My Whalen has the brushed finish, but the bead blasted one is nice as well. The wood knobs a lovely, but to me and this is only me, very 60'ish. Jim
I have been seeing Whalen's knobs for a few years now and I have to say I love them. Their is not a better looking, better quality knob on the market IMO. I am sure the guys who own them will agree. I just cant bring myself to spent $150 bucks on a shift knob. I missed the ones he had on sale after the Dragon. Whalen- if you are out there can you make me a deal? [email protected]
Save your pennies cause "beautiful" don't even come close! I questioned my sanity when I ordered my knob/handle, but not after opening the package. I seriously considered putting them in a glass case on the book shelve and just gawping at them. The wood and craftsmanship are stunning! After a year of hand burnishing, the knob glows. I researched the cost of some of the woods Robin works with and concluded that he might be breaking even. A blank of Amboyna burl 2X2X7 inches STARTS at $125 :eek6: ! Mine are the Amboyna burl & African Blackwood. Hey, the knob is only $35 more then the Whalen Shift Machine, has Whalen's SS adapter inside and is flat guaranteed to be the only one like it on Earth! PS: Hey, if anyone remembers the 60's, they weren't there! LMAO
Email him via their website. He's quick to respond. You will probably see a response later the same day or at least the next day. There is also a phone number on the website. Contact Us : Whalen Shift Machine
I love my Whalen polished shift knob. The only gripe is it is awful cold on a winter morning. I bought a genuine mouse fur shift knob cozy from Aaron at Outmotoring & it helps a lot. Keep an eye out over on the sewing site. They often pop up there in the marketplace for $80 - $100. Since the R53 knob will not fit a R56 folks sell them when they change MINIs.
Does anyone have a Billiard Ball knob? I am considering that and wonder if there are any issues, opinions, etc. Thanks in advance! Cheers! Chris
Shoot me an e-mail or a PM. I still have a few leftovers from last year's MINIs in the Mountains event. I never got around to doing a "Fall Sale", so they're still sitting here on the shelf. I can make you a good deal on one of those, if you're interested. [email protected]
Hoping to receive the refinished one today, Doug. Unfortunately, I'll still have to wait until I get home this evening. Thanks again for all of your help!
I received it on Friday and popped it in that night. I didn't realize it had the spring loaded mechanism, but am very impressed with it. Will post pics later. I couldn't get them to post through Tapatalk the other night for some reason. Worked fine elsewhere. I'll have to let Nathan know what the error said. Maybe that's not allowed.
Obviously in the after pics, the CravenSpeed shift well cover is removed in favor of the stock boot. Has anyone with the bead blasted finish have an issue with scratches and is there an easy way to get rid of them? If not, I may eventually end up going to the machined finish. Its not a big deal, but I was hoping it wouldn't be subject to that.
I doubt scratches are going to be an issue with the stainless steel shift knob. The only maybe would be a ring on the finger of shifting hand, and even then the ring material should be softer than the stainless. After several years of use you could always send it to Whalen for a tuneup.