2016 Queen Dreams?

I wish they could get hold of some more Zebra Wood, it's a fine looking material.
 
wouldnt mind some stag, real stag i mean, not that amber bone jigged to look like stag stuff
 
I'd like to see more of the small batches that they do, limited to a hundred or few hundred pieces; GEC has done that and fared well, Queen should also. I also like the idea of the feathered buffalo horn, although I have not yet had a chance to handle any. The 2015 catalog had so many knives that I'd love to try, but the budget only allows for the occasional knife. To me, pocket knives are a very personal thing. You carry them with you every day, they rarely leave your side. With some knives, perfect f&f or not, they don't get carried. Though I am not a prolific collector, I've tried a few and Queen knives speak louder to me. Long live the Queen!
 
Cory Hess said:
So, Queen has had this teaser on their homepage for the last week or so:

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That jack looks mighty fine to me, and the jigged bone and EO notch are especially intriguing. Has anybody else been eagerly awaiting the 2016 catalog?

What are you hoping to see in there? Maybe a return of a certain pattern or handle material?

I'm hoping that they continue expanding the steel offerings on their Schatt & Morgan lines. In 2015 we saw D2 and CPM-154 on Schatts. I'm hoping for a more regular appearance of D2 on File & Wire knives.

I'm hoping that they keep the buffalo horn, as these knives came out beautifully. I'm also hoping that they find a way to expand their jigged bone options and bring back zebrawood, even if it's limited in scope. I'd really like to see some Winterbottom.

What are your thoughts?
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I'd like to see them make the 06 Teardrop pattern without a linerlock.
 
bdev said:
I'd like to see them make the 06 Teardrop pattern without a linerlock.
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Funny you should say that. I did a little search not long ago to see if I could find an 06 without a linerlock. I really like the looks of that pattern, but find a linerlock on a slipjoint to be an unnecessary inconvenience.
 
Cory Hess said:
Funny you should say that. I did a little search not long ago to see if I could find an 06 without a linerlock. I really like the looks of that pattern, but find a linerlock on a slipjoint to be an unnecessary inconvenience.
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I have an 06L with ACSB. One of my favorites and an excellent knife. Got it from another BF member. The teardrop design fits right in the hand and it is perfect at 3 3/4". Queen's ACSB is beautiful. I wish they'd make it with the option of a spear, clip and Wharncliffe.

In addition.....I'm thinking about having my 06L modified to remove the LL.
 
kootenay joe said:
Quote W.C. "it'll probably be a while before I can pocket one without remembering how irritated I was."
I and most others would respond similarly.
I think the 'new' owners have been there for 3 years now but the 'improvements' they promised are not showing up.
For example, one of the most important positions in any business is the 'front line', the person who handles phone calls and replies to emails. This person must be sincere and helpful so that customers will not take their business elsewhere.
White Crown's experience shows that no improvements have been made in this all important 'front line'.
Come on Queen, Wake Up ! Get rid of employees who could care less and hire people who do care. Starting with your 'front line' will help prevent more customers giving up on Queen knives.
kj
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I've always believed the best people to do this job were/are knife fanatics. I mean people who truly love and go nuts over knives, and not some relative who doesn't give two craps about knives and just needs a job. It seems every company has these apathetic types in the CS department.

You know I envision some of these people and the hirers having this conversation
Hirer: "Do you love knives?"
Applicant: I will like them, sort of, if you pay me to."
Hirer: "Good enough, you're hired"
 
So, the new catalog is out. After an initial look through these are my thoughts:

It looks like the biggest change is the addition of blue bone in the place of the walnut line. I just did a quick look through and that's the only real change I see in the Queen line.

The Queen City easy open tear drop might be the knife that stands out the most to me. This is the one that was on their teaser, and the picture looks as good as the drawing did.

They're bringing back the 46 half whittler in stag as part of their Keystone series. I like that pattern.

They also have "fossilized bone" in their File & Wire series. I'm guessing that this is similar to GEC's primitive bone?

Overall, the lineup isn't that changed from last year. This is good and bad. It's always exciting to see a bunch of new stuff come out that we can drool over. At the same time, there are several knives that I wanted, but didn't have a chance to pick up this year that it looks like I'll have another shot at. There's also enough new that I'll definitely be picking up a couple that caught my eye.
 
I just went through the new catalog also. Really like the retro look of it. Like Cory, the Teardrop EO is the winner for me but I really think Queen missed the mark by not making it available in a single spear blade. I'll definitely buy the 2 blade anyway. Looks like they are offering standard patterns in standard blade set ups. Wished they made some Wharnie offerings but no.....none available ( edit....they do have one, the 032046 half whittler). They list a 63SB Railsplitter as 4 1/4" closed but I believe it's a typo. Overall, Queen shows some really nice knives in this catalog.
 
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You seemed genuinely excited earlier and your follow up is sort of anti climatic. It makes me wonder if the catalog style is no longer well suited in such a small cottage industry. I suspect that Queen would get a lot more buzz on the forum if they followed GEC's lead regarding regular releases. They don't necessarily need to release a completely new pattern. GEC started from scratch so everything was new but they have also repeated patterns. Queen could do regular handle variations and blade changes. For example, railsplitter pointed out that they had swapped the spey blade for a pen blade on the railsplitter. That went completely unnoticed otherwise on the forum. Maybe people would take notice more if these releases were made in a well documented short production cycle instead of a yearly catalog. If they posted weekly updates on their website, people may also visit their website more often. Just some food for thought.

A lot of things go missed with the current style. For example this catalog has their very 1st ATS-34 steel 3-blade sowbelly and large stockman. These both are very interesting to me. I'd like to see some photos of the grinds on those blades.
 
I'm puzzled by your objections to the liner-lock on the Teardrop? It isn't in any way obtrusive or detreacting from the handling, just adds an interesting feature and safety. One of the best Queens you can get, prize all mine and admire the lock.

Regards, Will
 
The fossilized bone and the blue bone both look interesting to me, and they have two different sized sowbellies, a 3⅝" and a 4⅜". The S&M branded sowbellies in the past have been 3⅞" closed.
 
Will Power said:
I'm puzzled by your objections to the liner-lock on the Teardrop? It isn't in any way obtrusive or detreacting from the handling, just adds an interesting feature and safety. One of the best Queens you can get, prize all mine and admire the lock.

Regards, Will
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It's simple. I need two hands to close it instead of one.
 
black mamba said:
The fossilized bone and the blue bone both look interesting to me, and they have two different sized sowbellies, a 3⅝" and a 4⅜". The S&M branded sowbellies in the past have been 3⅞" closed.
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The 4 3/8" is their jumbo stockman pattern. The handle is the same they use for Moore Maker and Case Classic. The main blade is different and I think this is the first time it's been offered in ATS-34
 
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