Country Cousin in something other than D2?

[Sturubu]

I picked up what looks like an older sodbuster pattern, and noticed you can faintly see "Country Cousin" and logo, but I can't see any other etchings or stamps. Comparing to images of the current model the handle and blade look almost identical.

Did Queen make these in other steel before going to D2?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Pics would be very helpful. Especially if there's no stamp on the tang. That might be useful in determining age of the knife. The current models with D2 blades all show 'PH-D2' on the tang, in addition to the regular tang stamp. I've seen older Country Cousins on the 'auction site' and other places, which had red handles on them, but I don't know for certain if they were D2.

I don't know when Queen switched to D2, but they did use 440C for a very long time prior, in most/all of their line. Blades marked as 'Queen Steel' were not D2, and very likely were 440C instead.

 

[Sturubu]

Thanks for the info, I'll work on getting a picture. As I clean more all I can find is the Q with the crown and what looks like "76" near the pivot, no other markings or stamps so far. Also, the stamp is only visible when partially open, unlike most of the pictures I've seen where the whole logo is visible when open.

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Thanks for the info, I'll work on getting a picture. As I clean more all I can find is the Q with the crown and what looks like "76" near the pivot, no other markings or stamps so far. Also, the stamp is only visible when partially open, unlike most of the pictures I've seen where the whole logo is visible when open.

That 'Q' with '76' is the key, for the year of manufacture (1976). I'm sure it's not D2, if that's the case. More likely 440C. And I'd really love to see a pic of that knife. I wasn't aware of any of the Country Cousins going back that far, so it sounds like you've got a nice find.

Give me a moment, and I'll add a pic of the 1976 date stamp here...

Edit: Here's a pic of that 1976 date stamp:

 

[buckthorn]

440-C or 440-A? Anyone know for sure?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

440-C or 440-A? Anyone know for sure?

440C, according to the guide I have ("Official Price Guide to Collector Knives", Fourteenth Edition, by C. Houston Price; copyright 2004). Queen apparently started using it as far back as the 1940s, originally stamping the blades as 'STAINLESS'. At the time, many consumers considered stainless steel to be inferior, so Queen started stamping the blades as 'QUEEN STEEL' instead (still using the 440C).

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Here's an interesting piece of information, regarding Queen's pioneering use of stainless steels in production knives:

( from site -->: http://www.allaboutpocketknives.com/queen/index.php )

( quoted from David Krauss, author of American Pocketknives: The History of Schatt & Morgan and Queen Cutlery. )

"It is important to note that Queen City Cutlery was an innovator and a pioneer in the use of functional stainless steel in pocket cutlery in America . (Stainless is defined as having at least 11% chromium in the alloy.) As early as 1926 Queen City Cutlery was listed in the regional trade publications as manufacturers of “High Grade Stainless Steel Cutlery.” Stainless steel had been introduced in England in 1914 and first patented in America in 1915, but the change in blade material was initially opposed by many cutlers as often happens when new technologies are introduced into an existing field. Queen was the primary innovator of this change from carbon steel to a stainless steel formulation that was well suited for blades and backsprings. Queen was the first American cutlery company to successfully introduce a large variety of stainless steel cutlery to the market. The first nickel-chromium steel produced in America was made in Titusville at the Cyclops Steel Company under the leadership of Cyclops’ chief metallurgist Charles Evans in 1917. Queen’s willingness to experiment and to push the limits of cutlery steel was also in evidence in 1999 when they began to use ATS-34 steel on master blades, and again in 2002 when they began using both D-2 and 420HC steels for blades. "

This is enlightening to me, as I didn't know when Queen first started using the D2. I had assumed not earlier than the '90s or so, but apparently it came in 2002.