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getting first tradtional, how do brands stack up quality wise?
- Thread starter Free2game
- Start date
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2010
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- 3,135
Case-Usually good F&F, decent to nice edge out of box
Queen-Usually good F&F, poor edge out of box. (Queen's D2 is very hard to sharpen, but worth it in the end)
GEC-Usually excellent F&F, nice edge out of box
Buck-Usually OK F&F, decent edge out of box
Boker (German made)- Usually good F&F, decent to nice edge out of box
Queen-Usually good F&F, poor edge out of box. (Queen's D2 is very hard to sharpen, but worth it in the end)
GEC-Usually excellent F&F, nice edge out of box
Buck-Usually OK F&F, decent edge out of box
Boker (German made)- Usually good F&F, decent to nice edge out of box
I think Great Eastern does a great job. They're a smaller company, source and make everything in the states, and really care about their product. They make a lot fewer knives than some of the other companies like Case or Buck, and I like that about them. I own maybe 15 of them, and look forward to buying many more.
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I pretty much agree with the above, but I haven't had the best experience with Queen's / S&M's F+F.
Case knives are close to the top, but my vintage Case blow my newer Case out of the water.
I absolutely love GEC. I own a dozen or so, all of which have superb f+f, and each are a pleasure to use.
My Boker slipjoints have all been disappointing and ive basically given up on them.
Buck makes decent quality slipjoints for the $, but nothing spectacular.
Case knives are close to the top, but my vintage Case blow my newer Case out of the water.
I absolutely love GEC. I own a dozen or so, all of which have superb f+f, and each are a pleasure to use.
My Boker slipjoints have all been disappointing and ive basically given up on them.
Buck makes decent quality slipjoints for the $, but nothing spectacular.
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2006
- Messages
- 8,210
You need an Opinel and a Douk-Douk and a Buck 301 and a Case Sodbuster and a Case Swayback Jack and a Case Peanut and a US made Schrade 8OT... and... 
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2001
- Messages
- 32,359
Like many here I find F&F on the older production knives, (Case, Buck, Schrade, Camillus, Queen) to be superior to current production models this also applies to sharpness outta the box.
A lot more hand work and scrutiny went into production knives back in the 40s and 50s, this is even noticeable in the lower end $1 knives like the Colonials and Imperials from the same time frame.
Of the more modern companies, GEC has been tops, Case has been hit and miss on their more moderately priced blades, the higher end stuff like the Case/Bose knives, F&F, sharpness were all top notch.
It seems like the more ya spend the better the QC seems to be.
A lot more hand work and scrutiny went into production knives back in the 40s and 50s, this is even noticeable in the lower end $1 knives like the Colonials and Imperials from the same time frame.
Of the more modern companies, GEC has been tops, Case has been hit and miss on their more moderately priced blades, the higher end stuff like the Case/Bose knives, F&F, sharpness were all top notch.
It seems like the more ya spend the better the QC seems to be.
- Joined
- Nov 2, 2009
- Messages
- 1,460
in my experience queen and gec have the best quality. case has the most variety but their fit and finish is hit or miss. buck has a small selection of traditionals and their fit and finish are similar to case. what I would do is pick up a few rough rider knives and see what you like then buy the expensive stuff.
have fun!
have fun!
Bigfattyt
Gold Member
- Joined
- Jun 23, 2007
- Messages
- 19,256
I recommend GEC for starting. I have been tickled pink with all of mine.
I have only ordered two Queen (both collaborations, a Burke and a Pardue collab). Both had issues. The edges were very poor. I have sharpening skills, and a 1x30 belt sander so I fixed that. Gaps on the Queen/Burke, but the bone was great, and the spring was strong, no wobble.
The Burke/Queen collab had better fit on the springs/liners, etc. But the pulls were not up to my pull "standards" I like a firm pull.
