Paul,
I can't claim to have a crystal ball or any "inside info" on Queen but, that said, I don't think that we can expect a lot of "stagnation" from Queen any time soon. In fact, based on current and promised new Queen and Schatt & Morgan offerings, it may be fair to say that we may be seeing the beginnings of a Renaissance of this little bitty knife factory in the hills of Western Pennsylvania. Even QC is better though, as you say, some of the "little things" could improve even more. I expect that the new president of Queen, Bob Breton, and his boss at Ontario and Servotronics, Nick Trbovich, Jr., are on the case. Bob is a "knife guy" who has a long history in the production end of the business and is has been encouraging to see how quickly Nick has gotten with the knife program, too. This situation stands in marked contrast to just a few years ago, when Ontario and Queen were being run by a top management whose knowledge of, and commitment to, the making of high quality knives was, to be charitable, a bit "uneven".
I guess that I am not as taken with the prospect of "technology" in slipjoints as you seem to be. However, there may well be room for some innovations in materials and technology that might offer some advantages in what might otherwise be considered a "mature technology".
Titanium frames would be nice ( and light) but, as you indicate, they also may pose technological and cost problems. Queen now makes their their inexpensive Barlows with aluminum frames. (What kind of aluminum, I don't know.) If one goes along with Dick's assessment in his book on folding knives, it may be that aircraft grade aluminum might offer about the same strength and other advantages as titanium but at less cost and with fewer technological hassles. (This is just a guess. While I admit to being a bit of a "steel snob" I am by no means a materials expert.) That said, it might be very nice to be able to carry some of the bigger slipjoint patterns without having to wear both suspenders and a belt. I would love to see their new "sleeveboard" sunfish offered with a strong but light weight frame in a wood or Delrin handled working grade knife. What a neat and practical knife that would be!
Your thoughts on bushings got me to thinking, too. Ontario/Queen has title to the Robeson name, too. Before Robeson went out of business, its president, who I believe was Emerson Case, came out with some really innovative ideas. One, "Frozen Heat", was cryoquenching long before it has since become trendy. Another, "Mastercraft", used self-lubricating brass strips on the springs under the tangs to help to make these knives easy to open. (A real advantage on heavily sprung big slipjoint patterns that seem to require two men and a boy to open them!) A third, "Pocket-eze", stressed enclosed bolsters on patterns other than the usual pen knives to reduce pocket wear. (The last name was reintroduced, a few years ago, but on knives that were to be similar to Case's "pocket worn" knives. It seems that the person in charge of the operation had not done his homework. Not uncommon, then. Much less common, now, it seems.) So it seems that Queen can still be pretty creative and still produce knives that are, by all accounts, "traditional", as well.
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