Bill Ruple Collaboration Knife from Queen.... It's a SOWBELLY!!

Doing the filework for 300 total knives sounds like a lot of work! If he did the blade grinds, I would start standing in line to buy the knives now. ;) I'm also looking forward to more info. A couple folks asked about the size and I didn't see it listed on Queen's website but here are the specs for the custom knife shown in the photo.

Overall Length: 8 3/8″

Blade Length: 2 3/4″ Clip, 1 7/8″ Spey, 2″ Sheepfoot

Blade Finish: Mirror

Handle Length: 3 3/4″

Handle Material: Amber Stag

Bolster Material: Stainless Steel

Frame Material: Stainless Steel

Knife Type: Folder

Opener: Nail Nick

Lock Type: Slip-Joint

Model: Sowbelly

Maker: Bill Ruple
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supratentorial said:
In my experience, there is a lot of variability in their grinds with D2 as well. So how thin they are behind the edge has varied with different patterns. As a few examples.... thin (Queen Classic Whittler), thick (Queen stockman), ridiculously thick (Queen Burke barlow). I'm looking forward to seeing some photos of the finished Ruple collaboration knives.
In general, I think D2 is good. It's much harder than CV but I haven't had problems with chipping. For 1095, you might look at Queen's older Winchester and Case Classic knives. Their 2016 File and Wire sowbelly is a 3-blade with ATS-34 steel. I'm not sure when it will be available.
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My Queen Barlows in D2 would probably be closer to the "thick", I wouldn't call any of the grinds "ridiculously thick" (for a Barlow, at least).

I have a few examples of Queen patterns in both 1095 and D2, including the #69 Barlow and the #26 medium stockman. The "workhorse" knives all come in 1095 and are wonderful slicers and hard-nosed users. Obviously they can't take extended amounts of abuse like the D2 blades might, but I have yet to be disappointed in the 1095 on the Queens I have.

quattromori said:
Jake,
I share your concern about the blade grind, and I hope it's as thin as possible. A thick grind on a D2 blade would make it awful to use and sharpen. On the other hand, a thin grind paired with D2's wear resistence could turn out very nice. The pattern itself is (in my opinion) very nice indeed, and I hope this will come in the 3,5"-3,75" range.
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I haven't had occasion to sharpen my D2 Barlow yet (it came hair-popping sharp out of the box), but as for use it is a pleasure. I haven't found anything that the D2 Barlow can't push-cut compared to the 1095 Barlows. The stockmen are both slicing demons, it would be difficult to find something to make a noteworthy comparison. The extra chromium in the D2 means you'll have to get a 1095 knife to develop a nice patina, though.

supratentorial said:
Doing the filework for 300 total knives sounds like a lot of work! If he did the blade grinds, I would start standing in line to buy the knives now. ;)
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Man, just watching others do the 'lolly scramble' is exhausting. :p
 
Jake,
Thank you for the added info. I wonder if they're going to use the old 3,75" sowbelly frame, or make a new slightly different one. I like the old one so I hope they're sticking to it. Not sure about the filework. I always wonder about the need of stating the overall length of a knife that has blades on both ends :rolleyes:
I think D2 is a very nice steel for a pocket knife but, even more than other steels, takes advantage of a thin grind, so my fingers are crossed :)

Fausto
:cool:
 
Wow! Just look at the nesting of those blades in Jakes added pic. :eek: very nice. This will be interesting to see how Queen executes the pattern.
 
I'm getting pretty hyped up for this, could be the new release of the year for me. Never tried a Sowbelly before, how do they typically ride in the pocket? Looks a little wide when closed.
 
quattromori said:
Jake,
Thank you for the added info. I wonder if they're going to use the old 3,75" sowbelly frame, or make a new slightly different one. I like the old one so I hope they're sticking to it. Not sure about the filework. I always wonder about the need of stating the overall length of a knife that has blades on both ends :rolleyes:
I think D2 is a very nice steel for a pocket knife but, even more than other steels, takes advantage of a thin grind, so my fingers are crossed :)

Fausto
:cool:
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My fingers are crossed also! :thumbup:

BigBiscuit said:
Wow! Just look at the nesting of those blades in Jakes added pic. :eek: very nice. This will be interesting to see how Queen executes the pattern.
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The only reasonable explanation is magic! ;) Definitely the work of a master. :thumbup:

Dr-Mabuse said:
I'm getting pretty hyped up for this, could be the new release of the year for me. Never tried a Sowbelly before, how do they typically ride in the pocket? Looks a little wide when closed.
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I often carry a sowbelly so it seems normal to me. ;) The pattern is under 4 inches so there's usually extra room at the bottom of a pocket. The ends are rounded so no pokies. Here are some comparison photos of a Case/Bose regular production sowbelly, a Case Classic (Queen) sowbelly, and a Victorinox Pioneer.


 
I'm glad they didn't do in 1095 or I would have to have one more knife, it really looks good though!
 
supratentorial said:
Here's a photo of the well of the custom Ruple sowbelly that Queen showed as an example... :)
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Jake,

Thanks for sharing info and pics on this Ruple/Queen collaboration sowbelly. I am extremely interested, and can I have a spot "in the line"?

Raul
 
Will this pattern show up in a less fancy version without the filework, or is this likely to be the only version offered?
 
RobbW said:
Will this pattern show up in a less fancy version without the filework, or is this likely to be the only version offered?
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I don't think that they've put out any information other than this one graphic on their website.
 
Anyone hear any news about this knife? It disappeared from the Queen website after Blade... can't find it anywhere on their site anymore. I sent an inquiry directly to Queen about when the knife would be available and the estimated MSRP but its been 10 days and I haven't received a reply.
 
Photos of the Ruple knife shown in the original Queen ad seem to be gone. Since I managed to snag the very knife at the Blade show, here it is again:




 
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I went to the Great Lakes Knife Show yesterday and spent some time talking to Ken Daniels. He had one of these Ruple Sowebellies in his booth, and I snagged it up. He told me that they were all gone pretty quickly, and he didn't know that they still had one at the factory. He didn't know where it came from or why it was there, he just grabbed it on his way out the door. When I was at the factory in August they didn't have any, so I don't know if this was in somebody's boxes that they take to the shows or if it was returned for some reason or what. It's a fantastic little knife. There is absolutely no blade rub at all, and it's very comfortable in the hand with any of the blades open. The transition from stag to bolster isn't perfect, but other than that I can't find any fault with this knife. The zippered case isn't nearly as nice as last year's Ruple, but that's not a huge concern for me. All in all, I'd say that Queen and Mr. Ruple hit it out of the park with this one. He did have some other sowbellies that seemed to be built on the same frame, made in ebony, elk, and reverse wormgroove bone. They didn't seem as well put together as this one, but still seemed like fine knives. Sorry for the bad picture, but it's what I have for now.



After I paid for the knife and before we left the Queen booth my son declared that this was his new knife. It's the first time he's seen a knife and decided that he needed to have it. He's got a nice little collection going, but it's made up of knives that he's liked because they were already his.
 
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