Hi list:
I looked up on this list/Google, but no exact match (while following some ideas that may have helped) found.
If it matters for this case: I don’t have chef-manage installed on the server.
I’m using a workstation-server-node setup.
All three’s firewalls are allowing relevant traffic (80, 443, 22) between them.
Following this guide: chef bootstrap guide
However, getting the error mentioned in OP.
More relevant info:
chefnode.edited.com chef_server_url "https://chef.edited.com/organizations/edited"
chefnode.edited.com validation_client_name "chef-validator"
chefnode.edited.com validation_key “/etc/chef/validation.pem”
My knife.rb (on the workstation)
current_dir = File.dirname(FILE)
log_level :info
log_location STDOUT
node_name 'chefnode’
client_key “#{current_dir}/chefadmin.pem"
validation_client_name 'chef-validator’
validation_key “#{current_dir}/(edited)-validator.pem"
chef_server_url ‘https://chef.(edited).com/organizations/(edited)’'
cache_type 'BasicFile’
cache_options( :path => “#{ENV[‘HOME’]}/.chef/checksums” )
cookbook_path [”#{current_dir}/…/cookbooks”]
Your ideas/assistance is most welcome 
If other config files are needed, please ask.
Thank you.