The S&M File and Wire grandady barlow had poor liner/bolster/spring fit. Very gappy. The blades had wobble. This was an easy fix for me (vice, piece of leather, squeeze, peen the pin, then sand flush and polish on the strop). It is now one of my favorite pieces, that I carry all the time. It looks/feels fantastic in hand, and in use. I don't expect a normal person just buying a knife to put up with this (having to fix a knife when new).
I only have one case (thanks to a give away on here). My thoughts on the case. It has a good pull on all the blades. There are no real gaps, and not much blade wobble. I did do a padded vice squeeze, and peen on one end (stockman pattern). The Wobble was barely noticeable, but there (again, this is an easy fix). There is blade rub (it is a two spring design with three blades). The edges were not great, but much better than the Queens. The tangs are almost flush, and rounded, which make it nice in the pocket. This knife is less expensive than the GEC, but still a quality working knife.
My advice, is take a look at the GEC (the lines include Tideoute, Northfield, and GEC brands). I have bought 6 and been gifted one (the gifted one really brought me in to traditionals!). Not a bad example in the bunch.
collectorknives.net has great prices and very fast shipping. There are a few other dealers out there with lots in stock.
I would suggest looking also at GEC made Scharade and Bulldog brands (can be found at collectorknives.net). I bought 4 of the Scharade branded scout/pioneer versions, and love them (large and small for me, and two smalls for my boys when they get older).
I have only ordered two Queen (both collaborations, a Burke and a Pardue collab). Both had issues. The edges were very poor. I have sharpening skills, and a 1x30 belt sander so I fixed that. Gaps on the Queen/Burke, but the bone was great, and the spring was strong, no wobble.
The Burke/Queen collab had better fit on the springs/liners, etc. But the pulls were not up to my pull "standards" I like a firm pull.
The S&M File and Wire grandady barlow had poor liner/bolster/spring fit. Very gappy. The blades had wobble. This was an easy fix for me (vice, piece of leather, squeeze, peen the pin, then sand flush and polish on the strop). It is now one of my favorite pieces, that I carry all the time. It looks/feels fantastic in hand, and in use. I don't expect a normal person just buying a knife to put up with this (having to fix a knife when new).
I only have one case (thanks to a give away on here). My thoughts on the case. It has a good pull on all the blades. There are no real gaps, and not much blade wobble. I did do a padded vice squeeze, and peen on one end (stockman pattern). The Wobble was barely noticeable, but there (again, this is an easy fix). There is blade rub (it is a two spring design with three blades). The edges were not great, but much better than the Queens. The tangs are almost flush, and rounded, which make it nice in the pocket. This knife is less expensive than the GEC, but still a quality working knife.
My advice, is take a look at the GEC (the lines include Tideoute, Northfield, and GEC brands). I have bought 6 and been gifted one (the gifted one really brought me in to traditionals!). Not a bad example in the bunch.
collectorknives.net has great prices and very fast shipping. There are a few other dealers out there with lots in stock.
I would suggest looking also at GEC made Scharade and Bulldog brands (can be found at collectorknives.net). I bought 4 of the Scharade branded scout/pioneer versions, and love them (large and small for me, and two smalls for my boys when they get older).
In my experience Case knives are okay and Queen knives have been rather poor quality. All my Case knives came factory sharp but the fit and finish needed some work. I don't think any of my Queen knives came factory sharp and D2 is not the easiest steel to work with. Most of my Queens came with nail breaker back springs. I don't have any US made Buck slip joints but I have been pleased with the foreign made Bucks. I hate to admit this but the most consistent quality I've seen in traditional pattern slip joint knives have come out of Rough Rider. They are dirt cheap too.
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2009
- Messages
- 3,198
I will give you a different take on this subject, Free2game. Out of all the names of manufacturers you mentioned, all of them are capable of making very nice knives. MY EXPERIENCE (take my opinion to be worth what was paid to get it) is that all brands these days seem to be hit or miss on the quality of cutlery they produce. Take a few minutes and search this forum and you will see plenty of folks on both sides of the fence of each manufacturer. All have their favorites and will defend their brand quite vigorously.
