CSC 420 or Queen D2. Which to choose?

Well, I got my Queen Mountain Man today. It's beautiful but I have to send it back. Kenny at Sooner State was very understanding. What is up with the blade wobble on these knives?
 
I find it relatively easy to get an absolutely hair-popping, low angle edge on my Queen D2 blades. Yes, if you are not careful, you can get the wire edge. The trick with D2 is to make sure you get everything done completely at one grit before moving to a finer grit. I finish with 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper, followed by stropping on green compound. I get a polished edge that is extremely sharp. I think the problem most people have with D2 is that they are trying to sharpen it like they do with carbon steel or 440 stainless. It has different characteristics that are easily learned.
 
Liveitloud said:
Well, I got my Queen Mountain Man today. It's beautiful but I have to send it back. Kenny at Sooner State was very understanding. What is up with the blade wobble on these knives?
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I have two Mountain Man Lockbacks, a Schatt & Morgan File & Wire, and a Queen in Sambar Stag and 1095. In both cases I returned the first one I received because of blade play. The Queen still has front/rear play but not lateral which was an improvement over the first one. The Schatt is tight.

I would really like to get more of these because I really like the pattern, but the wobbly blades is the reason I don't.
 
My Mountain Man has been a source of major frustration.

I sent it in to Queen a little over a month ago because it had a ton of vertical play and a poorly heat treated blade. They replaced the blade, but it still had quite a bit of up-and-down play.

After I got the knife back a week ago, it also developed a lot of side-to-side play that I couldn't get rid of. I might try replacing the pivot pin and putting some thin washers in it to make it open smoother.

It really is too bad that so many people have problems with the Mountain Man. It's a very handsome knife and a great design, but the quality just seems to be too inconsistent.
 
I hear you. It really is a handsome knife. After thinking it over, I'm wondering if it is worth the frustration of hoping the next one will be okay. I need something sturdy. This is going to be my EDC. How would you rate a buck 110 quality next to a Boker lock back? I realize the price difference is quite a bit but I don't mind paying more, if more is really better. Any thoughts?

BOK-2004ST.jpg
 
On the D2 issue. The Canal Street trapper I recently got in D2 came out of the box extremely sharp. It slides through most anything with ease. It slides through newsprint and with either blade, it cut through 1/2" manila rope faster than even my Moras. Very impressive on the rope. So it will do delicate work and will take on heavy tasks with equal aplomb. I wish I could put those blades in my newest S&M trapper. Then I'd have a lovely knife that cuts like crazy and keeps an edge for a good while. While I was a little disappointed in the F&F on the CSC, the blades and the edge make it a keeper. Maybe Queen should have CSC do the sharpening for them.

Looking at the edges on the CSC D2 with a magnafier you can see it isn't finely polished. It even looks a little toothy, at certain angles even a tiny bit wired. But, it cuts like crazy and shaves too. I'm going to have to pick up some diamond hones and practice on the one Queen I have that came dull so when I have to sharpen the CSC I can keep it cutting like it did out of the box.

In comparing the CSC and the Queen #19 in D2, the Queen is definitly thicker on the edge than the CSC. The CSC has a wide, thin primary edge with the tiniest of a micro bevel, at least as I can see under a magnifier that I used to use for photographic slides. This seems to support some of the comments by others about how to get the best edge on a D2 blade. I can live without polish if the result is cutting like this CSC cuts.

Just some observations from the desk. I'm still new to D2, but rereading some of the posts here made me go back and really do some comparisons between the edge grinds between the Queens and the CSC.

On the Bokers. I don't have the lockblade, but the Bokers I do have are pretty decent knives. I mostly have carbon steel Bokers. The Boker carbons seem to take me longer to sharpen than my Case CV and any other 1095 knives I have. They seem just a tad harder. That may be my imagination or it may be edge grinds. I need to go back and do some more magnifier comparisons.

A few weeks ago I picked up a 4" Boker Candy Striped, Celluloid Stockman in carbon steel for $17.19 new on ebay. The fit and finish is excellent and it has nice snap to it. The spring to liner fit is tight. Of the whittler, large congress, and canoe Bokers, all in stag and all in carbon steel, all came in at less than $40 apiece, also on ebay.

Also keep an eye out for Burnt Chimney brand. As I understand it these are handbuilts by Boker. I have a single blade trapper in Mother of Pearl that is quite nice, and gotten for under the above price. It does have a stainless blade though. Others on here who have picked up a Burnt Chimney also seem quite pleased with the workmanship of theirs.

For that matter, of the CSC trapper in D2, two limited production Queens (one in stag, both in D2), and a Schatt & Morgan Limited SFO, that I've gotten over the last three weeks, only one has been $51. The others have all ran between $39 and $44. I've had to drop out of a LOT of auctions before managing to snag those, but it was worth the wait. I simply don't have the money or am willing to pay higher so I have to pass on a lot of things. Not bragging on my deal prowess, as I've also paid to much for some lesser stuff recently too. My point is that you should be able to find a lot of fine knife for your proposed budget. Like others on here, I've also found a few sellers I feel very secure in dealing with.

My experience with one Boker with weak springs was that Boker USA was quick to take care of the problem. I had a great customer service experience with them. Others here tell of having similar experiences with Queen/S&M and CSC. So even if you do get a lemon, these companies readily stand behind their products.

I'm sure this won't be your last traditional purchase, just your next one. So take the plunge and enjoy. Pick out the pattern and handle material that pulls at you the most in one of the quality companies, including Case, and go for it. You can always put it on the trade thread if you don't like it. ;)
 
It's a matter of application, I think. The 420 stainless knives are designed for collectors (very corrosion resistant) while the D2 blades are designed as users. Case does the same thing with their soft stainless vs. CV carbon steel. So I would choose it based on your intended use. Take care.
 
I've got several of the Queen knives with D2 blades. They all came dull, with fairly thick edges, and all required a reprofile, but man once you get there, they are screaming sharp and stay that way. Forget regular stones if you don't want to consume a lot of time, diamond hones work MUCH faster on that D2. I want one of the 39CSB folding hunters. Should be an incredible knife. :)
 
I've been trying to decide on a classic knife, Queen vs CSC vs Case vs Boker. In doing research on blade steel, it got a lot more confusing. My main Case, a polished stainless pocket-worn red bone mini-trapper takes a great edge and is my EDC. But, I know I want to try carbon and Case CV and Boker 1095ish seem to be it.

Anyway, I wanted to add my .02 on 420. I have a Buck Big Sky which is my primary hunting knife. I can get this baby hair poping sharp. Besides serving as a mini-machete clearing shooting lanes (<.5" pine branches, saplings) and I dressed, skined and deboned a large doe with it this weekend and it is still ready to go.

I had ordered a Boker carbon Barlow in Green Bone. After 3 weeks, I called to check on it and found out they have backorders back to July - canceled order.

tjg
 
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