Brands of American made Traditionals that excite me most...

PocketKnifeJimmy

PocketKnifeJimmy

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Aug 4, 2013
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This is something I am limiting to the currently remaining USA made choices left on the market (current production). And in this case, my nod goes to Queen (and all of it's brands), and to GEC (and all of it's brands). The Queen company really gets my juices flowing, and their history only adds to their coolness factor. I do hope that the new owner will bring things up to a more consistant level, because this old firm still has a lot to offer. I like Case, but their knives obviously have quite a bit less old school true hands on craftsmanship... and though their products are still very worthy, the more old school makers products are more exciting for that alone (not to mention their constant unique offerings).
 
Just starting out with my knife quest over the past couple months, I have also kind of tried to limit myself to American made - especially Pennsylvania made knives. I live within one hour of Case and 2 hours of GEC and Queen. What really got my going was watching the video of the GEC factory. So far I own a couple GEC's and just received my first Queen last week (not counting my S&M toothpick).

So yes, I tend to look at GEC and Queen, and also want to get my first Canal Street sometime this fall (have to let the funds catch up to my buying frenzy lately.....). I'm still not sure about Case - I just received a couple older toothpicks in pristine condition and am very happy with them. I also just received a NIB Back Pocket which needs to go in for warranty work. I want to like Case and will continue to try them.

I have to say that GEC is my favorite right now - I love the older designs they use, and the fit and finish is just fantastic. I also like the idea that they only do small runs of each knife - kind of makes them a little more elusive in a way I guess - very good marketing strategy if you ask me.
 
the only problem with queen is they're too nice. :) i'd be afraid of using one and scratching it up or worse.
 
The one thing that is pretty cool about many basic Queen knives, is their use of D2 steel. I know many will find the need to thin out the thicker edge Queens tend to have... but, for the user, you get a steel known for good edge retention, while being a steel that is more rust resistant than basic 1095. Just like GEC has their different brands, and ranging from carbon steel to stainless, so does Queen.... and so you can choose to buy the less pretty ones for basic edc... or, buy pretty, it won't hurt it's function ;-)
 
PocketKnifeJimmy said:
The one thing that is pretty cool about many basic Queen knives, is their use of D2 steel. I know many will find the need to thin out the thicker edge Queens tend to have... but, for the user, you get a steel known for good edge retention, while being a steel that is more rust resistant than basic 1095. Just like GEC has their different brands, and ranging from carbon steel to stainless, so does Queen.... and so you can choose to buy the less pretty ones for basic edc... or, buy pretty, it won't hurt it's function ;-)
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which models are the lesser ones? the cheapest one i've seen are around $80.
 
My most expensive Queen (a limited run Queen Classics in 2 blade Doctor's knife pattern w/440c stainless steel blades) was $85 shipped. My next most expensive is my Schatt & Morgan File & Wire Toothpick, which was priced at mid $70 range shipped, and which has an atm34 stainless blade. Also, I have a Queen Copperhead that was priced under $60 shipped and it has the D2 steel. All were purchased from reputable online dealers. There are Queens priced lower and higher than mine.. and have seen them range from $30 on up. Search engines are a wonderful thing :-)
 
I agree with the Great Eastern and Queen being noted. Great Eastern goes without saying. From Queen I've been very excited about some of their File & Wire releases, the Heritage series, and the Light Hunters.

Once in a while Canal Street Cutlery really throws out an eye-catcher too.
 
cards94 said:
which models are the lesser ones? the cheapest one i've seen are around $80.
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Their "Country Cousin" sodbuster pattern knives start at under $30. Of course you don't get D2 for that price, and the handles are Delrin plastic.
 
I've got to say that I wait all year to see what the Case, Tony Bose collaboration knife is going to be. They are expensive yes, but to my eye they are the top of the pile as far as production slip joints go.

I also give a nod to the Case knives in raindrop Damascus. They seem to be made with more attention to detail and at a price that makes them affordable.
 
I appreciate all the offerings of Queen, GEC, Case, and Canal Street but GEC really get the juices flowing for me.
 
GEC, then Queen, with Case a close 3rd. Canal Street and Buck just don't excite me. Serviceable, but not exciting.
 
I buy and use for the way they function and look, buck, gec, case. I like the styles of all 3 but i'm open to a few others but not in any hurry to buy. I could probably just be happy with a buck 112 but there's always another that catches your eye.
 
I'm all for any American made traditional, but if I had to choose one,it would be Case. This is because they have fancy colored handles. And maybe because I've never owed a GEC.
 
GEC's in general but the Northfield line in particular is just fantastic for a production pocket knife.
 
For the life of me I still can't tell the difference between GEC, Northfield an Un-x-ld. They say fit and finish and materials but other than stag they are all the same quality and materials
 
Northfield and Un-X-Ld are the same thing. That's just one of their trademarks "unexcelled" that they put on those knives. The main difference I have seen between Northfield and Tidioute is in the embellishment of the bolsters and blades, and the type of handle materials reserved for each. The actual GEC brand is for the 440C stainless blades and is offered in only a few handle materials and a very limited number of patterns. Quality-wise I agree, all seem to be built to the same standards. The difference is mainly in the looks.

On the original topic, I suppose that GEC is the most exciting because they are always innovating, trying different patterns, and seem to be to be the most in touch with the collector and user community and listen to the inputs from their customers and dealers. They are still early enough in their history where a collector can still feel like they got in on the ground floor as GEC is hitting their stride now and coming out with a lot of popular patterns.

Case is still interesting and they have a much wider range of actually available patterns that I like. With GEC if you miss a production run of a particular pattern, who knows how long it will be before they come out with it again?

I really like Buck's few remaining models of slipjoints for true users and for their utilitarian beauty and great fit and finish (at least on the ones I have).

I have not yet seen anything from Queen or Canal Street that is compelling to me at their current price points, but I keep looking with interest.
 
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I have only really owned gec and buck in terms of traditionals. Buck always has a special place in my heart because they were "the knife" when I was a kid. However, gec patterns just really excite me. No other traditional company really makes my heart jump. I do love the case collab Bose knives but they are simply too difficult to get in the country up north :)
 
These days I find myself more enthused with Queen than any other brand. I like their patterns, which tend to run a bit smaller than most GECs. Very good fit and finish. I like their D2. Love their amber stag bone. Priced reasonable. Most of mine were in the mid $50's, though a couple were up to the mid $70's.

I bought my canoe for $56 from Mike Latham.
I bought a mountain man for ~$60 somewhere else.

The tradeoff is that all of my Queens have required considerable effort to change the edge bevels to what I consider to be reasonable.

The Country Cousins have come up in price. I bought mine for ~$23 a few years ago. The going price for a Country Cousin with Delrin covers seems to be in the low $30's these days.

GEC's are finely crafted. There's no doubt about that. But most of them are pretty pricey for my pocket. (There's only so much money I am willing to pay for a pocket knife. STUFF happens to them.) A lot of them are a bigger than I like to carry. And most are in 1095, whereas I prefer stainless. I have a few. I'll probably buy a few more. But for me Queen is a better deal overall.
 
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