<he is kown as the key guy at the vw shows.  he has OE blanks for just
about every year and can make you a key right there on the spot from the bed
of his doka (which is a twin of mine) .. he's got the key cutter right there>

Yes, he does, he cut a key for my Vanagon at the Labor Day Bug Out in Manasass. Every key I've had cut for my old VW's (usually from Baldino's)  has "worked", but not smoothly. The key Mark 1 cut for me works perfectly, it was a bit pricey, but hey, quality costs. ( But the Baldinos keys weren't cheap either!)    Jeff