Touring Equipment

yeah, i think ill ask him straight up...make it sound like i want to do some research on them, durability etc.... but he wants $285 (CAD) for a pair. which i think is a little steep! but i can't seem to find any other forks like these on the net.
the guy, who is the frame builder shown above is clearly a great frame builder, and one of only a few out here from what i can tell, so i don't want to nark him off by trying to undercut him when he could be the very guy i turn to for a new touring frame in the future...

Have you spoken with Ryffranck, Naked, Marinoni, Brodie, DeKerf, Steelwool, Argon18, Devinci, Guru, Vitess, Aquila Cycles, Covebike, Cervelo, Rocky Mountain, Cycles Bertrand? I think they're all Canadian, and most will do some level of custom. I mean, if you're not getting along...