So... if I were you and getting into the wonderful world of traditional knives, I would look at the older, used knives. Old or new, I won't buy knives much anymore unless I can handle them, but it seems in a lot of old pawn shops, flea markets and estate sales old knives pop up. Some dandys, too. i don't think you could go wrong with an old stockman, trapper, congress, canoe or any other pattern from those makers if you could find a knife that isn't ground to nothing. And since they are generally cheaper, you could buy more knife for your bucks.
Generally speaking, I have found that in many cases the older knives are better made all around than today's offerings. I have 40 year old work knives that still fit and snap better than some of today's offerings from the big companies. Since most manufacturers still use the same carbon steel they have used for the last 80 years or so, no need to worry about the fact you might be missing out on some kind of super steel. Not needed in a traditional, anyway. And a lot of the older knives still had a lot of hand operations employed when making them really nice in finish department. The most popular old patterns didn't have a huge assortment of scale materials but you should easily be able to find them scaled in bone, wood, Delrin/plastic/celluloid, and sometimes even stag.
If you only want brand new knives, look around here for the models that are in favor with the group. Sometimes new patterns mean new tooling, which equals a better product. Only buy if you can handle a knife and inspect it carefully, or if you can find a trustworthy vendor that stands behind their product.
Good luck! Have fun!
Robert
So... if I were you and getting into the wonderful world of traditional knives, I would look at the older, used knives. Old or new, I won't buy knives much anymore unless I can handle them, but it seems in a lot of old pawn shops, flea markets and estate sales old knives pop up. Some dandys, too. i don't think you could go wrong with an old stockman, trapper, congress, canoe or any other pattern from those makers if you could find a knife that isn't ground to nothing. And since they are generally cheaper, you could buy more knife for your bucks.
Generally speaking, I have found that in many cases the older knives are better made all around than today's offerings. I have 40 year old work knives that still fit and snap better than some of today's offerings from the big companies. Since most manufacturers still use the same carbon steel they have used for the last 80 years or so, no need to worry about the fact you might be missing out on some kind of super steel. Not needed in a traditional, anyway. And a lot of the older knives still had a lot of hand operations employed when making them really nice in finish department. The most popular old patterns didn't have a huge assortment of scale materials but you should easily be able to find them scaled in bone, wood, Delrin/plastic/celluloid, and sometimes even stag.
If you only want brand new knives, look around here for the models that are in favor with the group. Sometimes new patterns mean new tooling, which equals a better product. Only buy if you can handle a knife and inspect it carefully, or if you can find a trustworthy vendor that stands behind their product.
Good luck! Have fun!
Robert
I looked at gec. Nice looking but not interested in carbon steel and their stainless knives are very expensive. Are queen knives that poorly finished in recent examples? I quite like d2 steel and heavily reprofiling isnt that bad for me (I've reprofiled the edge of a benchmade 710 from 60 degrees down to about 32-35 inclusive). Anymore info about boker? I like 440c and a lot of their knives look nice.
FLymon
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2006
- Messages
- 4,865
If you don't mind gaps, wobbles, and thick dull blades, the Queen knives are right up your alley
But seriously, one of my absolute favorite knives is a Queen Mini Trapper. I sent the first one I bought back to the dealer and the second one (while not exceptionally sharp in the F&F department) was good enough. Once I got the D2 blades re-profiled and sharp (maybe 1-2 hours on the Lansky with diamond hones) they stay like that a looooong time with my average use and an occasional stropping.
I have sworn to never buy a Queen knife again unless I can handle it first. That is how often there are serious (to me anyway) issues with their knives. I made the same promise to myself about Case as well, but there are quite a few places to find Case knives not too terribly far from me so that is less of an issue.
In fairness, Queen just got new ownership, so I do plan on keeping an open mind once they start producing "new" products.