my needs, but that Regulator sure looks nice! Too afraid of breaking the tip when prying, which I've done before.
Yeah, the Regulator is a test team run. As far as worrying about the tip - DON'T! That's the whole reason scrap yard has the amazing warranty they do. Break the tip off and they will replace your knife. Plus, the Regulator, at a third of an inch thick, is going to be tough to break, even at the thin part of the tip. It's a beast of a knife.
Will a production Regulator be offered and if so does an announcement go up, and email sent to members, or it just gets listed on the order form one day? Impossible to watch this forum constantly (too many forums, too little time) though there is some good reading here for sure.
For normal production knives the timeline seems to go something like this: Dan posts some teaser pictures, then some number of weeks later, more official specs are released. A little while after that (the mysterious and proverbial "two weeks" that rarely lasts only 14 days), an announcement is made that they will be accepting orders soon, and then they accept orders for a couple of weeks. A couple of weeks after that, the knives ship.
If you're too busy to do lots of reading in the forums, your best bet is to check in occasionally and read the "sticky" threads at the top of the page - all important announcements will be made sticky, and you can get a good idea of what's coming next. Even checking once a week, or once every other week, should be enough.
In fact, I've been selling off all my collector knives, because it is just such a waste to have good knives sitting around not being used. I'd get a busse, but have a hard time justifying that kind of money except for a safe queen. Kind of like the guy who drives up to a car show towing a trailer to unload his pristine vintage pony car that never gets driven. What a waste. Some things are just meant to be used!
While it's true that it is hard to bring yourself to use an expensive knife, the joy you get after you take that first step is awesome. I absolutely love beating on my killa zilla (over $800) or my NMSFNO (close to $400), and cannot WAIT to abuse the heck out of one of my swamp rat waki's.
It's much less frightening to beat on an expensive knife when it's made of some of the best steel in the business, and backed by the best warranty you'll find.
Keep an eye out, and you'll get the knife you want. And probably a few more after that. This is an addicting set of companies! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />
